Don't Mess with Texas! Or, the day the haters bought a freezer.

Hello Everyone --- especially Carol, who called to worry about my safety -- that's cute,

So, today was the big day for the Haters from Westboro Baptist Church to visit the Community Center and Help raise money for a new freezer.

If you didn't get a chance to read the flyer:

http://www.rcdallas.org/release/wbc-protest-fundraiser.doc

I wouldn't miss it for the world!
Some days, you're determined to do the right thing, but your pre-conceived idea is quite different from what happens . That's OK. write this one down -- it is ALWAYS a good thing to stand up in support of love and justice, and it's NEVER a mistake.

Eveyone knows you're supposed to have signs to take to a demonstration, so I went to the dollar store and got my discount poster board and markers to make my sign -


And here's a video of me going off to protest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDmBdvX0-4U

So I showed up with my totally appropriate protest signs and pink triangle. ....
BUT -
......I got the impression that the People in Dallas might need more direction on the concept of a "Protest" Sign.

Apparently, God does not actually hate everything and everyody (contrary to what my friends from Kansas say) -- some things He just feels very strongly about.

Some people miss the point of a sign.

Here's a Mom who understands.

I don't know what free-loving zombies would look like.

Did anyone tell these girls they were at the wrong rally?

But eventually the haters do show up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGhYmTwC7SY

Don't Mess with Texas!

On their own website, the haters say that one of the things that set them off was a huge civil rights case that came out of Texas in 2003. Lawrence v. Texas basically says that the police may not kick in the bedroom door of consenting adults and arrest them for what they are doing in the privacy of their bedroom -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_v._texas

But there are some things God apparently really hates....

I suppose God has been to Cleveland but I don't know what they did to make him so mad.

Thankfully,

Some people are totally "not clear" on the concept

Or perhaps they are MOST clear that the thing to do with haters is laugh at them -- like Mel Brooks said.

To be fair, some of the signs on their side of the street were also pretty strange:

I think this hater might be dyslexic.

I don't know where he's coming from.

I wonder if this guy grabbed the wrong signs out of the van

Some people were there to make a very important statement:

Some were just trying to figure out why they're hated.

some people are just trying to get through life the best they can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGZaOoxLxVk

I guess this is as good a venue as any to demand justice.

In this bedlam I found one faithful old Catholic nun who arrived all alone with her cane to say the same thing she's said her whole life:

The bad guys just kept waving their same tired old signs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h2pTNV3OMk

Finally, the bad guys went away. Ours was their last stop of the day and they only stayed 20 of their allotted 30 minutes. The head of the family didn't show up in the rain, he sent his grandchildren.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn75Lc_t8c0

Public service announcements notwithstanding.

Yes, we raised money for the darned freezer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75uGKJx3GIk

But you wanna know what was really the most important thing I did all day? The thing that made me glad I went??

I told these two boys how much God loves them......

"Suffer the children to come unto me and forbid them not."

"Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, that you did to me">

And I'm glad I was there to do it!

Peace and Love! Paul

Now is the time

for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country

Am I still here?

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

What a good boy am I

.

Well, I put my little shirt-n-tie on like the good boy God knows I am and I went to another networking lunch. Everyone was very nice. ... it just feels like walking into High School.... " Hi, I'm the new guy." The thing is that I have to meet someone who knows someone who will help me.

Stupid Cat

So, there's this stupid CAT



And after a week, I decided to give the cat a pet. Which makes the cat think that she can now be my friend and do things like come into my room ---- -





Wich, apparently is what she used to do before I paid the rent. But, the last thing I need is a friend whose hair is wilder than mine and who looks like the wild cat of Borneo.





And sitting outside my door at 5:00 am screaming my name is no way to think you're going to change your mind.... neither is making a dash to jump on my bed just because I opened the door. I got better things to do with my time than befriend a Mad-Cat who lost part of her tail when she was a kitten.

Guess I had a good week

On Sat. morning, I met found a group through MeetUp.Com of professional networkers. They meet at a pizza place in North Dallas to interface and socialize. People my age - from every profession.
It was very hard to walk in not knowing anyone and inroduce myself --- like the new kid in 10th grade. But they were very nice and welcoming.
They invited me to join them for Drag Queen Bingo Sat. night. It was a ball! I won $60 It's THE event in Dallas. There are about 600 in the hall (the Bar is Open.) By the end of bingo few people are really playing bingo anymore. It was totally fun to go out with new friends.

