Oh Dallas, My Dallas
With the return of the television show Dallas, the city that everyone loves to hate is back.
But my Dallas,
Sunset at White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
the city where I lived for 16 years,
Harry S. Moss Park, Dallas
is a very different place.
Grackle in Dallas, Texas
I’ll be spending the month of July 2012 in Dallas, where my new play, NYC Coyote Existential, is being produced by Echo Theatre as part of the Festival of Independent Theaters.
The Festival takes place at one of my favorite Dallas haunts, the Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake. When I visited in early May for casting, a cormorant perched atop a piling in front of a hazy skyline.
Somewhere in the large park, coyotes prowled or waited for dusk. I didn’t see coyotes – although we looked. But I talked to people who have seen them or heard them calling.
My sightings were mostly of water birds, which abound around White Rock Lake.
Near the shoreline, ducklings massed,
geese waddled,
wood ducks glided,
herons and egrets fished,
a blackbird vied with a flock of tiny ducklings for bits of bread,
and a mama mallard nested right by the path to the water.
The next day, in Harry S. Moss Park, a few miles north of the Lake, a lovely fox squirrel kept an eye on me.
I strolled the paths and the edge of the prairie.
Behind me was Royal Lane.
But there were better things to look at than the roadway.
Like a prairie with a distant cityscape.
I’ll be posting more from Dallas in July. See you then, little fox squirrel!
Tags: cormorant Dallas, Dallas, ducklings, Echo Theatre, Festival of Independent Theaters, fox squirrel Dallas, Harry S. Moss Park Dallas, NYC Coyote Existential, waterfowl Dallas, White Rock Lake, wood ducks in Dallas
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June 26, 2012 at 2:16 am
Intriguing title for your play – brings to mind ‘running with wolves’.
June 20, 2012 at 4:57 pm
Wow, Melissa
Dallas in July? I can’t bear to even think about the heat. Of, course I visit South Carolina in July and it is probably just as bad.
Thank you for the urban photos of animals and lakes. And best of luck with the play.
June 21, 2012 at 4:56 pm
Yes, I’ve been kind of in denial about the heat of Dallas in July. Of course, the last two days in NYC have been as bad as anything in Dallas – maybe not as hot, but more humid and a lot fewer air-conditioned spots!
June 20, 2012 at 9:52 am
Great to hear what you have been up to Melissa and very best wishes for the play. Not sure I like the sound of Dallas’ heat, being from this side of the pond but I’m sure you’ll have a fabulous time back there.
June 21, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Thanks, Mark. The heat is just something to be endured. I don’t look forward to that aspect of my visit!
June 19, 2012 at 10:33 pm
When you are in Dallas this summer, I will be in Cambridge. So sorry to miss you and your play. But I will be reading your blog from afar…and enjoy seeing your photos of Big D…though I will not be missing the temperatures here.
June 21, 2012 at 4:59 pm
Thanks,Karol. I hope you have a wonderful trip abroad.
June 19, 2012 at 5:04 pm
I love your Dallas!
June 21, 2012 at 5:01 pm
Me too. Even if it does require careful camera angles, the mentality of Pollyanna, and great powers of denial. I find those things come in handy here in NYC, as well. They may even be universally helpful these days.