Alarms at 5AM on a Saturday?

Oh yes,  Another kitty story.  

I wake up to Millie trying to nibble my arm .... but she's on the wrong side of the bed!  And next I hear my iPad falling on the floor.  And then, oh yes there is more.  And then I hear and see alarms from outside. 

My goodness.  The truck next door has a really really loud truck alarm and all the lights flash too.  It's a big pick-up.  I get up to see if it's just the one truck alarm or if other cars parked in front are screaming along with the truck.  It was like a real light show!  

Anyway, I usually get up at 5am and feed the monsters around 5:20.  BUT this morning, they wanted to make sure I got out of bed!   Not that I'm likely to forget them - Millie gets carried away with her nibbles sometimes.  All their dry food was gone too. 

They are eating me out of house and home.  Then while getting Sam's insulin shot ready, I stepped on a little orange tomato.  Now the funny is, it was in front of the stove so I know I didn't miss it last night.  So how did it escape it's little container?   Maybe a kitty snack in the middle of the night?

All's well in the house now.  Except I can't go back to sleep. 

Cowtown and Cemetery Sat Night Fun

A friend who shall remain nameless as she does not want to be identified with having so much darn fun AND spending more time with a native Texan as those unique Texasisms, slang and twang inch their way into a confirmed Yankee (hey, we all can't be perfect LOL).

I wanted Chuy's or a hamburger.  I did not bring up my favorite all time favorite best of the bunch and should be world famous Fred's Texas Cafe in Fort Worth.  She did - yes, The Yankee.  

'nuff said.  

So off to Ft Worth we go.  She drove because I wanted to have a beer or 2 with my cheeseburger.  Yes, let me be clear - when I say Hamburger I mean Cheeseburger.  Just like when I was growing up.... when I wanted to drink a Dr Pepper, I said I wanted a Coke.  That is normal natural native Texan expectation.  sigh.  this may be a looong story.

So we finally get to Fred's.  Oh yes, there's a story there too.  Waze was not quite fast enough to keep up with the driver so we missed a turn but as I stated at the time - Ft Worth is  little, we can't get lost, I grew up here and it's right over there - see the Montgomery Place that used to be Montgomery Wards where we came to shop as it was down the street from where my dad worked.  Side note :  Dad worked next to the park where there were ducks and ponds.  Now I can't remember for sure if that is the same park where the duck tried to eat my finger - yes, I still have a scar- or not.  But it is the park where we could take cardboard and slide down the hill.  We used to go eat lunch with Dad.  What a treat.

But I digress.  Fred's Texas Cafe.  We got there around 6 right before it got crowded.  We agreed to sit at the only table by the restrooms!  Yes that is really crazy but it is entertaining and we didn't have to wait.  It was too darn hot to be sitting outside.  Besides it is really loud when a band is playing.  Oh my.  I'm not sure what they put in their Cokes but it was sooo good.  And yes, this time I mean a Coca Cola not the the other native Texan drink that I no longer partake of - between the mess up with Dublin and not have real Imperial Pure Cane Sugar and working there - well, let's just leave it at I don't drink it any more.  

By the time the wonderful Fred Burger with cheese and everything and those absolutely wonderful fries came, I forgot about the beer.  Downed another Coke and cleaned my plate just like I learned to do as a little kid.  MMMMmm  good.  

So off we go back to east Texas.   mmmm did I mention how good the Fredburger was?  Somehow we got off on Lancaster (I mean, seriously, between Waze and my directions how did we end up on Lancaster) due to some laughingly funny conversation at the time.  Now, Lancaster St used to be the way we went from Hurst.  My favorite garden center Marshall Grains is there.  But it can be a scary street when you have to drive slowly to avoid all the people walking across the street when they decide they can walk whenever and whereever and at their chosen pace with their pants hanging down below their butts (like I really want to see baggy, dirty underwear - now don't get me wrong, underwear on the right guy is nice).  Oh but I digress again.  

I think this is about the time I realize the doors on this vehicle do not automatically lock like mine.  Scary.   Giggles all over again.  Seriously, only sodas were involved.  

So we go farther down to Shannon Rose Hill Cemetery.  Now, I would expect you to ask why.  Well, I thought I could show her one of the cemeteries I go to when doing family research.  My material great-grandparents are buried there.  And several of their children (my great aunts and uncles) are also buried there.  I've been going there since I was a little kid.  I was relating the family story about how upset some of those great aunts and uncles (they were alive back then) were not happy when Oswald was buried near my great-grandparents.  So we looked for Oswald's grave first.  So even though it was late and sunset was just around the corner we stopped.  So as a spooky kind of Sat night thing that teens are prone to do... we turned in and drove through the gates (now that was funny... big beautiful gates and no corresponding attached fence!).

And we found it.  And found lots of babies buried in same general area - that is so sad because some babies weren't even given a name.  But we couldn't find my great grandparents grave.  On my iPhone, there is a picture I took of my mom when we were there about a year ago and I took the photo with the houses in back so I had a better idea of where they were buried.  But we just could not match it up.  I do know from that time that they are not buried where the office says they should be located (no, I do not believe they got up and walked over to another spot).  

This picture just does not do justice to what I saw.  The sun was reflecting off the headstone and it was so bright - it looked like it was a mirror!  

So since it was getting dark, we left.  Now I'm not afraid of cemeteries at all.  I find them peaceful and interesting.  But I really didn't want to spend the night in one either. 

So off we go heading back to the east and making sure we are locked safely inside the car.  Really, I mean living in the Dallas area and you don't know if your doors are locked or not?  Yikes!  Scary.  

A pit stop at a convenience store (darn, I didn't get the winning Lotto ticket) and we turned back to the cemetery because I forgot to check in on FourSquare and Yelp.  And funnily enough, both sites had Lee Harvey Oswald as a check-in place.  So we checked in.  

Now getting home - that was another story.  Road construction and the most poorly designed detours with even worse temporary signs were a good waste of time.  At least, we only had to enter DFW Airport and make a U turn once.  I can't imagine what it must be like for people unfamiliar with the area.   

Just remember - Fort Worth is where the West begins - and you shouldn't get lost.  And don't forget that I was born in west Texas at the now gone Carswell Air Force Base in Ft Worth.  Best darn thing that happened to that town AND me!!!