Sunday I found a United Church of Christ in N. Dallas. It's a large church. About 800 in the congregation. Formal. Liberal. Protestant. It was nice. It's "High Churh".

This church has "career transition ministry" on Monday morning. A career counselor leads a discussin and networking group at noon. They were very nice and helpful. I got some good ideas about hot to proceed.

I'm very sure that I'm going to meet someone soon who will introduce me to the person who will open the door for me.

I know who done it.

I had a great day at Dealey Plaza. I took these pics.



I went to talk to the guys who've been selling conspiracy theory for most of their adult lives. They're fun.



I need to know which tour companies take tourists down there regularly. The guys were very nice and helpful. One of the usuals is called "Ultimate Adventures"... AND




a group showed up while I was there, so I listened to their guide. PPPPttthhh. I can do that in my sleep.



Also talked to the guys in the 6th floor museum. Again, downright friendly. They gave me the guy to contact who organizes school tours. Duh.



Furthermore, the Dallas Visitors and Conventions Bureau is in the same neighborhood. I have friend in Phoenix CVB



There is a brand new company that does Segway Tours of Central Dallas --- including the Dallas Holocaust Museum. I can do that.



I got my job at Open Road by cold calling. All I can do is try here.



By the way, I know who done it!

The Eagle has Landed

Everything seems to be OK. Joe and Doug are nice. The house is safe,clean, and quiet. There is an old, sick cat with no tail and a bad attitude in the house. She doesn't like anyone but Joe. Fine. She can stay the hell away from me. The place doesn't smell like cat and is not full of cat hair, so that works. There is a dog in the yard who is too old and arthritic to bark or bother anyone. Fine.
Very convenient neighborhood. Grocery across the street. Three freeway onramps within a couple of miles. Shopping mall withink two miles. Restaurants and parks. Fifteen minutes to downtown Dallas.



Master Bedroom and Master Bath for $425/month. All inclusive - even internet and cable TV. I guess this is the new norm.



Joe has a friend in the Dallas school district HR. She talked to me today. Said substitutes can get work all the time in Dallas. I'll go sign up this week.

A tourist in West Texas.

Honestly guys, something is wrong with your region of the country if THIS is your ONLY tourist attraction within 500 miles! The childhood home of President George W. Bush - in Midland, Texas. A "Presidential Site" -- owned and maintained by the National Park Service. It's the home of TWO Presidents, TWO Governors, and One First Lady -- from 1950-1956. Everyone realizes how totally WRONG this is, right?

First Day in Texas.

Driving across west texas is murder. Made it from Lordsburg to Odessa in one hit.



The good and kind people in my new adopted State still pay for things like welcome centers and maps.



Tomorrow will be easy

Leaving Arizona

Perhaps for the last time.

At about 4:45

Saying goodbye to Ghosts.

I went to the bar tonight to have a cocktail and talk to some old ghusts.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy".
I was not prepared for the number of ghosts who met me there. Some of them were nice.
Goodbye, Phoenix ghosts, you cannot go with me to Dallas.

Can Texas Happen?

AN EXCHANGE OF E-MAILS BETWEEN ME AND JOE

I've had a busy weekend and looking forward to meeting you. Sorry I haven't responded sooner but my days were long and rushed. Driveway parking is availabe
Joe
Sent from my iPhone
214-226-8929
On Feb 6, 2010, at 1:48 PM, PaulDoolan wrote:
Joe,

Checked out your photo site. Have you ever been to Grand Canyon? Professional photographers try to do what they can with it, but it's pretty overwhelming.

Getting things out of storage and organized for the trip.

I expect to be there ealy afternoon on Monday Feb. 15 if that's OK.

We haven't talked about it, but I plan to give you $650 when I get there to rent through March. For ten years I had a place at Apache Wells Resort in Mesa, Arizona. (888) 940 8989 ext. 5 -- They'll tell you I was always good for the rent and never had trouble.

I drive a Nissan Frontier. Is there room for me to park it in the drive?

Also, are there animals in the house?

