Need a Good General Contractor?

About once a month I repost the following as a favor to a friend:
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This is a plug. I get nothing from it. Nothing, nada, zilch.
I just had my house painted and roofed and I am very happy with the work. Very happy.

As a matter of fact, the contractor (who just finished) did such a good job I told him I'd put his name on the weblog. If he gets a call from it, he deserves it. You will get a fair proposal and job done properly and economically.

The company name is: GlenCo International
Contact: Wayne Glennon
Phone: 817 244 9262 / 817 994 6088 mobile

Wayne's got some engineering in his background and has been doing new construction and renovation for a many years -- and is a longtime resident of the Fort Worth area.

This is not the leaky faucet guy (actually, he did fix a leaking a/c unit in my attic once). This is the guy when you have a major project that requires experience and general construction expertise.

Call him. The proposal bid is free of charge.

Another reader writes about sushi . . .

"If you like sushi you should go try Wasabi Sushi on Hulen - close to the Half-Price Books. Locally owned, the food is fresh and fabulous. A little pricey, but what sushi bar isn't? Great atmosphere for the middle of a strip mall."

Which brings up the question: Is all sushi expensive? Is inexpensive sushi worth purchasing? My wife came home with a store-brand, pre-packaged, sushi tray the other day, knowing that I love it, and I threw it out. It was almost unedible.

The question to the readers is: the best value sushi is where?

It must taste good, be fresh and be relatively inexpensive.

A Boomer Returns . . .

Here's an email from a reader who has recently moved back to the city; included are some pluses and minuses of the move. Raised on the eastside, he and his wife lived in Summerfield, Texas for 20 years. A few years ago they sold the Summerfield house and moved to the Fairmount area of downtown.

Why? His email message:

I worked on the far west side, my wife worked downtown. I rode (bicycles) with a bunch of guys in Benbrook during the week. I would drive down to ride the Trinity Trail or meet guys in Westcliff on the weekends. We had some favorite restaurants in town like Fuzzy's and Cafe Express and we would pick up hard-to-find items at Central Market. We began to realize we LIVED in the city, only our house was in the suburbs. While out and about, we would constantly say, "You know, if we lived here, we'd be home by now."
. . . . Before one year was up, the house felt more like our home than the previous home of 20+ years. Other pluses:

• Cool, non-chain restaurants on Magnolia I can ride over to the Trinity Trail
• It takes my wife 7 minutes to get to work.
• A yummy Taqueria nearby
• Not far from Colonel's Bikes and Gorecki Auto (Volvo specialist on Vickery)
• Fuzzy's, Paul's Donut's, Carshon's
• More Halloween trick-or-treaters in one night than 20 years combined in the 'burbs
• Swing dancing at Preservation Hall Neighbors you actually talk to
• I ride my bike to work once or twice a week (12 mi each way)
• An active neighborhood association minutes from downtown and cultural district activities.
• Easier to East Side and Arlington, when necessary

Minuses:

• Still a few panhandlers and ratty rent properties around Gunfire heard in close proximity on New Year's and July 4th (so far, it's amusing) The number of possible home improvement projects can get overwhelming (and takes time from riding).
• Critters: a raccoon got into the garage and chewed up my bike saddle and I had to pull a dead rat from under the house.
• Graffiti on our back fence from the alley
• Train horns crossing Hemphill at all hours.
• No Boopa's Bagels.

That seems to be a common story. Get out of the car, have a short commute to work and relaxation, let someone else tend the big yard, and begin enjoying the activity of the city.

Thanks Martin.

Who you are. What you like.

It is the baffling characteristic of polls. A relatively small number of answers predict the results of millions of answers with uncanny accuracy (assuming similarity in those polled).

