Scattershooting Again / Southwest May Finally Use DFW For Operations

While I end up sitting in my abode unable to head in to work because it's sleeting and snowing in North Texas as I write this, here comes another edition of Scattershooting. Oh, it may be just over six weeks until the spring solstice, but it's looking like Punxsutawney Phil nailed his annual prediction this time around. So, wherever you are, just cozy up to this new chickenscratch and don't accidentally chuck your computer into the fireplace with the blanket and the bath water.

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It's quite amazing when you look at news sites, and there was some startling news that I found this morning. And it's a pleasant surprise.

Southwest Airlines has just announced that they are expanding their flight repertoire to include additional aircraft. And that's not all. They'll also be adding another airport to its flight scheduling plans. Hard to believe, but they will actually add Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to the scheme of things as the plot juicily thickens. Yes, all they've had for Dallas had just been Love Field ever since the airline began, and they've had a hub there, but now, they get to stretch and flex its muscles a bit. And that can only be great news for a national economy badly in need of good news. It's not inconceivable if D/FW could be able to add a support facility for Southwest just like they have for other airlines. Wouldn't it also be nice if Southwest could add other hub locations? Maybe in the future, and you can never say never.

I've been waiting for this for years and didn't think it would happen, but I have wanted this. D/FW is too deserving of an airport not to have Southwest in their arsenal. Texas has to have everything available to its people, and this quest is the right way to go. KTVT-TV (Channel 11 - CBS) in Dallas had this exclusive interview revealing some happy details.

https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2022/02/01/...irport-decade/

To top it off, Southwest is getting a new leader, Bob Jordan. Great stuff is happening now. Finally, you can one day say that Southwest can now fly in and out of both major Metroplex passenger airports.

If a decision does get made and finalized, the earliest we can see this happening is 2025. I'll put a running bet on this one.

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Cotton Patch Cafe in Downtown Grapevine, Texas, is closing. It's quite sad to see it happen when they had good home cooking offerings for patrons who traverse Grapevine's legendary Main Street. When the powers that be built the big building that Cotton Patch is leased in, it appeared from day one that there would be immediate success. Usually, when a restaurant closes, it's because customers are not coming in at a high number. And that had to be the case in Downtown Grapevine.

The chain still has another location a few miles away on State Highway 121, but for the sake of sentimentality, this is a big loss for Main Street. Whichever restaurant takes its place hopefully can be successful, but we'll miss the favorites from Cotton Patch in a special setting.

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One just has to wonder if alligators like fish. The wondering beckons and lingers. Here's a link documenting whether or not this alligator made this fish his lunch choice for the day.

https://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoo...ark-fish-mouth

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I don't care if both the owners and players disagree on what paint to use on the fence. Major League Baseball just needs to come to an agreement and get on with business. Period. This nation has been through enough already, what with the COVID plandemic and the economic downturn which followed, not to mention a corrupt Washington swamp that is crippling every possible condition our country has. Baseball is the one thing that can actually bring everyone back together. The players must understand that. Fans everywhere are impatient and don't desire any more delays with their lives.

Knock out a deal, guys. You can do this.

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Remember all those movies from yesteryear? In the following case, the year was 1989. Fox personalities reflect on this era in this link for Fox Nation's "Who Can Forget?" franchise:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/dead-p...989-fox-nation

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Sugar Land, Texas, is getting the big change to its Triple-A team. They are now called the Space Cowboys after the Skeeters just couldn't satisfy Houston Astros brass. At least, their ballpark's name (Constellation Field) can now fit a lot better with a new scheme.

It's important that they also be competitive. If Major League Baseball gets going again, that Astros draft is going to be very important in replenishing what has been a depleted farm system.

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Idle thought: Examples of why you don't do things for the first time could include the following scenario. You're jumping out of an airplane for a parachute dive. What if the parachute doesn't open?

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Pizza lovers like certain things on their favorite pie of choice. A survey was done not too long ago to gauge what things people have no desire to put on top of their pizza. Here in the following link are those findings:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyl...led-new-survey

For the record, this writer still likes anchovy.

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The weather events in North Texas right now won't come close to being as bad as last year. Temperatures will stay higher than 10 degrees this time around. You just don't see single digits in Dallas every year. It's usually every twenty to thirty years that this type of thing happens around here.

