I was in Dallas for 21:15 .. I couldn't get out soon enough!

[DemoTex]

Drove out for a check-up with my B/P doc. I pulled into the old 'hood (Northern Hills, which touches Highland Park on the southeast side) late yesterday afternoon for a look-see. It's crazy. Highland Park is crazy. All the old houses are gone. Many new houses are gone. The swankiendas rule. A fucking tear-down on my street is $1.5 million!

Then I drove up Preston by the Highland Park Village. What a mistake! Preston is torn up. Mockingbird is totally closed at Preston. There is NO warning! It took me 35 minutes to get through that area.

I pulled into Vintage Car-wash for an exterior-only after the 1000+ drive from the east coast. The Vintage Car-wash still has their fancy 10-point mission statement on the wall. But not one of those 10 points says anything about giving you a clean fucking car.

The Vintage Car Wash is a big Highland Park High School rooter. Composite photos of all the teams, bands, and cheer-squads are posted in the most conspicuous places. Golf, tennis, football, basketball, cheerleaders, pep-squad, and band .. and not one colored face! Not one this year!

I pulled out of the car-wash in my clean-machine (they really do a good job), and turned up Preston. Two blocks later I was in utility construction hell again. That lasted almost to NW Hi-way.

So I cut across to the Central and found a cheap La Quinta near the Presbyterian Hospital complex. Ventured out for a bite at the Cafe Express (what a great concept!) on McKinney and back to the motel for a good night sleep.

Saw the doc at 9:30. He stuck his finger up my arse at 10:58. That is always, with a lame joke from him, the end of the physical. Today I told him I drove 1000 miles for that finger (I think he missed the humor).

My last stop in Dallas was at The Stewpot. That is the homeless facility where I did volunteer work for many years. I saw my dear friend Rev. Bruce Buchanan, the director of The Stewpot, and talked about the status of the homeless in Dallas. When I left Dallas in 2004 The Stewpot was serving lunch only (weekdays only) and a big day might have been 400 served. Now The Stewpot serves three meals a day seven days a week. Bruce said they average 2500 meals served a day. Needless to say, he and his staff are elated over Obama's election.

I hit I-20 eastbound shortly after noon. I'm in Vicksburg, Mississippi, now. More from this road trip tomorrow.

Mac

[Inexpensive Wino]

1. Vintage Car Wash

The #1 seller of Revo shades in the US.

The Elvis Room, with 2 or 3 shine guys.

Ain't no place like it, anywhere.

Wino

[DemoTex]

9. Well, the Cactus Car Wash in Atlanta is better!

Wood-burning fireplace, computers, good coffee, etc.! But you must be talking about the Vintage Car Wash on Royal in Dallas. No? There is no shoeshine room in the H-P (Preston) location. But I'm glad to meet a fellow connoisseur. And welcome to DU!

[Inexpensive Wino]

19. That's it, the one by SMU.

Down (up?) Royal from SMU.

Glad to be here, Mac.

Wino

[NMDemDist2]

16. Welcome to DU!!

:hi:

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Drive safely!

:hi:

[DemoTex]

4. Thanks G.A.O.T.!

Long time no see!

:hi:

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. I've been around.....

This gray shadow head that follows me keeps me busy.

:hi:

[tosh]

3. Looking forward to the next installment, Demotex.

[DemoTex]

7. Thanks, tosh .. did you see installment #1 from Oxford, Mississippi (with pics!)?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4476412

[tosh]

22. Thanks back to you - I had missed that one.

Worthwhile discussion over there.

[madrchsod]

5. mississippi is a beautiful state

.are you two laning or the interstate?

[DemoTex]

11. Both. I'm hitting the Natchez Trace Parkway tomorrow.

Can't beat that!

[patrice]

6. Excellent! I'll be watching for you DemoTex. Thanks in advance. nt

[arcadian]

10. Bush is supposed to be moving to Preston Hollow.

Do you know that area?

[Scooter24]

14. Preston Hollow is home to many of the area's billionaires.

Huge estates that go up to 50,000+ sq. ft. are found there. Recently, a $45 million home under construction went up in flames. Property values are around $2 million to $40 million+ I would estimate. Average income is greater than $1.5 million a year.

Makes my 7500 sq ft. look tiny in comparison.

[DemoTex]

17. Wasn't the $45-mil flamer on Straight Lane near Ross Perot?

I remember seeing helicopter shots of the fire.

[DemoTex]

15. I know it well. I think that is where Bu$h lived when he was baseballin'.

My contacts tell me Laura will live alone in Highland Park near Euclid and Highland (which is very near where Dick Cheney lived when with Halliburton). Bu$h might keep the pig farm in Crawford. We shall see what we shall see .. eh?

[Aristus]

12. I was born and raised in Texas, Mac, and I don't think I ever spent more than a day

or two in Dallas. Did I miss much?

Hope you are well, my friend. Drive safe... :hi::patriot:

[DemoTex]

20. You missed nothing, friend! Well .. that's not true.

There is nothing better than a good Texas Democrat. Barbara Jordon comes to mind. And Molly Ivins.

[Scooter24]

13. I live in Highland Park lol

we bought our house a few years ago that was a previous tear-down and got it at a pretty good deal when the owner decided to move to Miami suddenly. The good news is that property values remain high and will get a pretty good price should we decide to sell.

As for construction, well it's something we just deal with but some of the projects should be wrapping up soon.

[DemoTex]

18. Where in H-P?

I was on Cragmont Ave which is just below Armstrong and Abbott. Was I correct in describing the traffic SNAFU at Preston and Mockingbird? WTF?

[Buck Laser]

21. I got two degrees from SMU, late 50s and early 60s.

Later on, my work took me back to dallas in the early 70s. During our occasional passthoughs from the midewest back to Austin, I could see Highland Park and University Park growing more and more plasticky. They were doing teardowns in the cramped neighborhoods near SMU even back in the early 60s.

In 2000, we took a bit more time to look around the SMU neighborhood a bit more carefully. As a country kid in the 50s, I thought the privileged kids looked pretty snooty. They still looked that way in 2000, but they were driving their BMWs, Benzes and Bentleys. I couldn't envision any of my offspring going there.

Finally, when they decided to put the Dubya library there, we wrote to tell them that we'd continue our support for the School of Theology only if they could guarnatee that nothing would go to the Dubya library or the undergrad school. I'm not all that happy about even supporting theology, because they've moved so far away from community organizing toward pietistic religion that I hardly recognize them as the civil rights leaders who were our professors and colleagues.