On our recent jaunt to the great state of Texas, I had to remind myself that every adventure need not necessarily be a
wacky tacky fact-finding mission. It's okay, I told myself, to to put down the camera and simply enjoy my surroundings. It's perfectly reasonable, I concluded, to abstain from researching bowling alleys, bakeries, and beauty shops. It is good etiquette, so I'd read, to connect on a personal level with local residents (particularly if those locals happen to be your awesome extended family members). But sometimes it is also acceptable to acknowledge that the heart wants what it wants. And this heart of mine, enlarged by too many trayfuls of good, old-fashioned, Texas barbecue, wants signage - crackling, glowing, neon signage!
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Blue Bonnet Bakery - Fort Worth, TX
The first sign we encountered was in the historic Crescent Heights neighborhood of
Fort Worth; the 80-year-old Blue Bonnet Bakery's new-ish sign added some roadside
whimsy to the 1922 Christian Science Church from which the bakery now operates. |
With a couple of exceptions, signs in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex defy the stereotype that everything is bigger in Texas. In fact, most of the signs are relatively modest compared to, not just the businesses they advertise, but also the vast prairie country they inhabit. Thank goodness that we at wacky tacky are not size snobs; new or old, meek or bold, we are of the opinion that when it comes to signs, even modest can be hottest.
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Messina's Shoe Repair - Grapevine, TX
It doesn't get much more simple than Messina's sheet-metal & neon shoe. And yet, there is nothing
so quaint and old-timey as hanging your shingle in the shape of the services/wares that are offered. |
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Coburn's Cafeteria & Catering - Fort Worth, TX
Unfortunately, the cafeteria inside Coburn's is long gone but they
continue to offer some of North-Central Texas' best catering. |
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Rose - Fort Worth, TX
I'm not sure what they're advertising but whatever they're sellling, I'm buying. |
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Leddy's Boots & Saddlery - Fort Worth, TX
You can keep your football; this is my kind of Friday Night lights!!! |
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Riscky's Steakhouse - Fort Worth, TX
Cool sign - no bull. |
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| Theo's Drive-In - Grand Prairie, TX |
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Theo's Drive-In - Grand Prairie, TX
Don't you all of the sudden have a serious craving for Cre-Mel Root Beer...whatever that is. |
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| Texas Liquor - Dallas, TX |
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| Buck & Ruck - Dallas, TX |
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| Stop n' Save Liquors - Dallas, TX |
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| The reverse of Stop n' Save Liquors - Dallas, TX |
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| Standard Spring & Brakes - Dallas, TX |
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Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX
Rollin' deep! |
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| Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Dishes - Grand Prairie, TX |
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| Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX |
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| Adam Hats - Dallas, TX |
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| Twisted Root Burgers - Dallas, TX |
Even though this is the one and only time Pee-Wee has ever led us astray (the promise that every Texan we encountered would clap along with us given the appropriate prompting was left unfulfilled after many, many attempts), we still adore Mr. Herman and the signs of DFW. Although we didn't stick around long enough past sundown to see any of these beauties in their full glory, that didn't dim the twinkle they left in our eyes. To coin a new phrase, "the signs at night are small but bright, deep in the heart of Texas!!!"
"Deep in the Heart of Texas" - The Ranch Party Gang (1957)
(It should be noted that Town Hall Ranch Party
was broadcast from Compton, CA - woot woot!)
Cheers!
Mr. Tiny
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