As far as ice, well, that's what we have to contend with a little more this year. Last year's prolonged snow event, by contrast, did not have near as much ice on the concrete and asphalt. Guess we'll just be slip-sliding away until we melt this by the weekend.

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Fox News has just made a major achievement, and I honestly didn't think this could happen, considering how bad their 2020 presidential election coverage ended up. That aside, it appears the network is becoming an objective news outlet again, besting its competition in the latest ratings race.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/fox-ne...ars-number-one

And, all the while, hate merchants CNN and MSNBC are on the decline. While I'm on this, it should be noted that Jeff Zucker is out as head cheese at Fake News CNN, and it's allegedly because of an improper relationship with a business colleague. He should be resigning because his network is so bad. The Communist News Network, as it's essentially become, is not the great channel it was thirty years ago. Long since, they've discontinued the practice of offering viewers objective news, instead favoring a far-left political agenda in its repertoire. It's now a hate network. Hatred for all things that make America great, and especially hatred for U.S. President Donald Trump throughout his run during his initial term in the White House.

While CNN is on its apparent life support, Fox News is turning the corner after it appeared headed for the Fake News sewage pile. Fox's ratings are showing the people are coming back, albeit with caution, when they're seeing a product that is improving back to the objective level they were at two years ago.

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God bless all of the Canadian truck drivers who are protesting egregious government overreach in the form of COVID vaccine mandates. I applaud each and every one of them for standing up and showing courage.

Now, if we can just overthrow our mostly-crummy U.S. government and put President Trump back in place, things will improve immensely. America does not need a "Great Reset". And so far, that hasn't been so great.

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And speaking of Washington, D.C., they finally have a new name for the Redskins. The NFL franchise is now going to be the Washington Commanders. Okay, I can probably live with it as long as we don't think too much about bad sitting presidents or any negative garbage associated with Capitol Hill.

It never should have been the Washington Football Team for as long as they had it. Utterly ridiculous. They should have just kept the Redskins mascot name right up until the big change. I don't give a flying flip about anyone who gets offended. Some people, as I've repeatedly said, have too much time on their hands. Nevertheless, life can now go on for football fans as the Washington Commanders will start a new era. What remains to be seen is whether or not the new persona will be as legendary or as successful as Redskin teams of the past, especially against my hometown Dallas Cowboys.

In the meantime, the goons behind Cancel Culture should just do the rest of us a favor and please leave everyone else alone.

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Today's date just happens to be February 3. It is today that singer/songwriter Don McLean is paying homage to that fateful day in 1959 when Buddy Holly and three others were involved in a plane crash in Iowa. He's supposed to be doing a special program out there today, but he is on tour commemorating fifty years since the release of "American Pie", McLean's iconic hit song which talks about "the day the music died".

Here's much more from the writer of that song, as he sat down with Tucker Carlson and was sharing stories about his life.

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/do...ght-thing-life

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Funny item gleaned from my apartment complex's workout room: I was watching a Texas Longhorn / Oklahoma Sooner basketball game on Longhorn Network the other night, and the cameras rolled a shot of a small boy in the audience watching the game. Couldn't have been more than about five years old. And he may not have been aware of the camera actually filming him.

You see, he was wearing a superhero costume, and while the cameras were still rolling, the kid began picking his nose! That's right, sports fans. I tried to make out what the commentators were saying as that was going on, but the TV was turned too far down to make out what was being said. The camera was still rolling, and the little kid was caught on tape picking his nose. I guarantee you this: If that clip ever makes it on YouTube, then I want to see that. Priceless television!

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Will Case head for Pappadeaux on Fat Tuesday (March 1)?? All fingers are pointing that direction if I remember to just do it. And why not? I couldn't think of a better place to go for Mardi Gras.

On that same thought, will Case venture out to Corpus Christi for his vacation in May? All fingers are pointing that direction, as well. Your writer wants to check out the progress of the new Harbor Bridge over the Port of Corpus Christi, as well as new segments of Interstate 69E, some already completed and others still under construction. Updates will be provided right here.

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Alright, everyone, that's a wrap for this go-around. Hopefully, your 2022 is already off to a magniferous start. Keep the faith, readers. Things will get better eventually.

And there you are.