Here are the facts of F&FW readers:

1. 80% live in Fort Worth, but only 23% were born in DFW area.
2. 90% of you read the FW Star-Telegram. That's fascinating to me. Just as interesting is that 30% get all their newspaper-type information online.
3. 30% of you get your coffee from Starbucks. That is very good news for Starbucks. I doubt any other retail establishment would have that much market share from a group of readers. So far, no one selected a once popular Fort Worth coffee bar: Four Star.
4. You like Kinkaids, Fred's, Mi Cocina, Del Frisco's and La Familia.
5. If the presidential primary were held today, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Guiliani would be Fort Worth choices.
6. Trading Dirk for Kobe would definitely not be popular. 84% opposed.
   
7. We are not sure who is the King of the Jungle but the King Cobra polled a lot better than I thought it would. It is virtually tied with the Rhino and the Elephant.

Any polling ideas? Let me know.

Last Chance: Sandwiches. Breakfast. Comments.

When it comes to favorite foods, mine is the old-fashioned sandwich. Good bread, good meat, a little mayo or mustard, a slice of avocado maybe, lettuce, fresh tomato. When all the ingredients are fresh, I love them. A suggestion was made that Carshon's has good sandwiches. I have found that the readers of this poor excuse for a blog know good food, so I will be going soon. Unfortunately, I will not be able to get there until the first week of December. If anyone else goes before then, I would like a report.
The "Best of" list that I re-post once every few weeks is my list after 25 years of dining in the town of the cow. It is just my opinion. I appreciate all the suggestions that I get and all reasonable suggestions will be visited. Please send more.

Breakfast, from most favorite to least favorite:
Yogi's: Great bagels. Good pancakes, good food. Way too crowded when I go.
Paris Cafe: Standard fair and good.
Ol South: Haven't been in a while, once was good.
La Madelaine: Nice atmosphere, fair food, fair bread, fair coffee. A shell of its past.
Denny's and IHOP: IHOP is too expensive and Denny's, I don't know, I just can't go there.
Waffle House: Hmmm. No. Actually the new ones in the suburbs aren't bad. But I don't go the the suburbs. It's scary up there.

My favorite outdoor cafes:
Nonna Tata, on Magnolia. (changed: see October 27, 2007 review. Editor)
Zambrano's, downtown.
Mi Cocina, downtown.
Railhead BBQ, on Montgomery.

Brunch: If you really like brunch, there is one and only one that is 4 star. Easter brunch at the Marriott DFW. Eat a light dinner the night before, make a reservation, and Easter Sunday enjoy the smorgasbord buffet, including the standard omelettes made to order; but also prime rib, cheeses, fresh waffles and pancakes, even things like peel and eat shrimp. Fresh pastries, chocolates and fruits are the desserts. Less extravagant and less expensive: the Blue Mesa on University has had a good brunch on Sunday for many years. I honestly don't know if they still do. But I have been and it is good.

Bialystock, Bloom and Thanksgiving?

One of the small pleasures of being a parent of 4 children was watching, with them, the movies and TV shows that I have enjoyed over the years; the old Disney movies, Snow White, Cinderella, Old Yeller, The Song of the South, Love Bug, and TV shows like the Three Stooges, Bugs Bunny, and Bonanza. As they got older and more selective, they made requests: Anne of Green Gables was one that lasted a few years, then as teenagers, we pulled out the good stuff like, The Guns of Navarone, The Producers, The Blues Brothers, Family Vacation, et. al.

Here's the point: Once in a while, I'll telephone one of the boys and they will answer with a line from the Mel Brooks 1968 movie, The Producers:

"Bialystock and Bloom," (lilt and tone of the secretary, Ulla, pronouncing Bloom: "Blue'-oom")

I act as if they had just said "hello", carrying on as normal, but it makes me smile.

And that's what I'm thankful for, Mel Brooks, and the line: "Bialystock and Bloom." Without that line I would have forgone a whole lot of smiles.

The Best Way to Carve a Turkey . . .

