tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36010671.post8146920541757184193..comments2023-12-22T23:38:08.967-06:00Comments on Random Rants and Prickly Plants: White Settlement, Grapevine... and then a good ole rant...Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04568424354642247198noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36010671.post-74619582315689287462010-01-29T13:36:05.986-06:002010-01-29T13:36:05.986-06:00I was holding my kid's hand and gawking at the...I was holding my kid's hand and gawking at the interiors of one of Vegas's posh hotels when I was stopped by a staff....she wanted to see proof I am the dad, but let me go when I told her I stayed at another hotel... !!!Hort Loghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12732036923234582077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36010671.post-71238610959024123792010-01-25T08:18:09.523-06:002010-01-25T08:18:09.523-06:00Claude, incredible occurrence. I just told my husb...Claude, incredible occurrence. I just told my husband the story (he's across the hall in his office) and his response, "THAT IS SICK"! and then he added something like... well, you don't want me to write down what he said about the female policeman. ;) <br /><br />You won't like this: several weeks ago a female policeman gave a fella a ticket for "harassment" and "obstructing justice" to the tune of $800 1) for putting money in a parking meter for someone else (his car was parked next to it)as the meter had expired, and 2) for telling her that she was full of crap for giving him a ticket for being a good samaritan. Other police were called and he was handcuffed and taken away. So this is done to our local citizens while terrorists get Miranda Rights. (sorry for taking up so much space)Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13160202493785166930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36010671.post-25446396504676720332010-01-23T08:13:33.102-06:002010-01-23T08:13:33.102-06:00I forgot to respond to something else... I can'...I forgot to respond to something else... I can't avoid Grapevine... It's on the northern edge of DFW airport, and I'm afraid I do a lot of deliveries and pick-ups there... some of them are high security, and high pay... and I will continue to visit the city parks to eat my lunch on the road, or stretch my legs after I've driven 6 hours. <br /><br />In the future, I will just make sure I collect any police officers names and badge numbers. If any of the cops go over the line... I will have a lawyer file complaints. I'm not the kind of person who believes I have to sacrifice my civil liberties to other peoples paranoia.Claudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04568424354642247198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36010671.post-91441693530113302512010-01-23T06:03:50.884-06:002010-01-23T06:03:50.884-06:00Thanks for the comments...
to clarify... There w...Thanks for the comments... <br /><br />to clarify... There were children in the park... There is a playground by the entrance of the botanic garden and there were quite a few children there with mothers and nannies and such. I had my camera in the garden, put the camera back in the truck when I left the garden and was sitting at a bench beside the playground, but as far away from it as possible, as I was trying to write in my notebook and children are noisy. I seem to recall some other people walking around the garden, and a few women with stollers on the paths... and I did have to wait to take the koi pics while a woman was taking pics of her daughter with the koi... but while I was waiting I went over to check out some of the signs on the trees. I certainly didn't hover over her... <br /><br />As a single man in a park, I must say that I usually pretty much don't pay attention to children... unless a ball comes hurtling towards me, or avoiding driving over them in the parking lot when I'm coming in or leaving, kids are a blip on the radar but not much else. Generally, Other peoples kids are other peoples problems as far as I'm concerned. <br /><br />I'd also like to point out that the cop in question wasn't particularly rude... other than implying that I was a pervert... sexual predator was the term she used... you could pretty much tell she was just there because someone called. Whoever called was a total bitch, but the cop required to check me out no matter what... The male cop that showed up in another car wasn't particularly anything. He was one of those shorter guys who stand around glaring with that "I'm in charge" look they get.Claudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04568424354642247198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36010671.post-85028378850139973302010-01-22T12:37:36.015-06:002010-01-22T12:37:36.015-06:00The part I find myself wondering about here is: is...The part I find myself wondering about here is: is there even any evidence that sexual predators <i>try</i> to photograph children before molesting them? I mean, the UK has recently been doing a lot of random harassment of photographers on the grounds that photography is obviously and inherently terrorism-related, never mind that there's <b>no</b> evidence that the first step in blowing up a building is to send someone out to take pictures of it (and this becomes especially silly once you consider that the places in question are mostly highly-photographed tourist destinations, for which hundreds of photos already exist on-line). It mostly appears to be an excuse for cops to harass people they don't want around.<br /><br />In your case, it doesn't even sound like there were any children <i>present</i>, making the whole thing sound more like the City of Grapevine going out of its way to let you know that you're not welcome there, for whatever reason. Or something. More likely there's someone in a nearby house with binoculars and too much time on his/r hands. Possibly expecting this story to make sense is asking for too much. But point taken. I wasn't likely to be visiting Texas anyway, but if I ever have to, I'll remember to stay clear of Grapevine. <br /><br />Oh, and --<br /><br />The other thing this signals to me is that Grapevine must be having a serious pervert crisis. I mean, I have to assume that at least 2 out of every 3 adult males in Grapevine is a child molester, for the city to be so vigilant about it. I mean, <i>I hear</i> there's a guy by the Botanical Gardens there who just sits in front of his window with a pair of binoculars, watching the kids come and go. (Cuh-reepy!) Which is even more reason never to set foot in Grapevine. Probably not the message they intend to send, but I think it's a message that needs to be more widely disseminated.mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36010671.post-79848106030134400902010-01-22T10:36:08.019-06:002010-01-22T10:36:08.019-06:00That's horrible!
Unfortunately, this is getti...That's horrible!<br /><br />Unfortunately, this is getting to be more and more of a problem. Did you hear that British Airways won't let a man sit next to a child even if the child's parents are present? And I've known male teachers who had to watch everything they did for fear of being accused of child molestation. Some are even leaving the profession.<br /><br />That cop was a b***h! Just because you're a single male doesn't mean you're a pervert. Were there even any children around? Anyway, like you said, taking pictures of children in public park, albeit creepy, isn't illegal -- it's none of the cop's business.<br /><br />But, having been to Texas frequently (my mother's from Abilene), I'd say stay out of Grapevine if possible, or at least spend the absolute minimum of time there.CelticRosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36010671.post-61890847064249095802010-01-22T09:23:16.050-06:002010-01-22T09:23:16.050-06:00*sighs* I was sitting in an odd park area a few ye...*sighs* I was sitting in an odd park area a few years ago in Austin with my son who was probably 6 months old in his stroller when Ia police officer actually had the gall to come over and ask me if it were MY baby because he was so white and I was so dark. And because I was alone in an odd area of the park. (I was watching a family of black squirrels)<br /><br />People , with stupid assumption , are just that. Stupid.<br />Your a man i a park and your suspicious because you have a camera ?<br />SO much BS<br />The sheer amount of stupid people in the world is somewhat frightening lately.Happy Hermit (happilyhiddenhermit@gmail.com)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02519948709090732780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36010671.post-66117025425761429992010-01-22T00:28:34.043-06:002010-01-22T00:28:34.043-06:00OMG! The beginning of your post made me laugh bec...OMG! The beginning of your post made me laugh because I am always waiting for your rants because they are usually very entertaining and fun to read...but this was absolutely horrible! I am so sorry you had this experience! I have to second that where the whole city of Grapevine can kiss my ass too!!!<br /><br />I loved your koi photos...the one really shows that ultra-clear water...which I was surprised over (why? I have no idea)! They are such beautiful fish to watch, are they not???<br /><br />You will have to find a different towns botanical garden to visit in the spring...cause Grapevine can just kiss all our asses!Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04402220963886597754noreply@blogger.com