Fort Worth Weekly Classifieds // November 26 - December 2, 2025

METROPOLIS

Gratitude on the Ground

There’s lots to be thankful for. Just ask these folks.

BY MARK HENRICKS

If you’re like most people, you are most grateful for your family and friends. Health, faith, and “not sure” rank well behind that, while the “United States,” pets, work, personal finances, and “something else” bring up the rear. That is according to a survey of American adults done last year by YouGov. But most people aren’t from Fort Worth, so what are Fort Worthians grateful for? What are you grateful for? Here’s what a few people who live or work in and around Tarrant County said when we asked.

Frederick W. Gooding Jr., associate professor of African American Studies at TCU: “What am I grateful for? Why, the gift of life, of course! This magical and mystical energetic feeling courses through my veins every morning — thus

far — and reminds me that despite life’s trials and tribulations, I need not take the gift of life for granted here in the present. For, yes, I agree with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he sagaciously warned, ‘We’ve got some difficult days ahead’ when it comes to us finding true racial reconciliation, but where there is life, there is hope, and as long as I am alive, so shall live my hope.”

Will Douglas, CEO and artist in residence at the Guitar Studio in Fort Worth: “I am incredibly thankful for my students at the Guitar Studio. When I took it over in 2021, people were so in awe of Michael Dailey, the founder. He’d played with the Grateful Dead and Stevie Nicks. He’d studied with Segovia. He was this huge figure. Here I was, this kid. The students could have just left, but they all stayed. The studio could not happen without those people, and the wonderful Fort Worth community has been awesome. And my wife, Courtney, is one of my business partners. This absolutely could not function without her. She’s an incredible person and does all this while putting up with me.”

Sean Russell, Cut Throat Finches frontman and veteran activist: “I’m thankful for the people in my life that don’t believe the same things I do yet have always shown me respect and can accept my view graciously, even though often in their own lives, people who believe what I believe can’t seem to find it in their holy hearts to graciously give the same gift to others.”

Lauren Wallis, immigration attorney at the Mills Firm in Fort Worth: “Most people will say family. A good response for me is that I’m grateful for the small moments that we get with our family, the small moments in the morning when it’s quiet and we can contemplate and relax for a moment before the day gets crazy. It’s the little moments we have with our family and the little moments we have with ourselves. It gets pretty hectic at work, so you have to take a small moment to get a little bit of peace. I’m not a coffee drinker, so I have a cup of tea. Sometimes you do some affirmations, contemplate on some Bible verses, and get yourself ready for the rest of the day.”

Dana Deatherage, proprietor and pitmaster at Double D BBQ in Bluff Dale: “This year, I’m grateful for many things. I’m blessed to have both my parents still with us and in good health. They’re 80 and 81. Grateful for my wife as she supports me in all the crazy business things I do. Grateful my daughter and son-in-law are carving out a great future together. Grateful for my family and extended family. Grateful my business is still alive and kicking. Grateful for all the artists that have believed in me and gave us the chance to host them at Double D BBQ. Grateful for my Double D BBQ team for giving all they got to the dream we’re chasing.”

Teresa Patterson, manager of TC Paddlesports at Panther Island: “I am most grateful for friends. We had an incredibly stressful move when we lost our land and had to relocate our home, but our friends were there for us, especially Donna Morgan, who gave us — and our 10 cats — a place to live while our home was rebuilt, and Bill and Judy Fawcett, who stood by us as he always does. I am also grateful every day to be in a city that cares about trees, nature, and the river that runs through it. Far too many municipalities take such things for granted.”

Donna Floyd, founder and executive director of Justin’s Place, a nonprofit empowering single mothers in Fort Worth: “I want to take this opportunity to express how thankful I am for the leadership of our city, Mayor Mattie Parker and our City Council, for their tireless efforts to create a place for not just myself and my family to live and thrive but for the rest of Fort Worth to live and thrive. I’m thankful for their love for creating things and places in our city for people who are in need, such as people who are living in homelessness, especially single mothers. I’m so grateful for their leadership and efforts to make Fort Worth one of the greatest cities in the country. They’re pretty awesome.” l

All-State

TCU sloppily survives 23rd-ranked Houston to improve to 7-4 and play spoiler during a lost season.