Before you carve the Thanksgiving day turkey, take 10 minutes and read an instructional article in the New York Times, Dining In section. The owner of Original Turkey restaurants, who has overseen the carving of around 30 turkeys a day, says this:
1. Unless you insist on carving at the table it's best to cut against the grain which means the breast of the turkey must me separated from the bones and cut "sideways."
2. Wait at least 20 minutes before carving. Use your hand to secure the turkey not a fork. A fork pierces the skin increasing juice loss.
3. Remove wings and legs before carving and cut the meat "against the grain."

And much more, to read the whole article, look at pictures or watch a tutorial: Carve the turkey

New Park for Children

Tillery Park, on the Forest Park side of the Fort Worth Zoo area has just opened. If you have young children, consider visiting on your next trip to a park; my wife, daughter, and her children loved it. Congratulations to the Forest Park area residents who volunteered time and money to put this together. Great job.

Website with map: http://www.tillerypark.org/index.htm

Another belief confirmed . . .

First, let me say that for better or worse, the staff of Food and Fort Worth (me) will be residing in two cities for the next 6 months. Fort Worth and Philadelphia. That's why you're getting blogs on both, if you don't like reading about one city or another, that's fine with me.

Second is the confirmation. I have long believed that man has two fundamental requirements, i.e., food and newspapers, and the streets of Philadelphia have confirmed that belief. I ask you, when you walk the streets of downtown Philly what are the two kinds of street vendors?
Food stands and newspaper stands. I rest my case.

Two Fort Worth Holiday Events I Enjoy

Don't forget -------

If you run or walk and want to get out of the house Thanksgiving morning join me and 5,000 others for the YMCA sponsored Turkey Trot on Camp Bowie. It's a well run event with food, music, exercise -- and because it's a day off everybody's having a good time. The 5k starts at 8 a.m., but be there plenty early, parking gets scarce. The 10k begins at 8:50. The cost is about $15, the website doesn't say. Early registration starts 11/10/07 . I'll be there. http://www.fwrunco.com/fwtrot/


You might think this a little AARP'ish, but I like the Parade of Lights and the lighting of the Christmas Tree downtown. This year, it will be held on November 23, 2007. The Christmas tree provides a festive mood to downtown during the holiday season. See the schedule for when Santa will be there for the kids. The tree is Blue Spruce and is 56 feet tall. It's an impressive site and worth seeing, especially if you are new to the area. http://www.fortworthparadeoflights.org/FtWorthChristmasTree.aspx

Figaro

Congratulations to all the students at the Curtis Institute of Music who performed in, Le nozzi de Figaro. Superb singing and acting. I attended 3 of the 4 performances and enjoyed them all; if there were another performance tonight I would go again. The opera blends comedy and pathos without being bawdy or sappy. The final scene in the final act is one of my favorites (it's very Catholic). The blending of contemporary costume and stage with a literal rendition of the text was convincing, attractive, and it helps the layman (like me) understand the actors' roles immediately. Mozart would be proud. Thank you. Beautifully done.

The Tantum Ergo of St. Thomas Aquinas

Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.

Genitori Genitoque
Laus et Jubilatio
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio

Learn more: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14445b.htm

Best of Fort Worth (August 2020 update)

Best of Fort Worth

August 2020 Update

The following are the places the editor frequents:

Italian: Nonna Tata

Mexican: Benitos for family style; Mi Cocina for more upscale

Pizza: Picci Pacci

Almost Fine Dining: Lili's. Very good food, good atmosphere

Bread: St. Honore Bread (artisan sourdough) (st.honore.bread@outlook.com)

Donuts: Pauls, right off Magnolia. Good people, good donuts.

Burger: Five Guys Downtown or Fred's

Fajitas: Pappasitos

Coffee: Coffee Folk in Meadowbrook. Absolutely, the best in Fort Worth.

Ice Cream: Braum's, $1.50 for a single dip of pretty good ice cream; Melt (much more expensive but good)

Coolest re-developing area: near South side and Magnolia Blvd, south of downtown. 

Most Inspiring Church Architecture: St Mary's of the Assumption, Magnolia St.

