7PM. Ninety-five degrees.
The A-Train arrived at Carrollton just before 6:55PM. The
sun was lower in the sky now; you could venture outdoors without burning to
death. The light rail station was busy with people getting off the A-Train,
waiting for the northbound Green Line train to come up from downtown.
It was about a fifteen-minute wait, so I joined a group of people sitting under an awning. Next to me, a man of Hispanic origin got up after I sat down next to him. He went towards the tracks, smoking with ear buds on.
The Green Line arrived soon enough packed with people. The ride to Union Station was much noisier than I
remembered. Maybe it was the train riding on rails after a day of thick heat.
It could have also been that the train was now much heavier because of the
number of people riding. Whatever the reason, it was actually deafening.
At 7.30, the train stopped at Victory Station. Just as I had
done in the morning, I assumed the Green Line went to Union, so I stayed on. The
train ended up going east into downtown. I got off at the West End station and
stuck it out until the Orange Line came and took me to Victory Station.
My mistake had cost me fifteen minutes, and I had missed the
Red Line to Victory. I ended up stuck at Victory until the next TRE or DART
train arrived. Asking one of several neon-vest-clad DART workers there because of the MegaFest event, she told me
that the next train would be arriving until 8.30.
It was 7.45.
At this point, I had three choices. One: take a bus to Union
and hope for the best. Two: take advantage of the layover and explore nearby Victory
Park, something I have always wanted to do. Three: wait it out at the train
platform and try not to die of boredom.
When I got to the street, traffic has heavy. The AAC had
been hosting T.D. Jakes' famous religious revival
(MegaFest), so police presence was also
heavy. There were police officers about 20 feet to my left, and another across
the street. With my tripod all setup, I decided that this would be a good time
for a DigiChrome.
After taking the trio, I walked across the street and saw
the American Airlines Centre up-close. I had only ever seen
it on television and from traveling on Stemmons (I-35E), but it seemed so much
larger in life (as all buildings do).
 |
| AAC DigiChrome |
Walking around the building and down a small alleyway, I walked right into Victory Plaza. The MegaFest people had set up this large white tent in front of the AAC, with a huge air conditioning unit sticking out of it.
The plaza had rows of misters along its sides
to cool people off in the heat of the day. They were still running at 8PM, and
I stood under one (my camera put away) to recover from the radiated heat of the
urban island. As I opened my eyes (from the coolness), I saw two DPD officers
holding a woman by her arms, dragging her into the white tent in the back of
the plaza. It looked as if she had collapsed in the heat.
Standing in the middle of the plaza, I decided to peek into the Victory Park studios of WFAA, the Dallas affiliate of the ABC network. A blanket covered the furniture across from the desk and the cameras were locked into position. The TVs positioned above the desk were still playing a video showing the station’s logo as they do during the newscasts.
Before leaving Victory
Park to catch the TRE, I decided to take a panorama to remember how it looked
that hot August evening.
I hurriedly put my camera away and started back for Victory.
I made it ten minutes before the train
was due. Waiting on the platform, and with Reunion Tower in clear sight, I shot some
video and a few photographs of the iconic landmark.
As I was shooting some video, a police officer on a Segway
(which I had passed when I left the platform) came at me at top speed. He screeched it to a halt and asked me what I was
doing. Tripod fully extended with a camera on it, I pointed at Reunion and said:
“The tower, officer, the tower.”
“Oh…” he said, “I was just making sure. You are too close to the tracks. Why don’t you go ahead and step back a little?” I moved and he went on his way.
Standing in the middle of the plaza, I decided to peek into the Victory Park studios of WFAA, the Dallas affiliate of the ABC network. A blanket covered the furniture across from the desk and the cameras were locked into position. The TVs positioned above the desk were still playing a video showing the station’s logo as they do during the newscasts.
Also: this vantage point from the corner of Houston and Olive.
“Oh…” he said, “I was just making sure. You are too close to the tracks. Why don’t you go ahead and step back a little?” I moved and he went on his way.
While shooting a
second video of the tower, my camera flashed a red ‘empty battery’ icon and
shutdown. The PhotoJournal was over, mainly because my battery died.
After I put my equipment away, the Indian woman who I had talked to
earlier came up to me and asked what had happened with the police officer. I
told her what happened, and she said, “He probably thought you were going to jump or something! Just wanted to make sure you weren't.”
“OK fine, but that doesn’t mean you come at someone at full-speed
on a Segway!”
At 8:45, the TRE train arrived and I was back in
air-conditioned paradise. The Indian woman sat next to me and we both enjoyed a
quiet ride through Dallas.
As we rode through Irving, we hit up some small talk. She asked
what I had been doing in Dallas and I told her that I had been up in Denton
earlier with a friend of mine. I also mentioned that the train was the cheapest
method of travel.
Reciprocating, she stated that she did not know how to drive and this was her way to get around. When I asked why she hasn’t learned, she said, “Well, I’m from Mumbai in India. Traffic there is not like traffic here. There are cars everywhere and everyone is hitting their horns. It’s too hectic and I was too scared to try. It isn’t too bad here, nothing like Mumbai.”
Reciprocating, she stated that she did not know how to drive and this was her way to get around. When I asked why she hasn’t learned, she said, “Well, I’m from Mumbai in India. Traffic there is not like traffic here. There are cars everywhere and everyone is hitting their horns. It’s too hectic and I was too scared to try. It isn’t too bad here, nothing like Mumbai.”
The train pulled into Centreport Station around 9.30PM. The
sun was now set but the heat was still thick. I parted ways with the Indian
woman, clad in a green sari, and waded towards the Suburban. Not much
had happened to the car, but as I opened the door, the heat hit me and it choked me a little. I aired it out before I got in, turned the A/C on full, and
proceeded to drive down Trinity Boulevard.
Driving home, my
stomach rumbled something fierce. That day’s consumption was the burger at
noon, the oranges at six, and yeah. I stopped by a McDonald’s and ordered two
McChicken sandwiches and a large Coke. Not the best choice, but not bad for the
$5 I had on me.
I finally got home at 10.15PM, and I was tired as fuck.
Although the day did not go (somewhat) as planned, overall, it was a
successful, somewhat haphazard, end to a PhotoJournal. And who knows, there
might just be a North2Denton II in
the future.
Maybe.
