Not my kind of city ...

This past Saturday I hopped a 6 a.m. flight from Cedar Rapids to Dallas in order to attend NACHC's (National Association of Community Health Centers) CHI (Community Health Institute), where I gave an oral presentation today and present two posters tomorrow based on my MPH practicum work at NACHC this past spring. I traded in high heat and humidity for ... high heat and humidity. I have only ever driven through a small portion of west Texas en route from New Mexico back home ... and frankly my two hours in Tejas at that time were not that much different than the landscape of Nuevo Mexico. So, it was with some anticipation that I greeted my first real 'city' of Texas. And for one of the first times in my life, I have found a place that I would not necessarily need to come running back to ... it's not to say that there aren't those folks out there that love Dallas, and it's altogether possible that I visited the wrong parts of city, but, nonetheless, here are a few amusing/thought-provoking/disturbing observations over the past couple of days:

1. Nearly everyone working at the airport, including the young man working at the information booth who appeared twelve years old, wore cowboy hats.
2. En route to my hotel, I passed the new Dallas Cowboys stadium under construction. I am quite convinced that the stadium itself is larger than the town where I attended elementary through high school.
3. The tourist guide touting up-and-coming, revitalized, artsy and "hip" areas of downtown turned out to be American Airlines funded, sterile, developed, rather soulless chain store communities haphazardly distributed.
4. Downtown Dallas on a Saturday afternoon was dead, absolutely dead ... the only restaurant I found open was Subway, and it was only open until 6:00 p.m.
5. I stumbled upon this bizarre, "Thanksgiving" square in the heart of "Main Street" featuring church bells, Scripture, and a large golden ring. According to the website, the mission of this square is "to witness, to celebrate, and to promote the value and spirit of thanksgiving for both sacred and secular cultures throughout the world." It, of course, was padlocked on Saturday afternoon. On a side note, I noticed several homeless men out and about AROUND Thanksgiving square ... it all struck me as rather ironic.
6. What a difference a block makes ... as I walked back to the West End Saturday afternoon (where Dealey Plaza is located, the site where Kennedy was assassinated), a man approached me from behind. I was wearing a green shirt and jeans with my black camera bag. I had heard a voice calling out to a 'woman in black' but assumed this was not me. When he fell in stride next to me, I was somewhat startled. He walked next to me for three blocks making several comments about me that are not repeatable here and questioned whether I was married, etc. I did not acknowledge his presence or say a word to him but kept on walking, keeping my eye out for a taxi that never came. At one point to my silence, he asked me if I were mute. He finally got the hint and sauntered off, yelling over his shoulder, "Chill out, woman, I just wanted to talk!"
7. But perhaps my favorite observation over my time in Dallas was a sign that caught my eye heading in to a museum in the West End that read, "No guns allowed beyond this point." What!?!?

However, beyond these strange experiences, I do give TWO THUMBS UP to the Sixth Floor Museum that chronicles the assassination of President Kennedy from Lee Harvey Oswald's hideout in the former Texas School Book Depository building across from Dealey Plaza. In the picture below, you can see the "x" marking the spot on the street where Kennedy was fatally shot forty-four years ago this November 22nd. Wonderfully designed, I cannot recall a museum that I have visited recently that has enthralled me as much as this one did. And who knew? I even found an embroidered patch in the museum store with Kennedy's likeness ... although the protrait was a stretch! One day I'll get to that travel quilt ...