Best Grocery Shopping: Central Market or Trader Joe's or Tom Thumb on 7th

Best Upscale Shopping: Shops at Clearfork

Best Walk on River: Clearfork

Best Chicken Tenders: CookShack on University

Best fast food fried chicken: Lisa's Chicken

Today's Suggestion to the World:

Never preface bad news.

Everyone has to deliver the bad news occasionally. When you do, start with the worst part, keep it short, and never preface it with long explanations.

Pretty simple, right? But, we always went to preface the bad news with a, "sit down for a minute, I need to explain something that happened, that probably is not too good," type sentence, which gives the recipient 10 to 20 seconds to consider dozens of catastrophes waiting to befall him. Remember the war movies where two stoic looking military men are walking up a long driveway as mom watches from a kitchen window? She knows why they are coming but the 20 seconds it takes for them to get to the front door and deliver the news are the longest she will ever have. That's what it's like for the recipient when you ramble on about things before getting to the point.

I had some good news to give my wife the other day and I was "prefacing" away to the point where she finally interrupted and said, "Is the end good or bad?" I said "good" and continued with my too-long introduction. Don't do that with bad news.

Say it, then explain it. That way the recipient knows exactly what the subject is.

The Problem With Polls . . .

Polls are accurate up to a point. They are indicators of public sentiment. But the devil is in the details, the details being: how the polling question is asked, or when, where and to whom a question is asked. For instance, Republican candidate, Mitt Romney is doing terribly in our poll of "Who Will Be the Next President". But 80% of our readers are from the Fort Worth area and Mitt Romney has relatively low name ID here. He is spending his advertising dollars in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina where, to finish the thought, he is doing very well in the polls.

The problem with a "Best of" poll, as in the case of the hamburger poll, is that the results can not reflect all the intricacies. What I mean is that name identification is a factor that can't be weighed in a poll like this. Which is why, when a newspaper does a "Best of" poll for restaurants by category, I consider them mostly popularity contests, not best food contests. Usually, you get a better idea of the real Best by asking the food editors where they spend their money.

Kinkaid's has been around a long time, has a loyal following and I like their hamburger. It is my first choice for all around value, plus, I love the simplicity of the place. But does it have the best hamburger? If you weigh in the factor that Fred's has a lot less name ID but still received (as I write this) 25 % of the vote, it made a very respectable accounting for itself. Tommy's isn't what it once was and it doesn't surprise me that it isn't doing well.

By the way, for those of you interested in this kind of thing, Tradesports is a fascinating way to follow trends in sports and politics. Essentially, Tradesports is a futures market for events. Any event can be traded. I am told that they are better indicators of future events because of the seriousness of those putting their money into their prediction.

And that's it for the hamburger poll. Kinkaid's is the winner but Fred's is a top choice.

Coal Vines in Southlake -- Good and Fun

We went to Coal Vines in Southlake on Saturday night with some friends and found a great new place to get pizza and wine! It is a great concept – a wine bar that boasts gourmet pizza and a fun atmosphere. Wine Bars in general tend to have a little bit of a pretentious atmosphere about them and usually don’t serve much more than cheese, fruit and bruchetta and sometimes salads. Pizza places like to serve beer -- if you are lucky you can get a glass of cheap table wine. Coal Vines gives the best of both worlds. And the pizza was fabulous! We split the White Pizza Special which was ricotta, mozzarella, garlic and tomato slices on what was arguably the best crust I have ever eaten. It was thin, crispy on the bottom, with about a ¼ inch of chewy soft texture under all the toppings. The wine selection was equally good, with a variety of prices. The only negative about the experience was the wait -- the hostess told us it would be 30 minutes and after 45 minutes and seeing about 4 tables that were empty we went up and had to ask to be seated. They have patio seating and this is a great place for a casual date or to go with a group. The prices were good - $15 for a large pizza which we split between 4 people.

Guest Post by RJS

Have You Been to a Barnes & Noble, Lately?

Thanks to Blogs Like a Girl for the subject of this post. Details on her blog at bottom of post.
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Do you find the at-the-cash-register upsell as annoying as I do? Next to the at-dinner telemarketing call it ranks high in the common-annoyance meter.

