Dallas,TX

If you’re looking for something to do during the week - and these days inside activities are preferable, go to Main Event for a bowling outing. With a location in Plano on Central Expwy. and another on Stemmons in Lewisville, one or the other location is convenient to many parts of the Dallas area. If you are not in the mood for bowling, laser tag, glow golf, and video games are options. Or just play pool and enjoy happy hour. Or just enjoy happy hour and some people watching.

Wednesday night is Family and Friends Night with special prices for groups which include bowling, shoe rental, pizza and soft drinks. Added options at special prices are available. If you want something other than soft drinks, you can order from the bar. Take your family or get a few friends to go after work to wind down. Main Event also has adult party packages for larger groups of ten to twenty or more. A good idea for employee parties or a get together with a bunch of friends. Main Event is also an ideal place for a fun date of bowling and pizza.

Main Event, Lewisville, 2070 Stemmons Frwy, 972-459-7770.
Plano, 3941 N. Central Expwy., 972-881-8181. Sun. - Thurs. 11 a.m. to midnight, Fri. 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Sat. 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Have a good afternoon and Peace be with you.

If you are in the Dallas area this morning and have to get out, be careful. If you do not have to get out, I would hang around indoors this morning. It was raining most of the night in some areas, particularly to the east. Power is out in a few places. There is flooding in southeast. Which means there are wrecks and other vehicle obstructions causing traffic to move slower. Where it is flooding, nightmarish traffic problems are a given.

One problem with living where it is hot and dry most of the time is that people lose all driving sensibility in inclement weather. A little rain and they act as though there is an inch of ice on the road. If there is snow or ice (we never get much) a lot of drivers lose it altogether. Caution is one thing. Panic is another. The wrecks are more often caused by drivers who slow down or stop without warning, drift between lanes, and ignore what is going on around them.

If you have to get out and drive, be cautious but not overly careful. Pay attention to what is going on around you - just in case someone else is not. Watch for school zones and children. And please save those little tasks that take away from your driving until stopping at lights, or just wait to get where you are going. You make have to return a call on your cell phone later, rather than answer the call immediately, but at least you won’t be calling back or text messaging from a hospital bed.

Check back for activities for the week and weekend - among other things.

Have a good morning and Peace be with you.

As one would figure, a short week follows a long weekend. Now there are four days in which to cram five days of activities. Regular schedules will have one day less to become habits before the two days during which they change - sometimes drastically. Fortunately, there is not another holiday until Thanksgiving. My apologies to those without children for whom work holidays are blessings. I am quite jealous. Many of the shows I suggest and/or recommend I would very much like to see myself. Some of the acts I have seen before and some venues I have visited, but am not able to see or visit at this time in my life. If you attend shows I mention, please comment on the day’s post after the show and let me know what you thought.

There will be much activity this week and a variety of news that is worth mentioning. And I will try to mention as much of what is worth mentioning as possible. Each week brings new possibilities for a blogger. A chance to cover a subject more thoroughly, cover another subject not previously covered, cover more news, or simply post more often.

Join me as I discover what is coming just before you do. Another week to try new things, repeat what has come before, and increase frequency. It should be interesting.

Have a good morning and Peace be with you.

As we sit here in Dallas waiting for the 60% chance of rain we are supposed to get sometime after noon, chilling out on the Labor Day holiday, it is time to look forward to the rest of the week. Check back for events, activities, and news. Wake up, have a cup of coffee or three, or whatever gets you going in the morning, and have a great day. I’ll post again later - after I’ve had a little more coffee.

Have a good day and Peace be with you.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend and has barbeque plans for tomorrow. I fixed fajitas on the grill this afternoon. Really tasty, if I do say so myself. No telling what we will grill tomorrow. I know some of my fellow bloggers are taking the weekend off, but I can only allow myself leeway as to what time I post each day on weekends and holidays. A habit is, after all, a habit. With Sunday starting early with church activities - which increase beginning with this next Sunday - it is the one day of the week when I have little control over what happens when.

But this afternoon was more about getting ready to grill the fajitas and keeping the teenagers from hurting each other. Or breaking anything in the house. There was a brief respite while we were eating dinner - even then there were moments of derision. After dinner, all cooperation ceased. Then it was “every man for himself and tick our parents off.”

