Top Ten Things I Like About Dallas So Far…
It's been two months now that I have been living in Dallas since escaping Oklahoma and there is a lot of good stuff that comes along with being in the big city. Such as…
10. The roads that don't look like moonscapes and bridges that don't fall down. I wouldn't suggest driving in Oklahoma if you have kidney problems or a weak bladder. Although the downtown Dallas mixer scared the crap out of me the first few times and the over passes that go up as high as a downtown building around loop 635 make me grip my Saturn's steering wheel tighter. I now know how it feels to drive on a matchbox race track.
9. Having Pro sports teams again. Between the Rangers, Cowboys, Stars and Mavericks I can go see some great national match ups but come college bedlam my soul will always be with the Sooner nation.
8. There is over 200,000 gays and lesbians in Dallas, before America Online hit the scene in Oklahoma I think there was me and like 99 other people.
7. Dallas has a great skyline; I'm still learning the names of the buildings. I feel all Dallas residents should spend more time downtown taking in the life pulse of a city that doesn't roll up the sidewalks at dusk. Yes, there are days which I miss being able to see the curvature of the Earth in the Midwest…but not many.
6. Getting lost. I don't know how we got along as well as we did before the Garmin was invented. I've gotten lost a few times around Dallas Methodist Hospital and felt like I drove onto a movie set. That was interesting…
5. Water, nice clean drinkable water. Sadly there are many communities right here in America where water isn't near the quality many take for granted in DFW. The water company servicing my community before I moved here issued an advisory along with their monthly bill suggesting people with cancer, diabetes or HIV to not drink their product. Although thankfully I'm in excellent health I'm still thinking to myself don't eat the ice you'll hate yourself somewhere around 6 a.m. in the bathroom. DWU is getting this year for the second time the E.P.A.'s Environmental Excellence Award for Public Water Supply.
4. Going Green. Although every community has some type of recycling effort the one in Dallas is impressive. Every trash service customer who has a house is given the opportunity to get a huge blue trash bin on wheels free of charge for disposal of glass, aluminum, paper, plastic and cardboard. It turns out about 2/3 of my trash is comprised of items we should recycle instead of going into a landfill, leaving a smaller carbon footprint on the environment. That's a very good thing.
3. Shopping Mega Malls. I found where everyone hikes in Dallas during the summer… A whole lot of cute hikers too!
2. The sounds of the city. I live about five miles from downtown and it's a bit noisy until you take the time to actually listen. Recently during our warm Texas summer evenings on Saturday nights we have been treated to a traditional Latino concert that is held not far away. Although I don't understand what they are singing about the voices carrying over the cityscape have the power, passion and a beauty to rival the most avid of operas. Again, shortly after we moved into our home some of our neighbors that are from Africa held a birthday party for one of their children and their entire family came to celebrate. At least 30 or more voices raised up singing traditional African music from their homeland late into the evening. Again for me, it was beautiful and joyous, new and alien and I could feel the love the family shared for one another.
1. The DART Rail System. You're not an international city without a good rail system. I'm going to spend a day just riding around Dallas on the DART and check out views of Dallas you wouldn't necessarily see driving in a car.