BY BUCK D. ELLIOTT

In keeping with the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ll do my best to keep this week’s Buck U on the positive side, as I’ve started to feel more like a scrooge with each passing week regarding TCU’s averageness and irrelevance in the conference and country’s college football conversation.

To wit, I have some fantastic news to report: TCU is the collegiate champion of Texas football. Admittedly, I’m being somewhat purposefully obtuse, but the facts can’t be ignored, that the Horned Frogs have won every in-state matchup they’ve played this season and have the most impressive resume against fellow Texas teams this season, with at least a sample size of two. TCU’s wins against SMU, Baylor, Houston, and even Abilene Christian present the strongest case for the Frogs receiving the coveted and fictional Lone Star Cup, awarded to teams who dominate their fellow brethren within the confines of the greatest state in the history of states and greatness.

I know what you’re thinking. The Aggies and Red Raiders are currently ranked third and fifth, respectively, in the College Football Playoff rankings. That really doesn’t matter for this discussion

as Texas A&M has squared off only against one in-state team, and an 18-point victory against the Roadrunners of UTSA does not a crown bestow. Texas Tech dominated Houston by 24 points, but as another team with a sample size of one, we cannot reliably and scientifically conclude that Tech should be the recipient of the All-Texas title.

Now that the seemingly most relevant candidates have been summarily disqualified, that leaves Texas, SMU, and North Texas, who are all practically and mathematically in the hunt for a playoff berth (though SMU controls their own destiny more than the other two). Texas – to this point, with their grudge match against the Aggies imminent – has only faced and beaten UTEP and Sam Houston (without argument the worst Division I team within our borders). That resume doesn’t catapult the Longhorns ahead of the Frogs. The Mustangs played three opponents that count but lost to both Baylor and TCU, only notching a win against East Texas A&M toward their unsuccessful bid for the Bluebonnet Crown.

That leaves only North Texas, who are enjoying a historic 10-1 season while they pray for a James Madison loss to catapult them into the rankings and an unlikely – but still possible – playoff bid. The Mean Green have won against Lamar, UTSA, and Rice; a group that cannot contend without the Frogs’ victories against the Mustangs, Wildcats, Bears, and Cougars.

In keeping with my newly found positivity, Saturday’s game in Houston was an outstanding first quarter for the TCU offense, after I ranted last week about how unacceptably poor they’ve been in the first frame for the majority of the season. To their credit, Offensive Coordinator Kendal Briles and company flipped the script, and quarterback Josh Hoover (#10) tossed two touchdowns. Yep, it was a great first quarter, and I’m extremely thankful the defense was good enough to stymie the Cougars enough to make the three points TCU scored during the remainder of the game enough to notch the victory.

Usually, when a team turns the ball over four times, they don’t win the game, especially when they’re facing a ranked opponent with a better record on the road. That was not the case on Saturday, as the TCU defense continually found answers against the Cougars to overcome Hoover’s three interceptions and a lost fumble by running back Jordyn Bailey (#4). An extremely

timely interception by Julius Simms (#31) in his own endzone proved to be pivotal in surviving a tight game where the difference was two missed field goals by the Cougars, including a manageable 38-yarder that would have tied the game with only seconds remaining. Jeremy Payne (#26) stepped up as the leading rusher, accumulating 103 yards on 18 carries, and probably would have been the better choice on the fourth-and-short that would have iced the game but instead gave way to a 74yard drive with less than two minutes remaining.

In many ways, it seems like Houston wanted to lose this game more than the Frogs, and for that I – and the Fort Worth fanbase – are extremely grateful. Houston still had an outside shot of arriving in Arlington for a second chance at Texas Tech, but that is gone now. The most likely conference title

game is a rematch between the Raiders and BYU, though Arizona State and Utah still have paths to Arlington outside of their control. For the Frogs, their 4-4 record leaves them at 10th in the Big 12, with one game remaining against Cincinnati for their final homestand and game of the season on Saturday afternoon. Cincinnati fell to BYU this past weekend and are 5-3. It’s conceivable TCU could pick up a meaningless place-bumping with a victory, but Iowa State and KSU – who are 4-4 also with head-to-head wins over TCU – are likely to remain in front as they face bottom-feeders Colorado and Oklahoma State.

