On Monday I posted photos of the glass art I saw at the Main Street Arts Festival in downtown Fort Worth in April. Wednesday showed photos of downtown architecture. Today I’m posting photos of metal art seen at the Arts Festival. It wouldn’t be Fort Worth or Texas without a large metal longhorn or two.  (Fort Worth’s city logo looks conspicuously similar to the Texas Longhorns logo.)  I call photo below “Iron Bovine.”

These were pretty interesting. I especially loved the small metal monsters. The same artist created larger animals, including a working giraffe about five feet tall.

I call this one “Abstract Chicken.”

Metal Art at the Main Street Arts Festival in Fort Worth, Texas | April 2009

In addition to a few photos that I took during the Main Street Arts Festival, I’ve decided to post some from other trips downtown. Above you’ll see a night shot of the Tarrant County Courthouse between Weatherford and Belknap at the north end of Main Street. Below is a shot of One Montgomery Plaza on West 7th Street about two miles west of the Courthouse.

One Montgomery Plaza on West 7th Street in Fort Worth, Texas | April 2009

The two photos above are from Sundance Square at Main Street.  First is a shot of Haltom’s Jewelry and the second is looking north on Main Street toward the Tarrant County Courthouse.  Below (first) is Sundance Square during the Main Street Arts Festival, and (second) a look at Reata at Sundance Square.

Sundance Square in Downtown Fort Worth, Texas | April 2009

Glass Art at the Main Street Arts Festival in Fort Worth, Texas | April 19, 2009

First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth, Texas | October 2008 and April 2009

I leave for Mobile, Alabama on Thursday and won’t be back here in Texas until I’m here to load up the truck and leave permanently next week. Posting may be sparse. See you around.

Mobile isn’t an easy place for me to return to.  Going home means going back to most the mistakes I’ve made over the last 15 years.  It means going to a city where I feel outnumbered.  Sometimes it seems like I have more enemies there than friends.  It’s a difficult situation.  I faced more opposition and spiritual warfare in Mobile than I ever did in New Orleans or Fort Worth.  In some cases I’ll have to clean up my mistakes; in other cases may be forced to face those demons again.

Doom and gloom aside, I’m excited about some new friends I’ve made and that some old friends, thankfully, are still around.  I see a bright future for the church in Mobile, and with it a bright future for Mobile itself.  I have some big plans for living in Mobile, and I’ll post about those ideas in the coming weeks and months.  As for right now, I need to find a job and a place to live.

Five years ago as I prepared to graduate from the University of Mobile and move to New Orleans for seminary, I was encouraged by Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.  “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

May it be so.  I’ve stared into the eyes of evil before, and by the grace of God I felt no fear then.  I will have no fear now.

I try to visit my hometown of Long Beach, Mississippi every few years, just to see how it’s doing. I was only there from first through seventh grades, but I have fond memories of living on the coast. After Hurricane Katrina obliterated the Mississippi Gulf Coast I made it a point to return while I lived in the area. I took a day trip over to the Coast with a friend in February 2007. In an ironic twist, shortly after we returned to New Orleans a tornado ripped through our neighborhoods, narrowly missing our homes.

At Bandelier National Monument northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico | November 2008

My day at Bandelier was mostly spent looking at and photographing the Native American cliff dwellings. After the half-mile hike with a friendly Canadian couple, I skipped the back half of the main route for the nature trail leading to my car. About two minutes in I spotted about six or seven deer; they weren’t the least interested in me or anybody else, and acted as perfect models for me. It was a pretty magnificent moment.

[Left]: A beggar squirrel at the Botanic Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas | September 2008
[Right]: A seagull lands on a post with its bread at Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, Louisiana | Fall 2007

The squirrel to the left followed my friends and I around for a few minutes, even blocking our way up the stairs while begging for some fish food. Concerned that we might reenact a scene from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, albeit outdoors, we allowed the little fella to push us backward. He finally ended up almost directly below me, which is when I took this photo.

The seagull above and below grabbed some bread from the park on Lake Pontchartrain. Before I arrived someone dumped bread along the shoreline; seagulls and crows were fighting over it. I watched as this particular seagull grabbed a piece and took off, only to land on a post a few yards out in the water.

I ate well for Thanksgiving.  This was the first (I think) time I didn’t spend the holiday with my family.  I spent part of my Thanksgiving break during my senior year of high school in Washington, DC on a choir trip, but I think I was home for the actual celebration.  My friends Britt and Kayla invited me to Kayla’s parents’ to spend the day, and I feel so blessed to be included by them.  The food was wonderful (some of it was better than back home- sorry, Mom… it’s just that you’ve never made some things). They invited me back Friday to eat with them, and my way of thanking them was to do a family portrait.

