Tyler TX Facebook

Follow Donny on Twitter

Username:
Password:
  Remember Me   Forgot password?  Register
0-9  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  

Find or Refer a Contractor in Tyler

The Childrens Park in Tyler TX

April 22nd, 2010

The Children’s Park
900 S Broadway
Tyler 75701

The Children’s Park is a little haven between downtown Tyler and the shopping areas of South Broadway.

It is a small memorial park where the names of local children who have died are inscribed on stones that encircle the park. It has some amazing bronze statues, a water feature running through the park, lots of flowers and shrubs and places to sit and be peaceful for a while.

Alternatively, you can bring your children and they can run around, paddle in the stream and have fun in the beautiful surroundings. We have picnicked here as a family and enjoyed it’s beauty. There are steps down to the park – it has a sunken garden feel – but also access for wheelchairs and strollers. There are places to stop and reflect and also picnic benches but my children preferred to climb up the waterfall and sit on the rocks at the top to eat their sandwiches! There is no playground but if that is what you are looking for then just a hundred yards down the road you will find Bergfield Park which has swings and climbing equipment.

The park is run by the City of Tyler Parks and Recreation Department and funded by the Children are a Gift Foundation. It has been in Tyler for 5 years. Annual events are held including a teddy bears picnic for families who have lost children and it is possible to reserve the park for your special event.

One note of advice. With the water, trees and grasses, this is also a very popular hang out for mosquitoes – the mean East Texas kind who need more than one bite! Repellant is a necessity in summer and fall.

If you know someone who has lost a baby or young child or even someone with a special needs baby who may be grieving and needing support from others in a similar situation – then there is a local organization that can help. ‘Glory Babies’ is part of the Children Are a Gift Foundation. This is the way in for anyone wanting to place a stone commemorating a lost child at the park too.

www.childrenareagift.com has more information.

Tyler Junior College the Largest Junior College in Texas

April 21st, 2010

Tyler Junior College is one of the biggest Junior colleges in the country. Everyone in Tyler knows about Tyler Junior College. Tyler Junior College is known for its three promises; 1. A quality education, 2. A Vibrant Student Life, and 3. Community Service. Tyler Junior College started in 1926. The student body was not much more than a few hundred.

In Tyler TJC has become more than just a college, sadly, it has become the hot hang out spot. Many times it seems that TJC has tried to sweep the crime that happens on the campus under the rug. If you just walk through the campus it is pretty obvious that there is a problem with gangs. Silly fights have broken out due to certain groups standing on other groups spot. It is ridiculous to walk through the campus and to hear the childish yelling. It is extremely annoying to hear the obnoxious hissing of men trying to get a girl’s attention. I think that the campus security is trying to deal with this issue but it never seems to really change.

Although there are really annoying things that happen at TJC, there are really great programs that give back to the community. There are many scholars programs at Tyler Junior College that allows students to receive extra credit and they are able to graduate with honors. These programs give the students opportunities to work in the community and to work along with charities in East Texas.

Tyler Junior College gives many people an opportunity to go to college when they come from a place that maybe their grades were not the best in high school, or if that they do not have very much money. TJC places their students according to a placement test, which tests the students reading, math, and English skills.

TJC does have great opportunities for all people, from successful sport programs and cheerleading to a great drama and music program. The two year college has allowed people to change their lives and have opportunities that they may not have found anywhere else.

Childrens Clothing Consignment Sale is Going On Now!

April 8th, 2010

We have written about the CCCS sale before but it is going on this weekend and even right now, TODAY! people. Go check it out. They fill up the Harvey Convention Center with tons of clothing.

The clothing is hand me down gently used kids clothes from moms in Tyler. These moms all get together and have this gigantic sale at the Harvey Convention Center right next to the East Texas state fair.

So go check it out, it is only going on for a little while.

Helpless in Target

March 29th, 2010

Target is one of my very favorite stores here in East Texas. It is one of the best stores to buy clothes and to register for wedding and baby showers. But as I walked through the store to the electronic department I was in a hurry.

I am pretty clueless when it comes to understanding electronics. And I was in need to buy my husband a HD cable. I had no idea what that was. I knew that it was a cable that you stuck into your television. I walked over to the “help” desk and waited for a employee to come to the desk. Two employees walked by the desk and when they saw me, they tried to not make eye contact. Usually I would of just searched the store until I actually found someone that was willing to do their job, but for the sake of this articles, I waited for someone to actually try to help me. Finally a young boy came up to the desk and I asked him to help me. He looked around for someone else to do his job. His lack of excitement to be at work was completely off putting, and to be blunt, annoying.

I asked him where I can find HD cables. He pointed in a general direction and told me they were “over there”. So, at this point I was extremely frustrated with the young kid. I told him that I really had no idea what I was looking for or what kind of cable I should use. He looked at me like I was retarded and told me he was going to get someone to help me. It would take more time to find someone to come over and show me, than to just show me himself. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and asked for some woman to come over to electronics. I asked him if he worked in this department. Apparently you can work in the electronics department but with manly video games and televisions. He grabbed the phone and called an outgoing line right in front of me. I was beyond annoyed by the rudeness of the employee. A woman came up to me and ask what I needed help. I told her that I just needed to be shown where the HD cables were at and which one I should use. She walked me over to the next aisle. About twenty feet. Really? He could not walk me over twenty feet? I grabbed the cable that I needed and left the store disappointed and frustrated. If you don’t know what you are looking for when it comes to the electronic selection, do not go to Target.

Hastings Video Store in Tyler

March 26th, 2010

Hastings

www.gohastings.com

4015 S Broadway Ave
Tyler, TX 75701-8727
(903) 534-9278

Hastings parking lot maybe an awesome hang out for the East Texas teenagers, but I think that there are more people in the parking lot than in the store. The store does have a great variety of books, movies, music, and video games. This store is probably the dirtiest store in East Texas. I feel like I have to take a bath after renting a movie. The well known store may be struggling to stay in business.

As I try to find the door through the clouds of smoke from the teenagers hanging out side the door, I already know that I really want to get a movie and leave as fast as you can. You can dig through the towers in the aisle to find cheap movies to buy. “Buy two get the third for a penny.” They have great deals for movies on sale and as the world of electronics grows to the newest level; Hastings is starting to sale and rent movies on Blue Ray.

Hastings lack of convenience may be the thing that puts them out of business. Although you can shop online for movies and music and much more, you have to return to the store. The great thing about the competing rental companies, such as Red Box and Netflix, is that they are convenient to your every day life.

The odd and, many times, unhelpful people that work at Hastings add to the frustration of the shopping experience. The oddly disturbing action figures and adult board games makes me rush out the store with my hands over my eyes.

Although you can find most music, movies and books, I would look everywhere in Tyler before I endure the torture of shopping in Hastings. The good thing about the store is that they buy those old movies and CDs that have been sitting on your shelf just collecting dust and taking up space.

Hastings is my “last stop store”; if I can not find a movie I have been wanting to watch for months in Red Box, or the dollar rental machine at Brookshires, or if it is not at the other failing rental store, Blockbuster, I go to Hastings, then I go home and take a bath until I can not smell the stink of the store in my hair.