Not long ago, I was at the Best Buy near the Northeast Mall buying batteries. About $4 worth. At the checkout I was first asked my zipcode, no problem, they to like track sales, then I was asked if I would like to sign up for a credit card. I said no. Just the batteries. Finally -- and at this point with others in line behind me and me only buying $4 worth of product -- I'm upset, I was asked if I wanted a free trial subscription to Sports Illustrated, to which, I replied, I wanted the batteries and to talk to a manager. The cashier is doing what he is told to do and often, reluctantly. Most of them don't want the sales job, that's why they are cashiers. He called his manager and I politely registered my complaint and asked him to pass it on. Best Buy is a selling machine and they could care less what I think, but in my view the upsell is short term gain and long term loss and I wanted them to know my view, whether they care or not.

Now, Barnes and Noble is taking it a step further with the donation upsell, guilt included. That's after the, "do you have, want, and yes, you need a Barnes and Noble card."

Which leads me to the Blog Like a Girl post, written by Fort Worth Star Telegram sports writer, Jennifer Floyd Engel. That is her post for the day, the BN holiday upsell. It's well done. Some of the ST reporters have weblogs and they are good, well written -- and people read them.

http://startelegram.typepad.com/blogs_like_a_girl/2007/11/not-sports-so-i.html?cid=89610084#comments

Food and Faith Sunday: John Paul II

This is a chapter from the first encyclical of John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis (The Redeemer of Man), published in 1979. It summarizes a theme heard frequently during his pontifical mission, which may have been his primary theme: love is sacrificial act, as demonstrated in the incarnation and the cross. Man's hope, his very identity, is secured to those realities.
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8. The human dimension of the mystery of the Redemption

Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it. This, as has already been said, is why Christ the Redeemer "fully reveals man to himself". If we may use the expression, this is the human dimension of the mystery of the Redemption. In this dimension man finds again the greatness, dignity and value that belong to his humanity. In the mystery of the Redemption man becomes newly "expressed" and, in a way, is newly created. He is newly created! "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus".
The man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly and not just in accordance with immediate, partial, often superficial, and even illusory standards and measures of his being-he must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ. He must, so to speak, enter into him with all his own self, he must "appropriate" and assimilate the whole of the reality of the Incarnation and Redemption in order to find himself. If this profound process takes place within him, he then bears fruit not only of adoration of God but also of deep wonder at himself. How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he "gained so great a Redeemer, and if God "gave his only Son "in order that man "should not perish but have eternal life". In reality, the name for that deep amazement at man's worth and dignity is the Gospel, that is to say: the Good News. It is also called Christianity. This amazement determines the Church's mission in the world and, perhaps even more so,"in the modern world". This amazement, which is also a conviction and a certitude ---at its deepest root it is the certainty of faith, but in a hidden and mysterious way it vivifies every aspect of authentic humanism ---is closely connected with Christ. It also fixes Christ's place ---so to speak, his particular right of citizenship-in the history of man and mankind. Unceasingly contemplating the whole of Christ's mystery, the Church knows with all the certainty of faith that the Redemption that took place through the Cross has definitively restored his dignity to man and given back meaning to his life in the world, a meaning that was lost to a considerable extent because of sin. And for that reason, the Redemption was accomplished in the paschal mystery, leading through the Cross and death to Resurrection.
The Church's fundamental function in every age and particularly in ours is to direct man's gaze, to point the awareness and experience of the whole of humanity towards the mystery of God, to help all men to be familiar with the profundity of the Redemption taking place in Christ Jesus. At the same time man's deepest sphere is involved -- we mean the sphere of human hearts, consciences and events.

Do You Know FW's Population Ranking?

For the fun of it. Rank the following cities by population. (Note: within city limits, not metro area)

El Paso
Minneapolis
Fort Worth
Seattle
Baltimore

If you get them all right, you're pretty good, because all but one are close. The answers are below. I used the first letter of the city to denote that city, e.g., M= Minneapolis.

