Day dreaming

5 ideas more worthy of a White House petition than ousting Cowboys owner JerryJones

Steven M. of Georgia (not pictured) has petitioned the U.S. government to removeJerry Jones as owner and GM of the Cowboys.
This might still happen, but we suspect people will feel a bit sillier if theyall happen to be mobbing a Wal*Mart just because it's the day after Thanksgiving(or Friday).
Mr. Hagman is gone, and the real-life J.R. is getting petitioned out of his poston the Death Star. Only one of them deserves a statue though.
TNT Newsroom

So some enterprising Cowboys fan named Steven M. of Georgia petitioned President Obama to remove Jerry Jones as owner and GM of the team. Before being taken down, it garnered around 3,500 signatures — nothing compared to recent Texas secession petition.

These online petitions are getting a little frivolous (though that hasn’t stopped us from wondering ‘what if?’). Signing a petition online really takes out the excitement of getting pestered at malls or on the sidewalk.

Still, if petitions are going to inundate our newsfeed and Twitter stream, here are a few that are worth our keystrokes:

1. Cowboys must draft offensive linemen with their first four picks in next year’s draft. The Cowboys have given up 26 sacks this season, and it would probably be more if Romo wasn’t such a scrambler. Still, that’s not exactly the skill you want your QB to be showing off all the time. Add to that the worst rushing game in the league and it’s pretty clear that this O-line needs some serious work. Maybe someone like Chance Warmack out of 'Bama, for starters.

2a. The day after Thanksgiving shall be known as the day after Thanksgiving (or Friday). We won’t even say the title of the pseudo-holiday that is poised to overtake Thanksgiving, but this insanity has got to stop, people. I meant it. You’re acting like the offspring of zombies and the humans from Wall*E.
2b. Christmas decorations must wait until the day after Thanksgiving (or Friday). We just like keeping holidays separated.

3. Sriracha must develop packets for their sauce. Okay, so technically these things already exist, but why aren’t they everywhere, right now?
We want to be able to swipe 30 of these from the McDonald’s condiments bar, not spend $3 ordering them online.

4. Nashville ‘Country’ will now be known as ‘Southern Pop Rock.’ Taylor Swift does not make country music any more fun. Carrie Underwood is Kelly Clarkson with Christian undertones (who, by the way, was nominated for CMA female vocalist of the year.) Kenny Chesney is Jimmy Buffett in a cowboy hat. Enough.

5. In honor of Larry Hagman, a larger-than-life statue will be erected downtown facing towards Southfork. Mostly in respect for Mr. Hagman, but also because we don’t have any idea where Southfork is. Is it to the east? The south? The infallible Wikipedia says, “Southfork Ranch is a conference and event center located in Parker, Texas, U.S., about 25 mi (40 km) north of Dallas.” North, eh? No one is going to remember that. We need the statue ASAP.

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SUMMERTIME blues

Dallas-Fort Worth arrives at surprising spot among top summer travel destinations

Cool Thursdays Concert Series at Dallas Arboretum

Photo courtesy of Dallas Arboretum

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Dallas-Fort Worth recently racked up more than a dozen accolades at the 2023 Texas Travel Awards. But a new survey reveals it's not necessarily such a hot travel destination this summer.

DFW comes in at a middle-of-the-road No. 45 in WalletHub's recent 2023 Best Summer Travel Destinations report.

The report compared 100 of the largest metro areas in America across 41 metrics, including number of attractions.

DFW scored an overall rating of 52.56 out of 100. Broken down by category, the Metroplex ranked 86th in "Travel Costs & Hassles;" 32nd in "Local Costs;" 20th in "Attractions;" 41st in "Weather;" 27th in "Activities;" and 50th in "Safety."

Taking the top spot in Texas was San Antonio, at No. 11, with Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown at No. 14. Behind Austin and San Antonio in the 2023 rankings is El Paso (No. 18), then Houston (No. 38). After 45th ranked DFW came Corpus Christi (No. 62), and McAllen (No. 86).

Dr. Susan Weidmann, assistant professor in the department of recreational management and physical education at Appalachian State University, said in the report that summer 2023 is going to be a “good season for travel” despite recent economic downturns that have many worried about a recession.

“Coming out of Covid, I think many people have taken these last few years to really evaluate what they want out of life, and for those that love travel, I think they have probably put it at the top of their list of things to do,” she said. “As far as economics are concerned, many may have saved their traveling money from the last multiple years, so will have money to spend. That being said, after the airline chaos of last year, many people may be thinking about domestic travel over the long-haul, just to alleviate many of the concerns that airlines, especially in Europe, are still grappling with, such as reduced staffing leading to flight cancellations.”

Weidmann predicts the time period between July and early August will be the most popular season for National Parks, like Texas’ Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains.

Despite none of them being in Texas, the top 10 destinations in WalletHub’s report are all popular cities worth a glance in sun-friendly states like Hawaii, New York, and Florida.

The top 10 best summer destinations are:

No. 1 – Atlanta
No. 2 – Honolulu, Hawaii
No. 3 – Washington, D.C.
No. 4 – Wichita, Kansas
No. 5 – New York City
No. 6 – Chicago
No. 7 – Tampa, Florida
No. 8 – Orlando, Florida
No. 9 – Richmond, Virginia
No. 10 – Springfield, Missouri

travel summer reports wallethub