Azle Texas

We've passed the five month mark for Marty's unemployment. The vibe around here is serene--with the exception of the Overlords' daily escapades. Leon is currently addicted to breaking the rules by zooming outside and jumping into a small patch of poison ivy in the woods on the other side of our fence. But that's for another blog. 

Anyway, once again Marty has applied for another job in an obscure Texas town. Today's winner is Azle Texas. 

Azle Texas is in Tarrant and Parker counties. As someone who lives in an area that straddles two states, I can only imagine the logistics when it comes to managing the municipalities. The city boasts a population of 15000--which is roughly three times as large as Wake Village and two and a half times smaller than Texarkana Texas. However, Azle has the distinct honor of being on the outskirts of Fort Worth. Think of it like being in Gold Canyon, AZ and taking advantage of all that the Valley has to offer while living the small-town dream. So, as far as I'm concerned, though it doesn't have a beach attached, it is major league baseball and trader joe's adjacent and offers clean air.

After a quick dive, I'm seeing that Azle is separated from the Fort Worth area by two man-made lakes (Eagle Mountain--though I see zero mountains on the map--and some other lake that doesn't seem to have a name) and a nature preserve. I'd like to go out on a limb here and say perhaps the gators aren't this far West. Hopefully. 

Well crap. After another deep dive, it appears Eagle Mountain Lake has its fair share of alligators. 

Let's talk about crime. According to the bastion of truth, the internet, crime in Azle Texas is 18 crimes per 1,000 residents--slightly lower than Texarkana. Crime in Mesa AZ is 270 per 1,000 residents. Wake Village has about 10 crimes per 1,000 folks. 

The notable people list was not what I expected. Author James Reasoner stood out. He's written more than 150 books. Jon Shirley, president of Microsoft also came from Azle--but I'm not sure on this one. On Mr. Shirley's bio, it doesn't say anything about Texas. So, maybe he set foot in Azle, saw a gator and high-tailed out. Also of note: James Casey, tight end coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and General Jon T. Walker, World War 1 and II badass. 

As I write this, the company Marty sent his resume to has gotten back to him and asked for more information. Yawn. This happens often. Its a sign he's generated interest--most likely in this case the HR department (which I'm guessing consists of a clerk and decision maker) has glanced at his resume and decided if anyone is willing to apply to live in Azle they must be taken seriously. But it's a long way from getting excited. 

Azle has one Catholic church, a cowboy church (it's a thing!), Church of Christ and about 586 Baptist churches. The city has a Wal-mart and four Dollar Generals, a Target and movie theater are both in the next town about 10 miles away. Oh yes! The Trader Joe's is 20 miles from Azle. I could get used to that.