There will be more posts, particularly tomorrow, but if you are looking for something relaxing to do tomorrow night, have a cup of coffee, tea, a glass of wine, or other beverage at my favorite coffee house, Dunn Bros Coffee, in Addison. Jason Bennett plays acoustic jazz beginning at 7 p.m. 3725 Beltline Rd. (Northeast corner of Beltline Rd. at Marsh Ln.) 972-406-9711.

Have a good evening and Peace be with you.

Saturday morning on a long weekend is certainly not the day to wake up with a headache. One of those tricky little suckers that trick you into thinking the headache is slowly fading. Then, without warning, returns to pounding intensity within seconds. An angry son slamming drawers in the kitchen does nothing to help. The kind of headache that leaves you feeling drained when it finally subsides from just trying to fight the darned thing. It helped to go out to get gas in the car and find that the weather had cooled down a bit and was actually quite pleasant for a change. Thank God September is here.

If you listen to KHYI, 95.3 much, you have heard of Brian “Beerman” Houser. If you haven’t, check it out. And if you have not seen Brian Houser, check him out tonight as well. Houser is a singer/songwriter in the country vein for the common man. He is a common man himself, having grown in up in common surroundings. Houser is a carpenter by trade, residing in Denton.

While you are listening to the show, don’t forget to check out the much varied menu. Love and War in Texas is known for its food as much as for its entertainment. An evening of down home songs for the workingman, a laid back good time and some really good food.

Brian “Beerman” Houser @ 7:30 - Love and War in Texas, Plano, 601 E. Plano Pkwy (just off Central Expwy.), 972-422-6201.

Have a good day and Peace be with you.

The Smothers Brothers are appearing tonight and Saturday night with the Dallas Symphony. If you have not yet enjoyed their performance, you need to make an effort to see them this time through - and support the Dallas Symphony at the same time. If you have never seen the sibling duo you will find their routine humorous and relevant. Which it should be. The duo has had almost fifty years to get it down to a science - so to speak. Yet it always seems new and fresh.

In the Smothers Brothers show, the audience will hear no foul language. They will simply be treated with delightful music and down to earth humor. Tommy’s Yo-Yo Man routine is unforgettable. And yes, he really is good with a Yo-Yo. All that and the symphony to boot. A nice relaxing evening listening to marvelous music while being treated to some true family humor from the two brothers.

Smothers Brothers w/Dallas Symphony, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora, Dallas. 214-692-0203

Have a good morning and Peace be with you.

Celebrating 50 years of the Mesquite Championship Rodeo, those that bring in the ad from the Dallas Morning News or drive a Dodge to the rodeo on Friday and Saturday will receive free parking and free reserved grandstand admission. Talk about a cheap date or outing with the family! And if you go Saturday, be sure to register for the contest. If the cowboy successfully rides the bull in the Dodge Fan Bull Ride Challenge, a lucky winner could receive $10,000. If he gets bucked off Southwest Airlines will still give away tickets.

That does not even include the rodeo itself. There are over ten events in the rodeo. Among those events are Cowboy Poker, Cowgirl Barrel Racing, and of course, Bull Riding. In Cowboy Poker, four cowboys sit and play poker at a table in the middle of the arena while they let a bull into the arena. The last cowboy sitting in his chair wins. It can be humorous even while being quite dangerous. The precision of the barrel racing and the dangerous athletic challenge of bull riding can keep you on the edge of your seat. Our family and other friends have not been disappointed. There are even events in which the younger children can participate, including the Calf Scramble and Mutton Bustin’. Ask at the rodeo for how to register your children.

Mesquite Championship Rodeo, Resistol Arena, 1818 Rodeo Drive, Mesquite (I-635 @ Military Pkwy - Exit #4). 972-285-8777. Gates open at 6:30 p.m., rodeo from 8-10 p.m. both Fri. and Sat. nights.

Have a good afternoon and Peace be with you.