Paul
Sent: Thu, Feb 4, 2010 12:21 pmSubject: Re: mapquest and Google Earth are great.
Paul,
This has always been a pretty nice neighborhood and there is commercial development towards the mall. I've been here nearly ten years and there's nothing noisier than a few passing ambulances, firetrucks and barking dogs. I don't blog, tweet or facebook but I do have a presence on them.
I work for the federal government as a loss verifier but I am currently on unpaid status due to the workload. Right now I am a full time photographer and videographer and I mostly do weddings. I have web presence @ TxVideoGuy.com
I'm trying to market my presence but paid advertising is very costly. I have a guy who works with me that is supposed to help market the business but he don't on the outside of an active job so it's back to me.
My work has been published by several magazines, calendars, and other publications. Occasionally they will pay me for the print but always gives me a tag line.

Albertsons is walking distance from here (but I drive) and the school that is two blocks away is a middle school. Unless I work late on a Saturday night, I generally go to church on Sundays but this Sunday I'll be in Okla visiting sick kinfolk..

What kind of work are you going to do when you get here?
Joe
On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 9:30 AM, PaulDoolan wrote:

Joe,
Seems a little wierd that someone on the opposite side of the country can look down into your backyard and see how you maintain your landscape and what kind of vehicles the neighbors drive. Guess it's something we have to live with.
Looks like you live in a nice, quiet, clean, well-maintained neighborhood. Exactly the kind of place I'm looking for.
You're second from the corner. There's a church at the end of your street (It's Texas though, isn't there a church at the end of every street?) Albertson's just a couple of blocks away. Is that a High School a few blocks from you?
I'm a quiet, responsible, "not partier" type guy.

<100_0182.jpg>For the past three years, I've had a good gig taking tourists to Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, when the economy went to hell, tourism finally dried up. Luckily I have a little in savings to take care of myself while I try starting life again ---- in Dallas.

For the last several months I kept a blog of my Grand Canyon trips. Check it out.... http://156grandcanyontours.blogspot.com/
There's even pictures of my daughter at DisneyLand.

So that's a bit more about me. What about you guys? Retired?
Paul
Sent: Wed, Feb 3, 2010 3:09 pmSubject: Re: Moving to Dallas.
Paul
The address is:
2724 Westview Dr
Mesquite Tx 75150
Thanks,
Joe B Johnson
Sent from my iPhone
214-226-8929
On Feb 3, 2010, at 4:05 PM, PaulDoolan wrote:
Joe,

Don't need much, just something safe and clean. I'm an old schoolteacher come victim of the economy and I'm trying to go start life over again.
Can you give me an address I can MapQuest?

Paul 480 204 9064
Sent: Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:55 amSubject: Re: Moving to Dallas.
I don't ask money until you have desided to take the room.
People like to move towards the end of the month so the odds of the room still being available on the 15th is strong.

Resume is not important to me as I get a pretty good feel for a person when talking to them.

Hope to see you on the 15th and if anything changes I will advise you prior to the event. Since you asked first you are at the front of the line.
You will find me to be a straight up and honest person. I despise scammers and dishonest people.
My address is Googleable so you shouldn't have any problems finding it.
Thanks again,
Joe B Johnson
Sent from my iPhone
214-226-8929
On Feb 3, 2010, at 1:39 AM,PaulDoolanwrote:
Thank you. The CL scam is that someone offers to rent your place Sight-Unseen for like a year. They're so desperate that they'll send you $4000 "right now"! Then they change their mind and offer to let you keep $2K and send them $2K -- "to compensate for your trouble" --- then, the check they sent you is fraud.

It's what's going to crash CraigsList.

I'm 52 year old EX-School Teacher in Phx. Want to move to Dallas. I plan to be there 2/15 and need a place to live.

I'll send references, resume, etc. But, of course, NO money, till I get there. And, hopefully, have a place to stay when I get there.

Paul 48 204 9064
Sent: Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:31 amSubject: Re: Moving to Dallas.
Hi Paul
I'm a real person and I have a real room to rent. I can send pictures of if you like. Let me know and let's talk tomorrow. Thanks,
Joe B Johnson
Sent from my iPhone
214-226-8929
On Feb 3, 2010, at 1:14 AM, PaulDoolan wrote:
** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
From Phoenix.

White. 52 years old. Single. I will be in Dallas on Feb. 15. If the room is still available, I'm interested. SAFE. No excuses on the rent.

I know the CL rental scams -- this ain't one of them. I need a place to live in Dallas. Here's my phone in Phoenix

Paul 480 204 9064