Trip to Dallas
Looking up inside the biodome at the Gaylord Texan resort
First of all, my week at the trade show last week in Grapevine was a full agenda, from the daily opening of the eyes, until nearly midnight. The Gaylord Texan resort is a very nice facility, but after a week inside this enclosed environment (even the "courtyard" is inside a glass dome), I was aching to get some non-conditioned air. We did get one night outside, as my company took bus loads of employees and channel partners for a barbeque night out at Lone Star Park to see the horses race, but it is regrettable that I didn't have the time to do much other than teach seminars and work a booth. Still, that is why I was there, was it not? In actuality, Sunday was a free day and they had me scheduled on a flight out at 8 PM, but with a work week ahead starting on Monday morning, I flew out on standby before 10 AM. Back in Denver in time for lunch! Maybe next time I get down to Dallas I can enjoy more of what that great city has to offer.The indoor courtyard was welcome last Wednesday night though...a line of catastrophic thunder storms and tornadoes ripped through the DFW area, but inside the Gaylord Texan, we all had plenty of room to roam around inside the biodome, while it looked like the Apocalypse had begun on the outside.
On the way to the horse track, I did see one Big Green Sign on one of the freeways that used the new Clearview font (read about this new font in my previous posts). Also at Lone Star Park, we were entertained by the Texas Gypsies and their mix of western swing, folk, and bluegrass sounds.
The Texas Gypsies make beautiful music
I also was surprised to see lots of families with their kids at the track. "Hey kids, forget doing your homework tonight! We're gonna go play the ponies!"
I think I won $17 with a $2 bet on the lead horse in this race!
Other entertainment at our trade show included Huey Lewis and The News, and country music phenom, Gretchen Wilson. I enjoyed their shows, but with the volume up so loud that it shakes your internal organs, there is no way the music isn't distorted to the point you can't even make out all the lyrics to the songs. This is one reason I don't go to concerts. I have no pictures of their performances, as cameras were forbidden, despite the fact that some people brought them anyway. Oh well, what'ya gonna do?
Also, comedian Jim Gaffigan kept us all in stitches with his hilarious comedy routine. His monologue about bacon and Hot Pockets was extremely funny.
Change of Plans
My anticipated road trip to Houston has also met with a change of plans, but it is my own doing. As much as I would have liked to drive, my wife and I decided to fly down so as to maximize our time with family down there. Still, I will get more photos while I am there. I guess the speed trap cop in Estelline will have to wait for another day to have his crack at me. I'll be 35,000 feet over him speeding by at over 500 mph.
OJ
Former football player, movie star, and murder suspect Orenthal J. Simpson was booted from a restaurant by its owner. The man reportedly sickened by the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, along with the behavior of Simpson, asked him to leave the premises. Now OJ's lawyer is saying it is because OJ is black. What the hell? Puhleeze! Race has nothing to do with it. Could the attorney have a clue regarding any other reasons why Simpson is so despicable that a business man would want him to leave? Could it be because many people still consider Simpson to be guilty of two horrible butcherings of human beings? Could it be his mocking treatise, If I Did It? Being black has no part of why many people think that OJ Simpson is one of the most vile human beings on the planet. As for me, if I came across OJ on fire, I wouldn't bother to piss on him to put out the flames. Hate to waste good pee like that!
Kingdom Coming
I am just about finished reading a very eye opening book entitled Kingdom Coming - The Rise of Christian Nationalism, by Michelle Goldberg. This book has shot to the top of my must read list for anyone who cares about America. Goldberg spent her research interviewing and researching the people involved in the Christian Nationalism, or Reconstructionist movement. These folks have taken over not only the Republican party, but also hijacked much of mainstream Christianity in the United States in their effort to rule our beloved country by their narrow interpretation of the Bible, rather than by our Constitution. This book shows how many of the movements leaders, such as Tim LaHaye, are former John Birch Society members, and have taken the extremist views of the JBS into the modern Republican party and into the evangelical church. Such views were once repudiated by even the likes of Barry Goldwater. Now, through a grassroots takeover of the GOP, they have become the platform of much of the party.
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