Ride back through time

Early morning at MacDonald's .. Collins and IH 20, in Arlington.. A quick
coffee, short visit with a couple of Antique Car clubbers and we were on the
road..

No destination in mind, just a nice little ride during the coolest part of
the day.. My friend grew up in this area and we took some of the back roads
to Midlothian, then looped back around to run through Mansfield, etc.

We'd grabbed breakfast in a small town restaurant and rode over to Venus..
Parked under a couple of nice shade trees on the square while we discussed
the old buildings and reminisced about the old line companies who once
occupied them.. Quite a contrast in the city square.. on the one side .. the
old buildings and the other side of the square were the more modern
buildings which have been the replacements..

Keep in mind that me and the pardner were just riding and getting out for a
few miles to enjoy the coolest part of the day..

Noticeably, the old Mansfield Kowbell Arena is gone.. hmmmm.. That one sure
brings back some memories.. In it's place is a modern school or something
that is under construction.. Couldn't even smell a trace of the old arena,
anymore.. All gone, now..

We ran over to Kennedale, where my friend spent a goodly portion of his
years, growing up.. The home where he was raised is still there and looks to
be in good shape.. The slaughterhouse he remembers is gone, of course..
just a vacant area alongside the highway..

He shared a few of the memories of his younger years and we got some
chuckles .. although, I believe I detected some sadness about all the
changes that we'd observed in the area..

This little ride back through time was rewarding to me.. having known this
area, myself.. in those days.. I'll thank my friend for sharing this ride
with me.. Taking a few steps back, sometimes .. is a good thing.. Regards

Bill Walker
Irving

 

(Bill Walker)
Early morning at MacDonald's .. Collins and IH 20, in Arlington.. A
quick coffee, short visit with a couple of Antique Car clubbers and we
were on the road..
No destination in mind, just a nice little ride during the coolest part
of the day.. My friend grew up in this area and we took some of the back
roads to Midlothian, then looped back around to run through Mansfield,
etc.
================================

That is my kind of riding, actually. I like the long hauls, but the
short ones around my area here, are so much fun and pleasure.
~We like going over to Jefferson, Marshall, or Nashville,Ar. area. And
certainly somewhat longer trips going to Mena, Pettit Jean mtn,Hot
Springs and to the historical town,Natchitoches.La.
Like you all did, it is fun to stop and smell the roses, so to speak.
~All the little ole towns around your area, and around here, or unique
and interesting. Jefferson, in my area, is probably the one that has
more quaint history. It could have been Ft.Worth, if they'd accepted the
Rail Road connection in the late 1880's I've read.
~Thanks Bill, I enjoyed reading your report. Nice to share MC stuff on
here.
~Our next family ride will be the open rally in Hot Springs Sept
15,16th. Last year it was a H.O.G. event. I might have been among the
only 50 Metrics there, heh-heh.
This year, my SOL, KB, will be in the minority riding his Harley, maybe.
Pay Back. (smile) BJK.

'Ya'll take care'' --BJAY--

 

Noticeably, the old Mansfield Kowbell Arena is gone.. hmmmm.. That onebrings back some memories.. In it's place is a modern school or something
that is under construction.. Couldn't even smell a trace of the old arena,
anymore.. All gone, now.. <SNIP> .. although, I believe I detected some
sadness about all the
changes that we'd observed in the area.. <<


Having grown up in Ft. Worth, I'm familiar with all of the places you
mention Bill. I left Ft. Worth in 1965 when I got out of High School. I came
back 17 years later and only stayed 3 years. In just those 17 years
everything seemed to have changed. It was sad to see places boarded up or
out of business that I had frequented as a teenager. The saddest though was
my own neighborhood. It was never a great place as it was on the "other side
of the tracks" but it had morphed into a REALLY bad area by the early 80's.
The whole side of town I lived on (south side near Hemphill) seemed to have
become that way. About the only thing that didn't change were the high
school buddies that stayed in town. Funny how those that left town, either
out of choice or at Uncle Sam's request, had moved on with their lives and
changed. In my case, I found that I could not go back to the home I
remembered.

Sometimes change can be a good thing. Fort Worth and how it's viewed by the
rest of Texas is a case in point.I have folks tell me quite often when they
find that I'm from Ft. Worth that it's such a wonderful place and they would
like to live there. They'll go on and on about the quaint downtown area and
how much there is to do in the stock yards area, etc. It was an okay place
to grow up in but my memories of the town (at least my side of town) are of
cantinas and steel mills. The stock yards weren't some tourist trap, they
were real, working stock yards that stunk up the whole darn town when we'd
get a north wind. I don't think I'll ever get that smell out of my mind. As
to downtown, it was a nice place when I was really young. That's where
everybody did their shopping. Then came the first shopping malls in the
early 60's and down she went. Just a few years later, downtown was run down
and full of winos and flop houses. The renaissance that hit the abandoned
stock yards and the downtown area after I left was a big plus. I can see why
folks think of the town as almost a jewel of Texas cities now.

And now for some obligatory MC content. I have a vivid memory of going down
on my Triumph Tiger Cub in the middle of a turn on North Main. Those knobby
tires just didn't like those rain slick, brick streets! Those brick streets
may look nice but they suck when they're wet.
__________________________
Mick McHam Houston, TX
'01 ST1100 ABS, STOC# 1134
'00 VFR800FI
http://www.hal-pc.org/~mmcham

 

<chuckle> Yessir.. Those earlier years of "our" Ft.Worth were well worth
remembering.. The mixture of smells coming from those filled stock pens and
the nearby slaughter houses were thick enough to cut with a knife..

The romantic creations that we see, nowadays.. cannot describe the actual
experiences ..

Our ride this past weekend didn't encompass the downtown and stockyard
areas.. We didn't try to accumulate a lot of miles on our motorcycles.. We
just meandered around to the places where we'd spent some time.. My friend
grew up in the areas where we rode.. His memories brought back some of my
earlier recollections .. Some of them, I'd not even thought about for
years..

Everything changes and some of those changes are not for the best, in my
opinion.. Seems that we've lost a good deal of what is important in the
development of character in our younger ones..

The friend that I rode with last Saturday is a very good example.. He came
from humble beginnings and worked his way through life.. The integrity of
his word is the only bond that he needs..

The ride, last Saturday.. was truly, a ride back through time.. Didn't cover
many miles, but there was an element of discovery for me..

Yup.. I think we should all take the time to do a ride such as this one, now
and then.. Regards, Mick

Bill Walker
Irving