Topping off at The Dixie House Cafe

Recently my wife and I have been getting burned out on the usual places we eat around town. I happen to have a very forgiving palate but my wife can't stomach much. Over the years I have learned to accept her simple tastes in food so we've frequented some of the same places again and again. Sometimes we leave in disappointment, others we leave thinking "At least we ate today". I am a google contributor so I have an extensive list of places I want to visit so I decided we would try one out on a Saturday afternoon.

We were looking for someplace to eat that was different yet familiar. I looked into some of the southern country cooking places on my list and settled on the Dixie House Cafe. Crowded into a busy retail area near the Hules mall Dixie House Cafe is relatively easy to find South of 30 on Hulen next to the Half Price Books.

If you're looking for intimate or booth dining look elsewhere. From what I saw the place is all a jumble of tables. The wait staff all work together to make your dining experience pleasant and very efficient so the one who seats you might not be the one who takes your order or the one who brings your food or refills your drinks. I can say that this set-up did seem to make things move along rather quickly on a busy Saturday lunch rush.

The Staff was kind and unobtrusive and they take pride in their work. From what I saw of the cleanliness of the store and restrooms the folks at Dixie House Cafe keep their business up to par.

At first, the menu can seem confusing but there is a simple 4-5 special dishes for each day, smaller portions for kids meals, a list of sides, desserts and other options. I ordered the Pork Chops and Eggs, my Wife got Chicken Fried Steak and my kiddo ordered a Grilled Cheese Sandwich on Texas Toast with Mashed Potatoes. Even though my eggs were slightly overcooked from what I ordered the meal was very good and it hit the spot.

For 3 people $34 isn't bad especially since we were all happy and there were leftovers enough to quench our late-night munchies later. I give The Dixie House Cafe out of 5 stars. Check them out.

If you are looking for some old fashioned Southern cooking this is a place that will give you exactly what you desire. You can find the Dixie House Cafe on the Westside of Fort Worth in the Hulen area near the Mall.

Truth Bomb

Ok. There are these lists of questions going around the internet these days. I figured that I would finally fill one out. This one is in response to a sister I didn't know I had until about two years ago. That's another story. Not one I'm sure I want to share with y'all yet. So, for now, catch this Truth Bomb.

This version expands on the original.
* How old? 43. I think. Ask my wife.

*  Piercings? Not anymore. Back in the day though ... It was just ears. Well and that one time I got my tongue pierced. That was a mistake.

* Tattoos? Yes. They are all very personal and require explanation and a follow-up Q&A. I try to keep them covered.

* Ever hit a deer? Yes. I was in a fully loaded Semi-feed truck at the time. Luckily I was only going 55 and already downshifting.

* Ridden in an ambulance? Twice. The first time I think I was dying. It was a long time ago and I was sick as fuck so ... The second time I should have been dead but I escaped completely unscathed. Don't drive on Saint Patrick's day even if you wait until 3am for all of the assholes to die or get locked up.

* Sang karaoke? Hell yes. And I've done Rock Band karaoke too. I play 🎸.

* Ice skated? Not exactly. I put the skates on. Stepped on the ice and 🐱. Not my most gangster moment.

* Ridden a motorcycle? Yes. Well. I held on for dear life while some dude drove. I did this willingly, by the way. Not my most gangster moment.

* Stayed in the hospital? Way too much as a kid. Not so much post whiskey and weed.

* Skipped school? Lol. Yeah. A lot. Some of my favorite memories are of fucking up the block when I was supposed to be in school.

* Last text? I don't text. I Messenger.

* Watched someone die? Unfortunately yes. Too often.

* Pepsi or Coke? Yeah. No.

* Favorite pizza? There used to be this place called Romanos. Unfortunately, the Old times are over around here. Kids these days. Ya know?

*Favorite season? Summer. I'm a pure 🌞  sign.

* Broken any bones? Depends. Had a knee injury. Broke a lot of bones in my hands fighting. The first year I knew my wife I walked around with a broken finger. Nothing you can do. Keep living, punch shit if you have to. Hands heal. Shits get like concrete.

* Gotten a ticket? Yes. Never paid one. NOT ONE! Fucking extort me? Fuck you.

* Favorite Color? Blue. WNRSGC fa life Cuzz.

* Sunset or Sunrise? Sunset. Yeah, I'm busy or asleep at sunrise.