Good morning everyone! As school gets underway here in the Dallas area, the first weekend during school is a holiday. There will be a lot happening this weekend. The weather is cooling down a bit - last night I ran some errands in the early evening and it was almost downright pleasant. The rain we are getting off and on along with the cold front that’s moving in should make it a nice weekend. The term cold front sounds great, but is a little misleading - it may cool off, but at the end of August and beginning of September in Texas it will never be cold.

With all that will be happening this weekend, I will be posting frequently. Be sure to check back for more information, events, and activities. And if you have children going to school with cell phones, be sure to tell them they need to have it turned off during school. Not only is that school policy, but there is always a chance they will get a call from a wrong number, or accidentally call someone. I spent a minute earlier listening to my youngest son’s teacher giving the lesson while I whispered to him to turn his phone off and then hung up.

My apologies for being a bit late with my first post - small computer glitch.

Have a good morning and Peace be with you.

Due to the horrid and unrelenting weather this year, the pumpkin patches will have slim pickings as Halloween approaches. The pumpkins that survived are smaller than usual. I imagine a lot of people will be satisfied with what is available. I know a few people though whose goal is to have the biggest pumpkin. It will take them more work this year than they ordinarily plan to put into the task.

Our boys are growing up and pumpkins bring thoughts of pumpkin pie and the upcoming candy surge. When they were younger, Cyndy and I enjoyed taking them - or going with their group or class - to a pumpkin patch. All the children would scramble for the pumpkins like squirrels gathering nuts. Looking for the one that was just right - for whatever reason. Parents watching their children’s joyous faces with the look of satisfied conquest as they hauled their bounty back to the bus.

Hopefully, there will be enough pumpkins to go around this season. A disappointed look on a child is one of life’s saddest pictures. The children should still be able to choose the “right” pumpkin this year, even if they have to lower their standards a bit. But the biggest pumpkin will be an elusive bugger. Maybe the Great Pumpkin will appear this year to make up for it and Linus can finally rest easy.

Have a good morning and Peace be with you.

Since my office is at home, I am ecstatic to see our three boys go back to school tomorrow. I will take time here to remind you that school zones will be back in effect tomorrow so drive carefully and watch for children. Not only is it the right and safe thing to do, but the fines are horrific if you are caught speeding in a school zone. But, nevertheless, I will be happy to take my boys to school - leaving me with time to work in solitude.

Which means I will have chance to change my posts up a bit or just add to what I am already doing. Let me know what kind of posts you would like to see and I will do my best to oblige. I have several other projects I am working on so there should be plenty of variety. I would like to delve into other facets of life in and around Dallas. Even if you are just browsing through blogs, feel free to leave a comment about what might get you to check back. If you live in or around Dallas, share any comments you may have about life in Dallas.

Tomorrow is the start of a new week, a new school year, new projects, new posts, and new goals to be reached. True there will be traffic to contend with, people with cell phones oblivious to all else (especially their speed), traffic lights that do not work or change too quickly. But there may also be the friendly soul who will let you in the next lane when your lane ends unexpectedly. The smile and kind parting words that do not sound forced from a store clerk. The person who answers your questions and even makes helpful suggestions without going on about it. Look for the good among the bad. It is there, but sometimes it is as hard to find as Waldo (the guy with the red and white striped shirt in a sea of red and white strips of all ilk). Look for it anyway. It takes your mind off the drudgery and feels really good when you find it.

Have a good day and Peace be with you.

Pardon me for not posting earlier. I woke up with an annoying headache and have spent the day battling the pain and teenagers at the same time. A trip to the store made it obvious that people are out shopping on the last weekend before school begins on Monday. The parking lots of all the local outlet and discount clothing stores are jammed with heavy traffic. I would not want to go near a mall today. Or a Super Walmart or Target or the like. If I should have to go for some reason, I very much appreciate self check-out aisles.

While we are indeed in the dog days of summer - which is especially true in Texas - weather like we are having today fascinates me. Driving around in hot, humid weather with the sun shining forcefully upon the land and its occupants. When rain drops begin to hit the windshield. There is no sense at all of the light rain cooling anything off. What usually is a sign of relief was just a teasing drizzle. Driving through neighborhoods that show signs of having experienced a good shower. Pulling into our driveway where it is still dryer than burnt toast.

