PARADISE TEXAS

PARADISE TEXAS

Unfortunately a search on Paradise Texas shows my page if you are lucky, but more than likely some resort areas in Texas that consider themselves to be a Paradise! There really is only one Paradise, Texas though. For those who are interested Paradise Texas is located off of Highway 114 approximately 5 miles north-west of Boyd and an easy 35 minute drive from Fort Worth. Take 81-287 north from I 35 W out of Fort Worth. Get off the Interstate at the Bridgeport exit and turn left at the stop sign. I am 18 miles from the Texas Motor Speedway near Grapevine and only a 40 minute drive from the DFW airport. To non- Texans we talk in drive time since you can go to Dallas and sit on a road for 40 minutes in traffic.

Paradise is mentioned in biographies for George "Machine Gun" Kelley- where he hid a kidnapped industrialist back in the 40s'. Bonnie and Clyde used to frequent Fort Worth and the area quite a bit too when they wanted to take a vacation from the hectic pace of bank robbing. Other than that, I don't believe anything important happened here. Perhaps Bonnie, Clyde and George partied hearty in Paradise.

Paradise is a community of about 300 hundred plus citizens. It has one gas station, the Shell  Food mart, one flashing yellow light on interstate 114 (which was installed after I first arrived, as a tragic result of a girl being injured by a passing vehicle). There is a beautiful high school, home of the Panthers. A large and loyal contingent of parents come to the ball field and support their kids during EVERY sports event. You can hear the loud-speakers blaring during football season at the high school with everyone cheering the teams on. Its nice to see the involvement. There are many churches in the community with a catholic church in Bridgeport ( I believe) only 11 miles from here and another in Decatur.

In fifteen minutes I can drive to Run Away Bay which is a monstrous lake and launch my jet skis or about any size boat that you want. Good winds always provide great sailing. I am about 20 minutes from Eagle Mountain Lake. The Chisholm Trail runs through the area and every year they re-create the drive. Hundreds and hundreds of people all get together and ride their horses. The Grasslands just north of Decatur provides 20,000 plus acres of trail rides, hunting, fishing and recreation.

Eight miles from Paradise on highway 51 is Decatur which boasts a Wal-Mart, TSC, IGA, Jack in the Box, Sonics and of course Dairy Queen, Burger King, KFC and MacDonald's. Decatur is a fine community with a beautiful courthouse and town square. There you will find a DL bureau and a DPS office as well as the local county sheriff.  Boyd,  Texas  has a license plate and tax collector in their town. Also be aware that the Boyd PD love to sit at the edge of town and watch the transition speed from 70 to 55 to 45. They are not as aggressive as Rhome PD but they will get you if you don't watch the speed - fair enough, you have been warned. Also they are intolerant of DWIs. On Friday and Saturday nights all of Wise county is a prowl with DPS, county and local law enforcement agencies. If you drink- please drink at home. By the way Wise county is geographically  segmented for alcohol  and areas are dry so you have to stock up in Tarrant county or drive to Run Away Bay for beer or wine. You can get a complete compliment of beer and wine and Wal-Mart in Decatur as well as the Mom and Pop stores close by.  ( Sam's got a good thing).  There is no hard liquor available here, the closest being Rhome, Texas with the Wise Liquor store.  Now that Rhome is wet, there are some gas stations that offer beer and wine.  This is handy for the people on their way to the races.  As a wine connoisseur I am not preaching but Texas still leads the nation in DUI fatalities.

The local telephone company is Sprint and they do offer caller id. A few basic amenities such as call waiting and multiple lines. But for $17.00 who cares, I have a dedicated modem line and two other telephone numbers.  High Speed , sort of,  DSL is available if you live a mile or so with the city limits of Paradise  and runs me around $40.00 a month . Well worth the  money  There are sloooow   dial ups available around here.

The people of Paradise are a total mixture of economic and ethnic strata but all (so far) are friendly and wave as they drive by. The area is fast growing-with five acre parcels being offered. House insurance is double the city as there is only the local volunteer FD.

In early morn around 4 am you can hear the coyotes; or in the spring and fall the wild turkeys. I have a large hoot owl who lives in my pecan tree and quail run around on the loose. There is a farmer's market in Boyd on 114.  Plan to do major item shopping in Fort Worth after work or catch good deals in Decatur. The Shell  Food Mart is great for the milk and eggs and butter or gasoline that you ran out of and the management is friendly. I believe they have a grill in the morn and truckers will stop by for chicken and other items. I never really paid too much attention. Tater Junction in Aurora is a nice ten minute drive with good home cooked meals especially their CFS.  ( thats Chicken Fried Steak to the yankees).  In the next several weeks I am going to post the original Threadgill's CFS recipe.

We have a nice postal facility with a bunch of friendly people running the office.

The "town" of Paradise itself is in a state of disrepair and the old brick buildings are falling down. I would love to see some new growth. Someone to buy one of the smaller buildings and convert it into a small mailbox type place with copiers etc.  Update 2002 this is starting to happen.

Over all if you don't mind the 30 to 40 minute ride to Fort Worth, (more in winter if ice is around) and if you don't mind the possibility that a tornado is lurking around in early summer or that you better plan your purchasing options for some items other then Wal-Mart. Then Paradise might be right for you too. I know that I don't regret it.

For those of you who would like to read more of a historical perspective please click on the following link. Eventually I will be adding pictures and more information. Paradise History

Thanks for stopping by. Constructive comments are always welcome.

The star indicates the location of Paradise

ADVISE TO PEOPLE MOVING TO TEXAS

1. Save all manner of bacon grease. You will be instructed later how to use it.

2. If you forget a Texan's name, refer to him (or her) as "Bubba." You have a 75% chance of being right.

3. Just because you can drive on snow and ice does not mean we can. Stay home the two days of the year it snows.

4. If you do run your car into a ditch, don't panic. Four men in the cab of a four wheel drive with a 12-pack of beer and a tow chain will be along shortly. Don't try to help them. Just stay out of their way. This is what they live for.

5. Don't be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store.

6. Do not buy food at the movie store.

7. If it can't be fried in bacon grease, it ain’t worth cooking, let alone eating.

8. Remember: "Y'all" is singular. "All y'all" is plural. "All y'all's" is plural possessive.

9. Get used to hearing, "You ain’t from around here, are you?"

10. Don't be worried that you don't understand anyone. They don't understand you either.

11. The proper pronunciation you learned in school is no longer proper.

12. Be advised: The "He needed killin'" defense is valid here.

13. If attending a funeral in the TX, remember, we stay until the last shovel of dirt is thrown on and the tent is torn down.

14. If you hear a Texan exclaim, "Hey, y'all, watch this!" stay out of his way. These are likely the last words he will ever say.

15. Most Texans do not use turn signals, and they ignore those who do. In fact, if you see a signal blinking on a car with a Texas license plate, you may rest assured that it was on when the car was purchased.

16. Northerners can be identified by the spit on the inside of their car's windshield that comes from yelling at other drivers.

17. Satellite dishes are very popular in the Texas. When you purchase one it is to be positioned directly in front of your trailer. This is logical bearing in mind that the dish cost considerably more than the trailer and should, therefore, be displayed.

18. Tornadoes and Texans going through a divorce have a lot in common. In either case, you know someone is going to lose a trailer.

19. Florida is not considered a Southern State. There are far more Yankees than Southerners living there.

20. If you are cursing the person driving 15 mph in a 55 mph zone, directly in the middle of the road, remember, many folks learned to drive on a model of vehicle known as John Deere, and this is the proper speed and lane position for the vehicle.