Another N. Texas Roadway Gets A Name

This article was brought to my attention simply because every road we have here in North Texas has a name as well as a number designation. I've included the article even though I feel that it is poorly written. See below the article for my explanation.

By ELVIRA SAKMARI

As if having people refer to North Texas highways by numbers, names or a combination of both wasn't confusing enough, there's now another name to try to remember.

The North Texas Tollway Authority announced Tuesday that the 121 Tollway will now be known as the Sam Rayburn Tollway.

Named for the late congressman from North Texas, the Sam Rayburn/121 Tollway stretches 26 miles from business Highway 121 near the Dallas-Denton County line to U.S. 75 in Collin County and passes through Allen, Carrollton, Coppell, Fairview, Frisco, Lewisville, McKinney, Plano and The Colony.

Rayburn represented Texas' 4th Congressional District, serving 16 North Texas counties, and was the longest-serving speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1940 and 1961.

As further evidence of why Rayburn was picked, the NTTA points out Rayburn created the Interstate Highway System.

"So, it is only fitting that his name becomes associated with a critical NTTA project which enhances mobility throughout North Texas. His impact was felt throughout the country, but North Texas was always home,” said NTTA chairman Paul N. Wageman.

The NTTA board considered three short-listed names for the road: Sam Rayburn Tollway, Interurban Tollway and 121 Tollway. The name change passed on a 6-3 vote.

According to the Dallas Morning News, three board members, two from Denton County and one from Collin County were against the name change and wanted it to remain known as the 121 Tollway.

A ceremony marking the naming of the tollway will be held later this spring. Motorists can expect to see signs going up bearing the new name over the next several weeks.

North Texas really didn't need another named road. Check out the list of roadways known by number and name:

I-30/Tom Landry Freeway (from west of downtown Dallas to downtown Fort Worth)
I-20/Ronald Reagan Freeway (west of I-635 into Fort Worth)
1-35E (south of downtown Dallas) & I-30 (east of downtown Dallas)/R.L. Thornton Freeway
1-35E (north of downtown Dallas)/Stemmons Freeway
U.S. 75/Central Expressway
S.H. 161/President George Bush Turnpike
S.H. 183/Airport Freeway
S.H. 287 (from West Loop 820 to downtown Fort Worth)/Martin Luther King, Jr. Freeway
S.H. 360 (through Arlington) Angus G. Wynne, Jr. Freeway
I-45 (downtown Dallas to I-20)/S.M. Wright Freeway
I-45 (south of I-20)/Julius Schwepps Freeway
U.S. 175/C.F. Hawn Freeway
I-635/LBJ Freeway
Spur 366/Woodall Rodgers Freeway
S.H. 114/John Carpenter Freeway
E. Loop 12/Walton Walker Freeway
U.S. 67 (North of I-20)/Marvin D. Love Freeway
U.S. 67 (South of I-20)/S.G. Alexander Freeway
U.S. 67 (In Ellis County)/J. Elmer Weaver Freeway
I-35W (north of Fort Worth)/North Freeway
I-35W (south of Fort Worth)/South Freeway
I-30 (east of Fort Worth)/East Freeway
I-30 (west of Fort Worth)/West Freeway
S.H. 199/Jacksboro Highway
S.H. 114 (from Southlake to 377)/Northwest Parkway

Way to go NTTA; confuse some more people who move to North Texas.

My response to this article:

Although I agree with the article overall, I find no evidence that Sam Rayburn "created the Interstate Highway System".

Other than he "strongly supporting the construction of Route 66" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Rayburn), he had no input into the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System that I am aware of.

As Speaker of the House, he gave permission for tax legislation to be drafted to raise gasoline tax to pay for the interstate system. He also fought against the Teamsters Union to get this bill passed.

While I agree that Sam Rayburn is worthy of an honor such as this, I disagree that he "created the Interstate Highway System".

And That's What I Think!

Michael Jackson

THIS WAS WRITTEN BY A SOLDIER IN IRAQ .

Okay, I need to rant.

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael
Jackson . As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an
entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent
millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many
people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and
I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point
of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their
minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the
country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to
flock to a memorial in Hollywood , and even Congress sees the need to
hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?

Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a
freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What
about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those
Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war,
still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the
United States of America . Where is their moment of silence? Where
are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over
them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a
Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddance," and "thank
God for IEDs?" When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of
GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead,
throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?"

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS
for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every
service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan . They need to PUBLICLY
recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people
can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE,
those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for
them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have
been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never
make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit
songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat
and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Feel free to pass
this along if you want..

Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is
serving in the military: "So that others may live..."


--
Isaac


I think that says it all!

Does Baseball Need A National League?

The 2009 All-Star game goes to the American League. Was there any doubt? Not really. The National League has not won the All-Star game in the last 13 attempts.

So I ask you, do we need a National League in Baseball?

It doesn't seem to me that the National League are doing anybody any good, as far as baseball in general is concerned. Granted, the Dodgers are having a really good year [thanks to the former Yankees manager (American League)] and the Phillies did win the World Series in 2008.

As long as the National League teams are playing against each other, their fans think they are watching good ball games, but match them against the American League and you might as well forget about it.

The real point I'm trying to make is that we really don't need an All-Star game. It's just a lot of pomp and circumstance. I'm all for letting the players have some time off half way through the season. I just don't agree that the All-Star game should be played. You're giving the most popular players in the MLB the opportunity to injure themselves by doing something that is useless.

The All-Star game doesn't mean anything. Anything the players do during the game is fruitless and doesn't count toward their stats. So why bother?

And That's What I Think.

Wii - Hab

On a recent trip to El Paso, I noticed a blurb on the front page of the El Paso Times that stated "Wii-hab for injuries".

Intrigued, I picked up the paper to peruse at a later time.

As you may or may not know, I too, was a victim of the Wii , which included a hospital visit.

Let me expand, this past New Years I found myself at my mother's house playing wii bowling with her, myself, my brother and my wife.

At somewhere around midnight, after much alcohol consumption, we were really getting down to it. Before I go on, I must first explain how it is that my mother Wii bowls. Granted, she was a skilled bowler in her day and has the trophies to prove it, but we were miles from a real bowling alley.

She steps up to the imaginary line, toes even, knees bent, leaning slightly forward, hands together. Then she takes two quick steps, swings her right arm back, then throws it forward and she goes down on one knee. Strike! I find this humorous due to the fact that it's a game, on a TV, in the living room.

Quite the opposite is my brother who refuses to even rise from his chair as he does a twisting of the arm as it raises. Strike!

Now, in my drunken humor (or is that stupor), I proudly, and I'm sure loudly, proclaim that I will indeed give the finest example of how my mom bowls.

I step up to the imaginary line, knees bent, leaning slightly forward, shake my rump ever so exaggeratedly, take a small step forward, swing my arm, and do a flip, right there in the middle of the living room! Oh, am I a funny guy . . . was my thought two seconds before I catapulted my self through the air.

Two seconds after I landed, I realized three things. Number one: I'm not as young as I used to be or think I am. Number two: Alcohol and the Wii don't mix. And number three: That was really stupid.

Now, as I writhing in pain, laying in the fetal position, unable to stand or even straighten out, I ask the most important question of the night . . . Did I get a strike?!?

My mom imediately thinks that this is all a joke, because I won't miss a chance for a joke, ever. My wife knows differently, though. Against my better judgement, yeah, so far my judgment has been on target tonight, they load me up into the van and off we go to the emergency room. If I wasn't in so much pain, I would have been yelling like a siren out the window. It was just one of those nights.

Four hours later, after some pain meds through an IV, a couple of CAT scans and a stern warning from the resident nurse to lay off the Wii for a while, I finally got to go home.

The prognosis you ask? I pulled my lower abdominal muscles severely. I must clarify, that the two weeks previously I had had a sinus infection and with all the sneezing and blowing my nose, I had already been feeling sore in my lower stomach. What we all were thinking on the way to the hospital was that I'd gotten a hernia.

Had it indeed been a hernia, this story would not be embarassing, however . . . . .

Two last things: That story in the El Paso Times was about how they use the Wii to help rehab patients and lastly, YES I DID GET THE STRIKE!!

And That's What I Think.