There ya go.

Peace.

I Can Dig It. but, see here's the thing ...

This is going to be potentially very controversial. If you are easily offended by free thought bail the fuck out right now. Trust me, it's for the best.

Click Here to back away slowly

Still with us? Okay well then.

A few days ago I ran across one of those lazy memes that get passed around every few years or so. I've seen this one before, but this time something struck me about the message. I would like to share the meme as I found it.

See here's the thing. I want to congratulate you on your ability to feel some kind of way about whatever you want. That's human rights and shit. I can dig it. BUT. Hiding from those who are trying to reach out to you is the recipe for utter loneliness. Yes, your fear of approach and openness comes from a place of deep fear and loss. Yes, it hurts and it binds your heart. It doesn't have to.

Trust and Faith are not one-way streets. Trust is a breezy country road on a spring day if you let it be. Faith? Well, faith is an interstate. Faith is what we must have in ourselves and if the little girl is still hiding in the dark corners of her life, maybe it's her imagination and not dark forces come to snatch her from her hidey hole. Maybe it's the savior, the bright light you pray for in the dark of the night alone with your bottle.

She pushes the light away because she feels safe in the dark with her demons of deceit and lust and lies. Murders of lies like a cloud of flies, blinding the truth. The truth? Maybe you were lost and abandoned once upon a time. Many of us were. That's no excuse to refuse to grow. Work to be less shy and less fragile and maybe the people around you won't judge you like the ...

The "Strong Stoic Woman" is a mask she wears to feel important in a world where she feels weak and alone. In a world that marginalizes her. It's a mistake. Nothing wrong with strong. Nothing wrong with stoic. Combine those with the lost little girl in the closet and wear them as a mask, disaster awaits. Take it from a Black male in America. Shy and fragile and in the closet isn't the way to go. If you want to be heard you have to be seen. How do you want to be seen? That's the question you have to ask and if your equation doesn't include that little spark in your heart ... What's the point? So, you can be a sarcastic cunt whenever it suits you to do so and then have the nerve to tell people to deal with it or fuck off. Charming. I wonder what your little soul spark would think of that. The world may never know because you keep her locked away in the dark, afraid and alone. 

In the end, it's the fear that's killing you. It's not the nightmares or the people you judge so harshly from your strong and stoic high horse. It's the fear that drives you. You are afraid of everything so you misjudge everyone. The only people you can allow yourself to be real with are the others who share your guilt and shame. You are wallowing in it and asking for us to understand the little light of your soul. None of us have ever seen it. From over here it's a myth. All we get is

"Strong Stoic Woman"

Yes, I know you're a strong woman. But you must look beyond, woman. Learn to see that someONE may be reaching out to lend you a hand up out of that dark corner where the little girl still lies, afraid. All I'm saying is if you love your light so much let it truly fly free. Allow it out of the darkness of fear and maybe it will symbiotically bind its self with the Strong Stoic Woman and make her less of a fucking bitch.

I'm just saying.

Peace.

Bitch you don't muss me up no more
I don't share your business in the streets because I'm not an atention whore.

The Changing Face of American Beauty

The face of beauty standards in America is changing and I love it. Over the centuries, the ideal model of feminine beauty has changed numerous times. Our current model of ideal beauty has been slender to waifish. Women so small the look fragile and sick. I don't know where the idea that voluptuous feminine beauty was something to be considered undesirable, but I've never agreed with it. I find women beautiful for more than just their shape, but there is something about wide hips, thick thighs and big asses that turns my head every time. I love women and that's no secret. My desire for them has landed me in more trouble than I care to admit. But in my interactions with women from around the country and the world has led to my understanding that no matter where they are from, or what size they are, they are beautiful.

What's really great is that the way beauty is seen in our nation is changing as our generation and the generation following break free of the chains of multimedia influence. Ours is becoming a nation where we are exposed to a depth of diversity that is almost unheard of elsewhere in the world. Race, gender, sexual orientation, disability and yes, size are all differences that are these days less important than your attitude toward your fellow man. It's not okay to drag people down because they are different from you. It's better to lift them up.

And that's alright with me. I want to see your stunning beauty in whatever form it takes. We all have a little sexy in us and it should be okay for you to feel it in yourself. Stand tall and proud and know that you are stunning.

