Today did not go as planned. Instead of hiking with friends at Lake Grapevine early in the morning, I sat in traffic on 635 for 45 minutes failing to make it out of Farmers Branch. Why? Emergency services shut down the highway all night because of an accident involving a single vehicle that, for an unknown reason, went into the center median. The vehicle flipped numerous times, ejecting the driver who died from their injuries. The passenger was in critical condition when I learned of the accident.
All lanes east- and west-bound of IH635 were closed at SH161 President George Bush Turnpike due to the severity of the accident.
It's too easy for these types of accidents to happen. And I'm surprised they don't happen more often while simultaneously knowing they happen far more often than I realize, would acknowledge, or might guess.
I really wish we had more trains.
I was mindlessly browsing Reddit earlier today, and came across a video in the ImTheMainCharacter subreddit. The video showed two women standing on top of the wheels of a truck. The wheels were huge, and were set way outside the frame of the truck. The person filming was yelling at the girls to get off the tires, stating "These wheels cost more than your fucking life." While the video was likely staged for views, this sentiment seems to ring true for far too many – that objects are more important than another's life.
A few years ago, not far from where I live, two teenagers broke into an SUV in an apartment complex. The owner of the SUV, an off-duty police officer, caught them in the act, and in plain-clothes, jumped into his vehicle and pursued the teenagers as they drove away in their own car. The ordeal ended shortly afterwards. The off-duty officer rammed their car off the road nearby, hopped out of his SUV, and shot 16 times into the teens' car. One of the teens died on the scene, another left with serious injuries.
Everything about this is sad and quite frankly, tiring. I say all of this merely to demonstrate that we can do better in all aspects of life. Too many lives are negatively affected by stupid actions. Too many lives are negatively affected by stupid design. Too many lives are negatively affected by thinking of our individual selves in a manner that neglects all others. Too many lives are negatively affected by not facing our own shit so that we have the capacity to truly help others. It's a balance, for sure.
As for the tonight's route – 9,638 steps with a 20lb plate loaded in my rucksack. I listened to a lot of Talk Talk, specifically The Colour of Spring, wearing Luna Monos as I walked along the outer rim of the neighborhoods southeast of 635 and Dallas North Tollway.
It was a nice walk.
And, it was complete with empty parking lots full of signs prohibiting parking, sidewalks immediately adjacent to busy streets littered with obstacles making it difficult to walk along said sidewalks, empty fields mowed down to nothing, and a really peaceful walking/jogging path around the pond at The Cooper Institute.
Is a parking lot empty if you can't see it? Yes.
Volcano the tree trunks, lock the fields, and top the trees. My goodness, man.
North Dallas is home to a wide-array of enjoyable walking routes featuring miles of open pavement amongst its old-growth trees.
Do you like quiet, wide open spaces? North Dallas is home to a wide-array of enjoyable walking routes featuring miles of open pavement amongst its old-growth trees.
Walk North Dallas, where cars intermittently come within inches of your body at high speeds, elevating your stress levels and bringing a certain perspective allowing you to live life to the fullest. Dallas says: "you're welcome."
You'll be blessed with the ability to better appreciate the peaceful moments of life that come between traffic lights, where you can actually hear the person talking next to you, and where you no longer have to worry about your body being lovingly smashed by a multi-ton vehicle.