Vast

Western United States often has often reminded me of the word vast. Yesterday, the term came to mind as Cousin Jim drove me about this enormous suburb of Dallas where 500,000 souls of Dallas-FortWorth Metro-Plex 7 million live. Jim and Nancy's lovely, comfortable home is tucked into the 15 x 7-8 miles of suburban Plano life...

They have seen their town develop from a village surrounded by farms and ranches into today's shape; pleasant, clean, attractive homes with businesses clustering at nearby major intersections.

Jim says that since the homes all include walls, neighbors seldom see each other. From Nancy I learned she's discovered their neighborhood people have put themselves on Facebook where local lost dogs and cats, iPhones, glasses (hers), and much else can be sought and found; plus, a quick posting happens when something or someone unusual appears in the neighborhood. It's interesting to know that people are using social media to overcome the restrictive presence of fence walls to achieve neighborliness. Society will out!

The area is very walkable which was a pleasure in the Spring air while Jim gave me a walk tour of the local park, bike trails and schools. Later, we made a visit to Nancy's law offices where her daughter has joined her with her own practice--quite nice to think we have a mother/daughter law practice happening in the extended family.

Vast again comes to mind when Jim and I stopped at a brand new, pre-opening opening of Nebraska Home Furniture Mart, an enterprise of Warren Buffet's, that has its own highway interchange. Jim estimates that four or five IKEAs would fit inside the store. Neither of us were fond of the merchandise offerings and omnipresent sales people until we sat down with a Subway at Nebraska Home Furnishings' soda, and were both struck by the one thing we both liked--the Kitchen Aid display with the biggest array of mixer colors we've ever seen...

Jim had to get a picture of it, too.

Before going to a supper out with Jim and Nancy's daughter Laura, son-in-law Joel and granddaughter Jessa, I accompanied Jim to pick up his granddaughter to go feed the "muskrats" who are really nutria, or sometimes nutria-rats, with the stale bread we brought along. Jessa--outgoing, energetic, charming, Kindergartner--burst out the school door to greet her granddad and wasn't a bit bashful to meet me. We drove over to a nearby park creek where the "grands" rewarded six nutrias' brazen interest in bread chunks.

Visiting the JFK Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas yesterday and standing next to the window where it all happened in 1963 was riveting. The small-scale museum in the Book Depository is really well done. It brought back memories as I read, looked at the photos and listened to dialogues. We of that generation still ask each other "Where were you when it happened?"

Wish this had turned out better of Jim. That is the DART train behind him that we road into Dallas from Plano.

I continue to be well and graciously housed, abundantly fed with ample time to read the paper in the mornings, or anytime, really. Their main fare of the day is often at restaurants so I am getting a large sampling of Plano and Dallas gastronomic offerings which will soon send me to the Walmart for vast sizes if I don't watch out.