A good weekend for going to the movies - with the family, with a date, or just by yourself. With the movie complexes these days, letting the children see one movie will you and your spouse watches another one is always a possibility. Check out Cinemark online where you can check out movies and times as well as purchase tickets. They also have a variety of theater possibilities with varying prices.

Check back later for other weekend activities, info, or news. Have a good day and Peace be with you.

Take the family to Six Flags this evening for some good Christian rock music with Kutless, Skillet, and Grits. Kutless and Skillet are two of the most popular bands at Christian music showcases such as Celebration Freedom promoted by 94.9 KLTY at Southfork each year. They also appear at Christian music showcases throughout the country. The shows tonight and tomorrow night are part of Six Flags’ One Voice Christian Concert series.

Tomorrow night, Leeland and Chris Tomlin perform. Chris Tomlin is an excellent entertainer as well as faith ambassador. It will be a very entertaining show. Both shows will be spiritually uplifting, from which you will leave in a spirit of peace and harmony or just plain feel good. Tickets for the shows are just $8 over the park admission price. They are available at the front gate or from Ticketmaster.

Six Flags Over Texas, 2201 Road to Six Flags (off Hwy 360 just south of I-30), 817-640-8900. Park hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days.

Have a good weekend and Peace be with you.

The House Of Blues in Dallas has some interesting shows this weekend. Not that all their shows are not interesting in one way or another, this weekend they have some established artists playing blues and the beginning of heavy metal.

Friday night, hang out in the restaurant and listen to Anson Funderburgh with his “less is more” style of blues guitar. Anson has put on a good show for years and blues for dinner is a nice way to start an evening.

Saturday night, Deep Purple makes an appearance. Unlike the “dinosaur” acts - those bands who play long after they should retire since there is only one or two original members - Deep Purple sounds as fresh as they did when I saw them in the seventies. All members have either been a part of the band or played with the band over the years. Deep Purple was the beginning of heavy metal even though they shy away from the distinction. Mostly because they are more versatile than the heavy metal bands that followed them. Enjoy new songs mixed in the old standards such as Smoke on the Water.

Sunday brings a powerhouse group of blues musicians celebrating the blues of Jimmy Reed. Jimmie Vaughan is joined with Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds), Omar Kent Dykes (Omar and the Howlers), and Lou Ann Barton. Of the three shows, I am going to do my best to catch this one - even if I have to stand for a while. These blues performers have played so many times together, they do not even need to rehearse. They do rehearse though, just to play some more blues. A maximum helping of down home blues.

House of Blues, Victory Park 2200 North Lamar Street, 214-978-BLUE.

Have a good day and Peace be with you.

The rodeo is always a good time. In between animals to watch you can watch the people. There are all kinds of people at the rodeo. But the real action is on the arena floor. With events like bareback riding, bull riding, chuck wagon races, cowboy poker, there is something for everyone. If none of those float your boat, there is also cowgirl barrel racing, team roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, and tie-down roping. Plenty of fine looking animals and fearless cowboys and pretty cowgirls. Personally I like them all. As they say, variety is the spice of life - and makes for an enjoyable rodeo.

There are even events for the children. When give the call for the Calf Scramble, the children go down to the arena and gather. At a given signal, they try to catch a couple of calves. When you let your child participate, remember that the rodeo assumes no responsibility for injury.

Smaller children, 4 and older, but 55 lbs. and under, can sign up on Friday and Saturday night for Mutton Bustin’. Eight children are randomly drawn to participate in the actual rodeo and ride a sheep. All eight participants receive prizes with the winner receiving a special prize. Parents are required to sign waivers. Mutton Bustin’ is how they begin to train future bull riders. It also looks like a lot of fun for the children.

The Mesquite Championship Rodeo has shows every Friday and Saturday night from April to September. This year’s season began on April 6 and will end Sept. 29. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. The rodeo is from 8-10 p.m. The rodeo is held at Resistol Arena, Interstate 635 at Military Parkway in Mesquite. Box Seats are $14 - $30; reserved grandstand seats $12, $7 for ages 59 and over and ages 3-12. $5 for parking. 972-285-8777.

Have a good weekend and Peace be with you.