Saturday Britt, Kayla, and I hit the town. (It was best that I didn’t watch the Iron Bowl this year.) After helping Kayla work on a project for a few hours, we spent the evening running around the University Park area of Fort Worth and then Sundance Square downtown. We visited Barnes and Noble, where Britt showed he can, in fact, read (below left). We visited the Apple Store to feel trendy and intelligent, and look at expensive aluminum things.
Just for the heck of it, we walked from the Apple Store to William Sonoma, which must be the coolest kitchen store of all time. For me, it’s the Apple Store of kitchen stuff. Then we drove across the street and grabbed dinner at the Ol South Pancake House (since 1962). You know what? Aside from Golden Corral (and other buffets), any place that caters almost exclusively to the 65+ crowd is worth frequenting for good food. I’m convinced. After looking at the menu of over 7000 (I may exaggerate) variations of waffles, pancakes, and french toast, we ordered. Chicken tenders for Britt (didn’t want breakfast), German Pancakes for Kayla, and Peanut Butter Pancakes for me. We approved of both the atmosphere and the food.

See? Two thumbs up. After dinner we drove down to Sundance Square in the heart of downtown Fort Worth to get photos of the Christmas tree. Kayla promised it was 50 feet tall and spectacular. (Perhaps hyping the situation a little too much, I found myself expecting to see the tree in Rockefeller Square, New York.) Upon seeing the thirty foot tree, we were convinced another must be nearby- THE tree must be somewhere else. We searched at the Tarrant County Courthouse. Alas, no second tree.

Because it was cold, we stopped into the busiest Barnes and Noble Starbucks I’ve ever seen, so Kayla could get some tea. Here’s something you should know before making my mistake: the Starbucks inside bookstores do not take the Starbucks card. Luckily I had cash for my Chai Frappuccino (which still wasn’t as good as anything I’ve found at Eurotazza).

Then we went back to Britt and Kayla’s and watched The Holiday. I’m going to miss these days on the town when they leave in January.

“IDs.”

Now, it’s really not something I comprehend- this idea that an adult would leave one’s house without a form of ID.  I haven’t left the house without my wallet since I was in early high school.  But tonight, Britt told Kayla to leave it at home.  “You don’t need that.”

And that’s the story of how I didn’t have fish and chips.  Can I tell you the story doesn’t really end there?  It doesn’t.

We started considering other alternatives I found on my iPhone using Urbanspoon as we drove west.  Eventually we turned east, settling upon Fred’s Texas Cafe off West 7th downtown.  Stepping inside I started wondering if it was a good idea to have arrived at 6:40PM.  It was not.  The only seating was outside on this balmy September evening, with a cover of $5 for what appeared to be moderately talented Southern rock.  We departed without food.

Now over forty-five minutes into our journey for food we settled on The Flying Saucer downtown.  Unaware that the full name of the fine establishment was “Draught Emporium,” we attempted to enter.  Imagine our surprise when we were again asked for ID.  Below is a photo of Kayla exhibiting her frustration that we can’t even get in to eat, since none of us drink (anyway, she’s old enough, folks).

The story continues.  Now a full hour and a half into our food-scavenging quest, we started getting desperate.  Enter Zippy’s All-American Grill.  I need to tell you that this is not the finest dining experience in Sundance Square.  In fact it might be the most interesting, or scarring, depending on your intestinal fortitude.  With NASCAR and alcohol advertisements adorning the walls, I thought to myself that this might be a taste of real Texas, home of the Beer Barns.

I’ve been to a lot of strange places to eat, and Zippy’s is certainly on the list of places I probably won’t go back to.  Britt had his catfish; Kayla and I had hamburgers.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great.  After nearly two hours of searching for food, we spent fifteen minutes actually eating.  As we walked back to the car, Britt and Kayla stopped in to Schakolad Chocolate Factory and grabbed some of what appeared to be the best chocolate they’ve ever had.  I abstained (good Joe, way to watch that diabetes).

After a side trip to Hurst so Britt could empty his car of work files, a quick tour of Arlington (Rangers’ stadium really is that impressive, and the new Cowboys Stadium is unbelievable… photos will be taken), we grabbed gas and some coffee from what Britt considers the greatest gas station on Earth: QuikTrip.  Finally, we drove back to Benbrook, where I sit now.  (Actually, I’ve been here for a few hours.)  So that’s the story of how we visited four cities, four restaurants, and one gas station.  And the story of how it is important to always have ID on you.  At all times.  Always.

And then I found five dollars.  (Not really.)

How hot is it? THIS HOT! When I looked over at my thermometer it said the outside temp was a whopping 117! By the time I got outside to snap a shot of my outside remote thermometer, it was down to 116.6. As I type this, the temperature has dropped to 112.1. INSANE!