Fort Worth ranks 18th in population nationally. Not bad. More interesting to me is that the Dallas and Fort Worth metropolitan area ranks number 4 in population. Ahead of it are -------------- ? That should be pretty easy.

Finally, where does the Fort Worth-Dallas metro area rank in world population? Before or after 25? 50? 75? Do you know the world's largest 3 cities by population?

I'll put those below the city size rankings.

If you get them all right or even most you are a walking Wiki.

Answers:-------------------------------------------------
City population size: FW=18,B=19,EP=21,S=23,M=47
Metro area size: NY=1, LA=2,Chi=3,DFW=4
World's largest metro areas: Tokyo=1, Mexico City=2, New York=3. DFW=53

Dishwasher Talk?

Do you have a dishwasher story? How to load, how not to load. Why some people are dishwasher adverse. Why your visiting mother insists on re-doing your just loaded dishwasher.

If you do, Lisa Davis, a free-lance writer would like to hear from you. Mrs. Davis is writing an article for the FW Star-Telegram and wants your story. If you have a funny story, or just want to express an opinion on "fork tines up or down", email her at: boblisadavis@bellsouth.net

And I, who never lets the truth get in the way of my opinion, will say this about that --- Dishwashers work on a very simple principle: clean, hot, moving water and light soap = clean dishes. There are no elves, no magic potions and no microwaves that mysteriously clean the dishes once the door is closed . . . therefore, and this is the important part, if you don't leave space between the dishes for the water to work, or if you restrain the free flow of said water, the dishwashing will not work. It's that simple, moving water and a little soap and they will be clean. I don't care if the fork tines are in, out, or sideways, if water can't get to them they will not be clean. That's it, I'm done. I'll leave the rest for my email to Mrs. Davis.

Oh . . . she'd like to hear from you by November 12. Thanks.

Hello, police? . . . Is it Urgent? . . . Yea, it's Urgent, . . .Somebody Just Stole My Pot!

A Hidalgo County man is under arrest after he called police to report that his marijuana had been stolen by two masked gunmen. Yes, you read that right, all 150 pounds of it.

Sheriff Lupe Trevino seemed to question the man's intelligence: "The guy walked right up and said the drugs were his. That's not the smartest move."

The man has been charged with felony possession of marijuana. Because he is an illegal immigrant the man will be held until trial, authorities said.

-- Lance Murray

From: http://startelegram.typepad.com/crime_time/

An Easy to Make Home-made Pizza?

I know I can drone on annoyingly about newspapers other than our own that I enjoy, but the recipe in the NYTimes "Dine In" section of today's NYTimes looks doable, because it addresses the problem I have with home-made pizza, i.e., the dough is like a biscuit. With this recipe you get crispy pizza by cooking it on a frying pan. Why didn't I think of that? I suggest cast iron. Small, crispy, and easy to clean up. What more can you ask for? The complete recipe is at the following site: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/dining/07mini.html?ref=todayspaper

This Week: Two Festivals Worth Attending

Greek Festival

Forty Years of practice makes the food at the Greek Festival worth tasting.
November 9 -- 11.
St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
2020 N.W. 21st Street, Fort Worth, Texas
http://www.fortworthgreekfestival.com/

Film Festival

Downtown Fort Worth will be home to the first Lone Star International Film Festival. November 7-11
The Lone Star Film Society will showcase approximately 60 films on 6 screens all located within walking distance of each other in Sundance Square.
http://www.lsiff.com/

And the Rhino Takes a Commanding Lead

The Rhinocerous has taken a significant lead in the "who Wins the Fight" poll and I think rightly so. The Rhino is strong, quick, and has the dreaded spear tuft at the end of his snout. I do not think the King Cobra's fangs could pierce his armor-like skin. The Rhino is more fast-footed than the hippo and elephant and unless the bear or lion were smart enough get on top and attempt to harm him under his neck I think they are too small.
Facts:
10 feet long, 5 feet high
3-5,000 pounds
Skin 1 cm thick
Rhino is greek for nose

Run-off Election for Best Burger . . .

