Fort Worth: My History…My Home

Fort Worth. I love this place where all of my childhood memories originate. It is here, in the Cowboy Capital, that I hang my hat. Though it hasn't always been so.

Until last year, I lived in a little one-horse town about 80 miles southwest of The Fort. So far from home i had lain my head for over 14 years. And it was there, in that little town, that I raised my kids to their teen-aged years.

But there came a day when I knew it was time to go back home. I had to shine my face once again, upon the city of my roots. My greatest regret? That I hadn't raised my kids amongst the yee-haw hoop-la of this wonderful city known as Cowtown.

It's been little over a year now since I moved back to Fort Worth; its downtown area pulsating a new beat. A vibe far removed from the sleepy sounds of the ghost town it seemed to be back in the 70's. However abandoned the downtown area of Fort Worth seemed back then, well...it was then that most of my fun was had and my memories made.

When, on Friday nights, we'd dine out at Bill Marten's 2nd Edition over on White Settlement Boulevard. And it was then that we used to head out to Trinity Park to slide down hills on cardboard boxes that we'd salvaged from behind the old Montgomery Ward Building on 7th Street. The place my mother worked as a young, twenty-something woman.

I think fondly of the times Mom used to keep us out of school. We'd head down to Clown Burger on Belknap, grab some burgers and fries--greasy...but to die for, even to this day--then head out to the duck pond in Trinity Park to feed the ducks all of our day-old bread. It was the highlight of our week every time we got to play hooky from school.

I remember the times my dad used to tell us about patrolling the streets of Fort Worth; proud to serve his duty as a motorcycle cop. It was the roaring 40's, right around the time my mom held her job at Montgomery Ward.

I look at the old black and white photographs of my dad in uniform and my mom dressed in her city best, and I feel proud. Proud to be from Fort Worth, and proud to have so much family history and wonderful memories here. And proud to know that, along with the many other Fort Wortheans of their time, my parents helped pave the way for the rest of us to enjoy this fine city. I tip my hat to them all. I take comfort in knowing there's still many more memories to be made, waiting just around the corner of tomorrow.