Leaving Dallas, More Cool Signs, Friends, Food
One month in Dallas has been plenty. It was just enough time to see some old friends, visit family, play Catan, eat a variety of good food, write some emails, play some Team Fortress 2, laugh, use the crapper, take sauna-style epic showers, do laundry, play basketball, watch birds, see kitchen mice, and pet some cats. Despite having no final destination or definite work lined up, I’m excited to move on. Hopefully, I’ll stumble upon a suitcase full of money and dental care in my near future, though.
Here are a few photos from the waning moments in Big D.* Warning: many of the photos are pictures of signs. If you don’t like sign photos, you might want to skip the rest of this post. Also, what’s your problem with signs?
Riding shotgun.
Abandoned skating rink that used to be a grocery store.
Old DQ sign.
Alamo Plaza, the mission style motel on Ft. Ave.
Another hotel nearby in similar style.
Carnitas pork BBQ.
The three roads leading into downtown Dallas from the West.
Memorial cube.
Weathered BBQ sign.
Magic Skate: where sadness and skating happens.
The old rail road trestle. I like the random words of the graffiti.
Church in Cockrill Hill.
The shopping carts of Costco.
Catfish King.
Small water park in South Dallas.
Wimpy’s burgers and frozen custard.
Warm, hand-painted sign.
Cool truck.
Aunt Stella’s abandoned sno cone stand. I think it was in business when I was a kid.
Door and window.
Bricks and stones may break my bones, but H&K pumps won’t hurt me.
Shop.
The chartreuse pizza place.
Jerry’s supermarket.
Food-Rite supermarket with trucks in front.
The KRESS.
Trainyard.
Quonset hut lettering.
Man and illustrations.
Sonic the abandoned gas station, not to be confused with Sonic the fart smelling drive-in eatery.
Part of the old Armour slaughtering plant in Fort Worth.
Another part of the slaughtering plant.
And another.
Sign on the hill.
Soul mates.
Five Star produce.
Taxidermist.
Service station.
Homeless man.
Cracked wall.
Cool Cat in his Cadillac.
The yellow shop.
Peep-n-Toms strip club.
Ritz Starlight Room dance hall.
Party Times dance hall.
Old dry cleaners sign.
Train graffiti.
Abandoned service station with VW Bugs.
If you need your electrical systems repaired, ask for Tino.
Daytime TV.
Here are some of the foods I’ve eaten:
Delicious vegetarian Indian food from the Hari Krishna Temple.
Delicious middle eastern food.
Taco truck tacos.
Homemade chicken and dumpling soup.
Pesto chicken pizza.
Here are a few moments with friends:
Stony N.
J.L. and B. in a domestic dispute.
Me, getting ready for my solo tour.
I like Dallas. I think no matter how old I get, I will feel comfortable here. This ugly city doesn’t have much to offer, but the people and memories keep it interesting. There is also the great hope that it can transform itself into an interesting urban place. It has forsaken its core for too long, fueling growth with ugly and soulless urban sprawl. You can see the transformation happening, but it’s too late for me.
Next destination: Nashville, Tennessee.**
* “Big D.” is one of many nicknames for Dallas, Texas. Other popular nicknames include “Sprawltown”, “T-Bone Junction”, “Dead Kennedy”, “DFW Metroplex”, “Kowboy Kuntry”, “Prikville”, and “East Ft. Worth”.
** Technically, I’m going to a suburb of a suburb outside of Nashville called Cotton Town.