Fort Worth

I spent today with my friends M and M in Fort Worth. Mostly I took the opportunity to do laundry, and to catch up with my images from the last few days. Photos from San Antonio and Austin have now been posted.

We did venture downtown for the Forth Worth cattle drive . This is supposed be a big deal and one of the draws for Forth Worth. In reality if was a few steer walking down Main Street - somewhat anticlimactic. But we did walk around after that to see some historical buildings and areas in the vicinity. Among other things, M pointed out the Fort Worth Water Garden, infamous for its use in Logan’s Run as the entrance and exit to the city in which only people under 30 were allowed to live. Unfortunately, most of the actual fountains were not running, so we had to use our imaginations.. Unfortunately, most of the actual fountains were not running, so we had to use our imaginations.

One thing I learned is that the JFK spent his last night in Forth Worth before heading to Dallas and tragedy. A tribute was erected in General Worth Square, at approximate the place where he gave his last speech.

I also learned the story of the castrated topiary bull. Apparently some folk were offended by the anatomically correct piece of art and it was modified to appease them. We could not find him, perhaps he had been moved or taken down.

I had requested to sample Texas BBQ. So for dinner we went to Angelo’s , a very informal place with a reputation for great BBQ. We got our plastic trays, Styrofoam plates and plastic utensils. The plates were filled with various BBQ items (I had ribs and pulled pork) and some sides. And we got ice cold beer to wash down all of the food. It was tasty. And of course the restaurant boasted lots of taxidermied heads on the walls.

This was my last day in Texas. I do believe the State got short shrift. I knew in advance that a lot of my time would be spent just driving from one end to the other. In addition, though, I have come to understand that quintessential Texas is located in between the cities. Anymore, most people in the metropolitan areas have immigrated from other states. I think the only true Texas accent I heard was in Marfa. And the main cities have become pretty standard urban tech centers. I do hope to return to explore the large parts of Texas that I missed.

Tomorrow I head to Oklahoma, a State I have never visited before.