| Larry Powell: Dallas would need some Olympic fans - the oscillating kind 01/10/2001 By / The Dallas Morning News Good morning, land of long views. What a wonder it was to drive north toward downtown on Interstate 35E about 9 a.m. Tuesday and see the gleaming skyscrapers rising above a brown haze that looked thick enough to gag a buzzard.
Well, no doubt the Dallas haze is a temporary thing – between now and 2012, we'll set up some giant oscillating fans north of town to blow that haze south into a relatively unpopulated area as the city prepares to light the torch for the 2012 Olympics. You'd hate to think that the haze is explosive – one glorious match applied to the giant Olympic Torch surrounded by unknown gases could level the town right there on national television.
Of course, the haze may not be from noxious gases – it may be the residue of all that sand spread on Dallas' streets. That's probably what it is. Flying grit. Maybe a good rain will clear things out.
And, you know, next week Fort Worth, the city now proud to call itself "Cowtown" after years of being in denial, will open its annual Southwestern Livestock Show and Exposition (Jan. 19-Feb. 4).
Each year we in North Texas live under the threat/promise of what's commonly known as "Stock Show Weather" – sometimes a horrendous dousing, sometimes an astonishing icing, always during the stock show.
If Dallas gets a vote on Stock Show Weather, I suspect it'll support "rain" over "ice" and we won't face a recount – nobody wants any frozen chads.
• IN CASE YOU WONDERED – The holidays brought a nice card that had a drawing of a present on the front and the line: "Every year there's always the one you can hardly wait to open."
When you opened the card you were greeted by a photo of the 52-foot tall Midway cowboy Big Tex and this line: "Patience, please. Open Sept. 28, 2001."
Yes, here's your first State Fair clip-and-save of 2001: the State Fair dates are Sept. 28 through Oct. 21.
What's the 2001 theme? Ah, at www.bigtex.com you'll read: "It's still a work-in-progress. Look for an announcement in February or March."
Yep, 2001 and the State Fair of Texas. Out of this world? The future is now? Corny dogs across the centuries? Sorry. Didn't mean to set off a craving.
• FOR YOUR TRAVELING PLEASURE – Maybe you're realizing that it's a while until spring break and you're going to be stuck at home or at least in the county for quite a few weeks.
You can only drive around Dallas so many times without thinking that the city really needs some aggressive "terraforming" – a mountain here, a forest there. Anything but the relentless earth tones of the landscape and the prefab buildings.
So, to help you cope, we'll look at some roadside signs Lorraine Crowe spotted on a trip through Oklahoma and Kansas last summer. Among them:
"Get outta town!" (Perhaps a travel agent's billboard.)
"Cherokee Strip" (If they remove anything, I'm sure it's old paint.)
"Cool Gas and Hot Catfish" (Obviously a business with marketing challenges.)
Also, "Dan-D-Motel" and "See the largest prairie dog in the world" (Hopefully not in your room at the Dan-D.)
"Running Turkey" (Fleeing the world's largest prairie dog?)
"Little Emma Creek" (Don't know if it feeds into Big Emma Lake.)
"Free Bee" (Why anyone would want just one is beyond me) and "Vasectomy Reversal" (Something you might regret during a long, tedious trip with the kids.)
Larry Powell can be reached at 214-977-8487; P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, TX 75265, fax 214-977-8319 or at .
|