Madeline Stuart - is an 18-year-old model with Down Syndrome who has found her beautiful self.

Tess Holiday - is the largest plus size model to ever be signed to a major agency.

These are just two stories of the thousands I am sure are out there. Share your stories of the changing face of American beauty.

There is More to this Story

I understand why people feel the need to protest over what happened to Michael Brown. The people are angry. The people want to see justice done. We live in a society that says, "you, as citizens of this great country of ours, YOU, have the right to, peacefully protest against your government". However, as we've seen over and over again throughout our history, protests don't end well here. And in this, our ultra HIgh Definition instant served world, protesting is more dangerous than it's ever been because they know what we are capable of.

(AP Photo/Sid Hastings)

They know what can happen if a populous gets out of control. They have seen the fall of the great Empire again and again, and it starts with the people being fed-the-fuck-up. People are fed up but not necessarily over the death of another young man in the streets.

I will posit this, in the silent midst of this ongoing disaster, that the people and not simply angry over the death of one young man, instead, we are furious at the ongoing injustice and increasing police state we are ALL subject to. We are incensed by the continual political misdealing and lewd indiscretions. We are sick and goddamned fed up with continual corporate greed and their political niggling. We are tired of the Military interventions and utter lack of care for our Military men and women. We are angry because our leaders are not putting the best interest of this country at heart. Our entire country is arguing the merits of gun control and concussions in the NFL when there are bigger issues to deal with. like putting people back to work. Getting the homeless off the streets and back into society where they can contribute. Opening our world up to new ways of thinking about energy and food production. Granting people the right to expect security in what they have worked their entire lives for. Giving people alternate options for medical treatments beyond pharmaceuticals.

(WHITNEY CURTIS / NYT)

Stop criminalizing minor crap like parking tickets and possession of marijuana. Stop terrorizing us with the threat of jail for every little thing and turning our Peace Officers into an occupying force hell bent on cramming us into corporate owned prisons. I don't know a single person who would be completely relaxed during a traffic stop. Stop threatening our families, our freedoms our security. Societies are built on a unity that begins with security. And the plan for that unity is supposed to come from our government. Instead, all we see is constant insecurity and instability. We see a focus on the answers to Liberty and Peoples right to CHOOSE, when those shouldn't even be questions.

The people are tired, and they are afraid and they are unsure about who we are as a nation and where we are going as a Country. People are divided and our government is drawing out the sides, compiling a strategy, posturing and finger pointing and slandering and bickering and lying the whole time. And we peer out at each other through our smog smeared windshields and over our ergonomic cubicles and we question, and we judge and we wonder what side you're on. It's a fucking tragedy. It's the saddest thing. And people are fed up. So they protest, and some riot.

And it's not going to end well here either. It never does. I will suggest a few things for you who are going to continue to march up and down the streets in your fury.

• Protest on the sidewalks or in other designated areas.

This will prevent you from being maced by the police or run over by a car for blocking public streets.

• If you are going to block public streets have some semblance of a plan.

Block particular streets, or streets that make a political point, or streets near the offices of those you are trying to draw attention from. In this particular case you could block the streets surrounding the main police station in your area.

• Develop some sort of message.

This is usually accomplished through impromptu chants and spontaneous street speeches bellowed into megaphones.

• Talk to the media and do so with some sort of class.

As much class as you can muster. If you are protesting for social change your message cannot be incoherent and full of hate speech and shit you read on Reddit. Know why you are there and be capable of giving an elevator speech about it should you be asked. If you are never asked, don't volunteer information. Volunteering information is always a bad idea.

• Do Not Under ANY Circumstances Break or Steal Anything

This is just a bad fucking move y'all.

• Do not frighten your fellow citizens

Some of us do not have the time. Some of us do not have the inclination. Others of us do not have the GAS MONEY to sit in the street while you march up and down screaming. If we choose not to participate we should be allowed that right and it should not be taken away from us by folks marching for rights. Please stand aside so we might freely pass without fear. Refer to points 1-5 for details.

.Photo: AFP

Please be angry. Please take a stand for social justice in this country because there is a problem. But don't narrow that problem to one incident and one solution. The problem is the continuing division within a unified nation. There is, now, a stretching at the seams that is beginning to rear. It has to be fixed. Try to be more focused in what you do and how you do it.