We have narrowed the field of great hamburgers down to 3: Kinkaids, Tommys and Freds. I have closed the poll on the general election.

The Next Runoff will be Mexican Restaurants.

Is it Heredity, Choice or Environment?

I lose things.

Pretty much anything and everything, from reading glasses to sunglasses, keys, wallets, rings, watches, clothes, books, pillows, you name it, I have lost it. I lost my car for a day. I even left my wife at a rest stop on the freeway (more on that later).

This is not something for which to be proud, if there were a 12 step program for "losers" I would humbly attend. Unlike other congenital diseases I can blame no one but myself. I have been smart enough to support myself, wife and four kids so it's not like I'm that intellectually challenged.

Part of it may be that we have much stuff to remember. Just to get out of the house every morning one has keys, wallets, money, phone, folders, books, and PDA's . . . plus doors to lock, alarms to set, heat or a/c adjustments; then there are the things in the wallet one must never forget, insurance and license renewals; not to mention the two renewals on the car itself, registration and inspection, which I never remember. Add that to multiple birthdays, anniversarys, holidays, meetings, practices, recitals, IRS forms, and there is no wonder I forget things. It's just too damned much.

I could take the academics excuse, that the contemplatation of the important things like existence itself and its meaning, are the true things to remember. But, I am not an academic. I just don't remember where I put the keys or parked the car, where I lay my glasses down last, or put the book I was reading.

And leaving my wife at the reststop?

Long before we had children, my wife and I had a full size van, with the two back seats taken out so that on long trips one of us could sleep. We were on such a trip and she was sleeping and I stopped at a freeway reststop to use the men's room. When I was in said mens room, she awoke and went into the ladies room, I returned, and like a bad I Love Lucy episode, took off without her. Before cellphones or pagers. But we did have CB radio. And yes, I was alerted via CB radio that I had forgotten something --- with some very funny comments by the truck drivers who relayed the message my "left-behind" wife had given them.

Food and Faith Sunday

Gospel Reading for November 4, 2007. Luke 19: 1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost."

A Film Festival: Nov. 7, Downtown

The following post is the press release from the Lone Star Film Society. Congratulations and good luck to the organizers. Just another reason, "you gotta love Fort Worth."

This November, downtown Fort Worth will be home to the first Lone Star International Film Festival. On November 7-11, the Lone Star Film Society, will showcase approximately 60 films on 6 screens all located within walking distance of each other in Sundance Square. Bill Paxton, star of the HBO series Big Love and Fort Worth native will be attending the festival as chairman of the Advisory Board. The Grammy Award-winning band Brave Combo will play at The Opening Night Party at McDavid Studio. The festival schedule is packed with movie premieres, panel discussions, questions and answer sessions with filmmakers, and red carpet events. Films will be celebrated on Sunday morning with a closing day Awards Brunch at the Worthington Hotel. A full list of film can be found online at LSIFF.com.

For more information check us out on the web at LSIFF.com.

Scheduled Celebrity Appearances

Bill Paxton

Robert Rodriguez

Keith Carradine

Xander Berkeley

Kadeem Hardison

T Bone Burnett

Fred Durst

Steve-O

Jeff Tremaine

Jason 'Wee Man' Acuña

Harry Dean Stanton

Venues:

AMC Sundance

AMC Palace

Four Day Weekend Theater

UTA Fort Worth Campus

Fort Worth Public Library

McDavid Studio/Bass Hall Annex

8.0 Restaurant and Bar

Club Embargo

Last Call for a "Best of" Burger Suggestion . . .

The run-off for the Best of Fort Worth hamburger will begin November 5, 2007. There will be 3 candidates: Kinkaid's, Tommy's, and one other. So far, we have had suggested Star Cafe, Charley's, Fred's, Dutch's and Love Shack. Make a case for the third position and it could be included. Thank you.