Beckwitt would pick up Khafra from his home in Silver Spring, Maryland, outside of Washington, and require Khafra to wear darkened, blackout glasses that prevented Khafra from seeing where he was being driven to, according to a statement of charges from the Montgomery County District Court.
Beckwitt would lead Khafra to his basement, where Khafra would work on digging the tunnels for days at a time, the document read. The tunnels branched out some 200 feet and two-stories beneath the basement of the house, the document read.
Except for five years of my life, I’ve lived in or near the DFW area yet never have visited the Fort Worth Stockyards. So, since we were meeting some friends for a mid-afternoon lunch at Heim BBQ, I decided it was time to take in the sights with my family. It’s one of those things tourists always flock to but residents have never taken the opportunity to visit.
One of the first things we did was ride horses. WifeGeeding took that photo above and I love it. I look like a manly Texas father figure teaching his daughter about the importance of life as we trot along on our horses. And, I don’t look as chubby as usual. In reality, I’m fat and I don’t know what the heck I’m doing but trying to make my daughter happy. If you look at the photo close enough you can see the trainer between the horses who’s holding the reigns. They do offer a cool option of riding the horses along a Trinity River trail with a guide but without someone walking beside the horse and holding on the reigns, but you have to be at least eleven years of age.
The kids enjoyed trying to make their way through a stockage maze.
And they saw and got to sit atop some longhorn cattle.
When I was a young little Geeding watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve special, they would often cut over to Billy Bob’s Texas, the World’s Largest Honky Tonk. It made an impression on me thinking it had to be a legendary spot and “The” place to go. So, we trotted on over, paid the $2 adult admission (kids get in free), and took advantage of the free line dancing lessons. The girls loved it, but “BoyGeeding” at least put on a brave face.
WifeGeeding couldn’t wait until we got to Heim BBQ to eat and to prevent her from getting hangry I bought her an early lunch. She enjoyed her Fletcher’s corny dog and Apple Orchard a little too much.
On our way to Heim BBQ we passed some sort Monet art installation.
While eating with friends at Heim we spotted TCU head football coach Gary Patterson hosting some recruits. I think I also saw him snap a pic of me eating as well when I wasn’t looking.
Despite what the LiberallyLean guy may tell you, this wasn’t a paid ad for Fort Worth tourism.
We watched last’s night’s ’20/20′ with George Stephanopoulos’ interview with President Trump and I got distracted with how Stephanopoulos tucks the smaller portion of his tie inside his dress shirt. However, I’ve gotten used to Trump and how he keeps his tie too long.
As most folks know, Stephanopoulos used to work in the Clinton White House. During his interview with Trump, I noticed how he would lean on the Resolute Desk for what I thought was a distinguishable amount of time. Sometimes, he’d put more weight on his hands than others. I have nothing to back this up, but I have a feeling that was a bit of muscle memory on his part and what he used to do when he talked to President Clinton in the Oval Office back in the early and mid-Nineties. In my mind, last night former President Clinton watched that interview and chuckled while seeing this and thinking, “Ha, that’s what he used to do me all the time, he hasn’t changed.”
I’ve seen an uptick on stories about deepfakes. That’s when real video and audio is manipulated to make a person do or say something he or she didn’t actually say or do and it’s indistinguishable. I have a feeling deepfakes will become a factor.
Other than the Dobson family, no Texan likes the idea of Whataburger being sold to a Chicago firm. Whataburger will still be Whataburger, but it will now lack a shine. The only thing they can do to make up for it is to sell breakfast all day.
Of all the songs in the musical Hamilton, “It’s Quite Uptown” sticks with me the most. The song describes Alexander Hamilton and his wife Eliza’s grief as they try to accept their son Philip’s death. They describe this process of grief as “The Unimaginable” with lyrics such as: – And learn to live with the unimaginable – They are going through the unimaginable – He is working through the unimaginable No parent should have to bury a child, it’s unimaginable. However, it happens. Today is the sixteenth anniversary of the death of my friend who was to be the best man at my wedding just a week later. I’m thinking of his mother specifically, who had to go through the unimaginable not once but twice. Unimaginable. The woman is the epitome of resilience.
Taking the dogs to the dog park near sunset is a slice of heaven.
Things I never thought I’d say, “I bought a linear actuator.” I didn’t even know what one was until earlier this week. It’s for a DIY project and I have no idea if it will be successful, but that’s the fun, isn’t it? Sometimes the greatest lessons and funniest memories happen during failure.
I’m a big fan of how the Spanish language will put the exclamation point or question mark at the beginning of a sentence. When I take notes at work, they are often like a Bag of Randomness, all in bullet point. However, if I write down a question I need to ask or find an answer to, I’ll use the question mark as a bullet point to easily identify them.
I’ll say this about Sarah Huckabee Sanders, she served her president exceptionally well. In the years ahead, may her legacy of serving President Trump follow her every step ahead.
This story made me think of one of WifeGeeding’s friends whose first job out of college was to nanny for the Perot grandchildren. She lived on the estate in an apartment above the garage, like Fonzie but much fancier, and traveled the world with the family. I heard nothing but great things about the Perots. When she got engaged, they threw her a huge party which we were fortunate to attend and I got to meet Mr. Perot himself. I’m socially awkward as it is, but I never felt more out of my element.
Yesterday the movie trailer for the sequel to The Shining dropped, and while it may not live up to the original, it is entertaining if you’re a fan of the horror classic. I do think they could have come up with a better title for it than Doctor Sleep, which sounds like some villain in a Batman comic.
Marie Kondo has helped me with this. I take a tiny moment to give thanks to it for the joy it has brought and the memories I’ve made with it and then toss it in the donation or future rag pile.
When Pepsi was swapped for Soviet warships
And in an even more eye-opening historic example, back in the 1970s US giant Pepsi traded its soft drink for Soviet tomato paste, so it could enter the USSR market. Pepsi, which owned Pizza Hut at the time, spread the tomato paste across its pizzas in western Europe. It also bartered its fizzy drink for Russian vodka, and even Soviet warships, which it sold on for scrap.
It would have been nice if my air conditioner coils would have gone kaput before I decided to buy Hamilton tickets and stay the night in Austin. I have two units and have replaced two in about fifteen years, so not too bad. I think any owner of an HVAC unit can tell you the first time they were told they needed to replace the coils because initially, it sounds like that’s a cheap and easy thing to fix, then you find out its labor intensive and will cost anywhere between two to four grand.
I’ve probably only shined five pair of shoes or boots in my life. Furthermore, I’ve never had my shoes shined by anyone. Personally, I would find the whole experience of a person shining my shoes while I’m wearing them awkward. There’s nothing wrong with it, I’m simply socially inept.
As of late, I’ve noticed Jeopardy! will show obscure angles of the set going to and from commercial break. Because of this, I noticed that Alex Trebek sits on a stool behind his podium. That got me to wonder how long has he been utilizing a stool and if it’s only been since his cancer treatments.
Many, many moons ago while watching Jeopardy! with my father, I couldn’t stand the part of the show when Trebek would interact and interview the contestants. It seemed he begrudged the small talk, tried to rush it, and come off a bit posh. Now, he seems to enjoy it and takes his time.
Our new pastor has asked me to take part in a youth minister exploratory committee which confirms our new pastor is a bad judge of character.
I remember when the outlet mall in Hillsboro was a big thing. Now, that place is a ghost town. The Walking Dead should consider shooting some shows there.
