Dallas / Fort Worth and Me

Back on Summer Solstice Day, June 21, I sauntered down to Cedar Hill (a berg due south of Dallas) and took a look at their Neighborhood BBQ Cook Off and Small Town Saturday Night celebration. It was really set up for local people to get to know each other, but I know I wasn’t the only interloper there, and it was a great little get-together all in all. Hey, there was free barbecue; what’s not to like?

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Danger, Will Robinson!

I’m going to warn you about this ahead of time: if you’re a PETA member or just don’t like hunting and fishing, then this entry is not for you. But I figure you’re more or less like me, Devoted Reader, or you wouldn’t return here again and again (all three of you who do). See, I’m from semi-rural East Texas, where hunting and fishing are an integral part of the lifestyle. While I can understand why people might choose not to do either, I don’t really see anything wrong with it, as long as you’re not wiping out an endangered species. Yes, and that’s coming from a political liberal, too.

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Okay! Despite the hammering heat and horrific humidity, June and July are busy times for the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Mad dogs and Englishman, folks, but be that as it may, even as the heat sizzles up off the asphalt and sane dogs hunker down for the long summer — which officially begins on the 21st but has actually been here for over a month — the social calendar is purring right along. There’s so much to do, in fact, that the average human will have a heckuva time getting to everything. That should tell you right there that I won’t be able to make it to all the pertinent events. Sad but true. I will, however, do my valiant best.

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Despite the fact that it’s a big, thriving metropolis, Dallas has an excellent Farmer’s Market, and  has for almost 70 years — it was established in 1941. It’s located right next to downtown, so all the local eateries can get wonderfully fresh produce at a moment’s notice.

Canny Dallas residents shop there too, because the prices are good and you can find just about everything that grows, from petunias and peas to potatoes and pineapples to pomegranates and papayas — and even a whole lot of produce that doesn’t start with a P. Plus you get a great view of the downtown skyline.

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You know, nothing beats a good, dark planetarium for a grand spectacle. I have fond memories of the Bert Baker Planetarium in Houston, as well as the smaller planetarium at Sam Houston State University, both of which I visited several times way back when I was in high school.  For several years I’ve been aware of the presence of a planetarium at the Science Place in Fair Park, but for one reason or another I’ve never been able to visit — mostly, I guess, because there are so many things to do in Fair Park. I’ve already written (at length) about the attractions of Fair Park in general,  the State Fair, Leonhardt Lagoon,  and the Fair Park Aquarium, but until recently, the Science Place Planetarium was one of the many Fair Park attractions I had yet to visit. It was always on my dance card, though, and last week I had the opportunity to attend the show for the first time.

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Well, folks, I’m back from my trip to Far East Texas, otherwise known as the Carolinas. I had a great time while vacationing, and the landscape was beautiful, but alas — since it’s a bit far from DFW, I won’t be going into too much detail on this blog about what I saw and did. Nonetheless, I feel compelled to offer you a little information about my trip, so here’s a nice website about the cool archaeological site I visited while I was away. It’s called Topper, and contains evidence that people might have been in South Carolina as early as 50,000 years ago (!).

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