Sunday, June 14, 2015

Enjoying Flag Day In My Favorite All American City Wannabe

When I was out and about today I noticed a flag or two or three waving in front of homes, first noticing such when I pedaled into Arlington's Interlochen neighborhood.

I wondered about the why of all the flags, and then when I got back to my computer connection to the outer world the mystery was solved, via an incoming email from my FNJ (Favorite Nephew Jason).

The email included the photo you see here and a line of text that solved the flag mystery....

Hope my FUD is enjoying his Flag Day in his All American City.

In college one of Jason's minors was Sarcasm.

Fort Worth is an All American City? I don't think that is possible.

If Fort Worth had been accoladed as such, even if the accolade came to Fort Worth decades ago, in a previous century, I would have heard about it. Multiple times.

Fort Worth had a city wide celebration when some obscure publication, no one has ever heard of, put Fort Worth on a list.

If I remember right the city wide celebration was for the time some D.C. lobbying group named Fort Worth as one of the Top Ten towns for Urban Villages. Or something like that.

This was sort of embarrassing, the city wide celebration, I mean. I know I have mentioned this before, but the same year Fort Worth made this prestigious list Tacoma was also on the list.

Tacoma does have some nice urban villages. Old Town comes to mind.

I digress.

So, that same summer Fort Worth had its embarrassing city wide celebration I was in Tacoma to start up a project, long gone, with Tacoma's then Deputy Mayor. I asked the Deputy Mayor if Tacoma had a city wide celebration for making the Top Ten Urban Village list. He laughed, asked something like why would we do such a thing? I told him Fort Worth did, had themselves a city wide celebration. You're joking said the Deputy Mayor. Nope, I'm not making this up. The Deputy Mayor then told me they sent a polite thank you letter and that was the end of it.

I think it was the long defunct LOOK magazine which had an annual All American City issue naming towns awarded the coveted All American City accolade.

I know the town where Jason's Fidalgo Drive-In, seen in the above flag waving photo, is located, Anacortes, was named an All-American City a long time ago, maybe all the way back to the 1950s or 60s.

I don't know if this is still the case, but when I lived in the neighborhood, as in in the Skagit Valley, when driving to Anacortes at the entry to the city there was, or is, a big Welcome to Anacortes sign, along with the words, "All American City".

I don't think Fort Worth can qualify as an All American City til the town gets sidewalks along side the majority of the town's streets. And running water and modern restrooms in the town's parks. I don't think a town can be an All American City when the majority of its parks have outhouses and no place to wash ones hands.

I hope FNJ and FNSJ (Spencer Jack) are having themselves a mighty fine Flag Day, along with everyone else on the planet.

Is the 2 Deluxe Cheeseburgers for only $5.49, I see on the Fidalgo Drive-In reader board, a Flag Day Special, I wonder?

The Fidalgo Drive-In also has Fish & Chips on the menu. The last time I had really good Fish & Chips was when Jason made them for me at his previous restaurant, the Eaglemont Pavilion.

Real Fish & Chips are made with cod or halibut.

Not catfish.....

1 comment:

Steve A said...

Ocean Shores has the biggest Flag Day Parade on the West Coast. We were there, along with all the rest of the town. I hear that Fort Worth was GREEN with envy!