Jason's Jive April 2026

Mental Health is a real and there are always two sides to a story. On March 16, a coworker had locked his keys in his work truck, and so I was designated to take a master key to him, downtown Dallas. I departed the station located next to DFW Airport and even though it was rush hour, I got to him in about 35 minutes, using side roads that had little traffic.

I had to get back to the station to return the Master key and then head out to Bishop Arts in West Dallas. To save time, I avoided the congestion of downtown Dallas traffic, and as I popped out the side road onto highway 114W, I was greeted by brake lights and the distinct red and blue lights in the distance, signs of police presence. “Another accident,” I thought to myself.  The highway splits at that point and if you are a driver is in the wrong lane and tries to switch lanes, the chance of a collision is very high as you have traffic approaching at speeds in excess of 60 mph. 

I remained in my lane and as the line of cars inched forward, I realized there were more police lights in the distance, and three lanes of traffic were being forced to merge into one lane. I inched to the front of what had become a single lane of traffic, and the red light caught me.

At this point, I looked to my left and saw a wide perimeter had been cordoned off by the Irving Police Department. A dark gray tractor trailer had been isolated and apparently I could see a person standing outside of the driver’s door, with one foot on the steps to get into the trailer and the other foot on the railings for the overpass.  I wondered what could be the matter, but I wasn’t going to speculate.

The road shut down, which started after 5 pm that day ended around 1239 a.m. the next day. Based on a statement from the Irving Police Department, there was an issue with a motorist and what appeared to be a standoff, was eventually resolved.

Now we know it was more than likely related to a mental health issue. We live in a wicked world. While searching for answers to what was going on, some folks resorted to the internet to peddle inaccurate information and very unpleasant comments.  It is not right to use the misfortune of others, for your own entertainment. Some comments made fun of the situation. We need to show more empathy as human beings. There is a time for everything under the sun.

The same pattern showed itself in past month, when the tractor trailer went over the bridge and the driver died, some of the comments were inappropriate. We got to have more compassion as human beings.

This month, I had intended to write and give tips on how to adjust some living habits, to cope with the changes to the food supply chain. Increased gas prices will eventually lead to increased food costs. People need to slow down on buying food outside, to eat. Buy the ingredients and meal prep. You can do this on the weekend.   Save the dining out experience for the weekend. I am guilty of it as well, where sometimes I get too lazy to cook, so I go to a food truck and get some food from the Mediterranean. The food is fresh. Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Go to Walmart, Giant or Shoppers or anywhere else and purchase some chicken breast or any other part of your choice, put that in an air fryer or use a conventional stove. Season and cook for a few minutes. You would have purchased some ingredients for a fresh salad or if you so desire, some vegetables.  The time it would take you to drive to a fast-food place or wait in line for your order is about the same time it would take you to prepare a healthy meal for yourself. Do you remember to buy some lime or lemons, squeeze them and make some fresh lemonade? It costs you far less than a bottle of sugar-laden juice or soda. If you have children, show them how to squeeze lime or lemons and other citrus juice. They can make juice to take to school. You are not only teaching them a lifelong lesson, but you are saving them from addiction to the wrong drinks and food. More importantly, the money you just saved can be used on something else, like more groceries, a bill or just save for a rainy day or an extra gallon of gas. Finaly, plan your movement properly – when you leave home to go out to work, on your way home, stop and do everything you need to, so you are not going back and forth, wasting time and gas. As your schedule permits, get your children or grandchildren into the kitchen with you. Teach them and sow the seeds of cooking or baking in them. We all had this back in the day. My mother had three boys before my sister was born -- - we did not have choice and had to be in the kitchen with her. We all learned how to bake, cook, and churn ice cream the old-fashioned way and I was the dishwasher. Till today, I still wash everything by hand. I do not know how to use a dishwasher, and I am not interested in learning. (We leave that discussion for another day).