Common-opponent analysis between Cincy and TCU doesn’t paint a pretty picture, but watching the Frogs survive a negative-3 turnover margin in Houston and come away with a victory speaks to the survivability of the Frogs when they’re not beating themselves. This is a lame-duck week for 75% of the conference, but Briles – and, to some degree, Sonny Dykes – should still be coaching to save their jobs. Hoover, sadly, has seemingly gotten worse as the season has progressed. Despite the two-touchdown first quarter against Houston, even successes were hard to watch, as his second touchdown toss was a laser into double coverage. Hoover is not maturing in his reads and seems locked onto a predetermined receiver, which is often Eric McAlister (#1). There are worse targets to commit to, as McAlister is at least a second-round NFL talent. Otherwise, tunnel and bubble screens were paydirt for the TCU offense, who moved the ball well between the red zones but couldn’t convert points because of turnovers.

Early bowl projections are placing our Frogs at either the Rate Bowl in Arizona or the Texas Bowl in Houston. Being bowl eligible still matters, I guess, but the relevance of bowls in general has become increasingly diminished by the expanded playoff. No matter what, fans can be happy that this season wasn’t a losing one but equally disappointed by a team that seemed to continually squander what was much greater potential. However, I encourage all of our readers to wear the Bluebonnet crown, All-State amethyst, and Lone Star lavaliere (look it up) proudly and proclaim to every Raider, Eagle, Mustang, and Longhorn at your holiday meals that TCU are clearly the kings of Texas college football, to watch their heads explode and choke on sweet potatoes while trying to refute your superior football knowledge. l

On Your Marks …

Fort

Worth is full of run clubs, and the exercise is only part of the draw.

BY PETER KELLER

STUFF UPCOMING

It has now been a few years since the pandemic kept people inside, broke up social groups, and made many of us feel isolated and unhealthy. Getting outside in the fresh air and going for a run will always make you feel better. This is the kind of thing that everyone intuitively knows but not enough people take advantage of. With the rise of social media there has been a surge in running content creators. The pandemic was the catalyst for many people to change their lives and become healthier and more active. In a survey of more than 3,000 current runners, over 28% started running during the pandemic. After a huge drop-off in the sport during the lockdown, Running USA has shown that there are now more race finishers than in pre-pandemic levels, with the largest races in the world taking place in 2024, then again in 2025. Post-pandemic, the Trinity River Trails started to fill up once again. Just like bars, trails have “regulars,” and they often become friendly with one another. This is how a lot of our current local run clubs started out. Some now draw hundreds to run on weeknights, mornings, and weekends. Now’s a great time to join. All the most popular running events of the year are coming up.

One of the most anticipated runs is the annual Turkey Trot 5k. A classic that takes place the morning of Thanksgiving, it’s many runners’ only race of the year. While some take it seriously, most run it with their families and friends for fun. It’s a great way to get out into the crisp November air and burn off some calories before the upcom ing feast. This year, there are almost 20 Turkey Trots across DFW. For people in the heart of Fort Worth, the 44th Annual YMCA Turkey Trot has changed locations to General Worth Square downtown. The first 10,000 people to cross the 5k finish line will receive a finisher medal.

Even if you miss the Turkey Trot, the next big event is New Year’s, where people will resolve to be healthy in 2026 and take up running or jogging. The first week of January is when gym memberships sell out and trails fill up. Sadly, most people with New Year’s resolutions fail in just six weeks. Anyone who has ever made a resolution on January 1 knows that the hardest part is sticking

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Join the Potter’s House of Fort Worth (1270 Woodhaven Blvd, 817-446-1999) for Sunday Service at 8am and Wednesday Bible Study at 7pm. For more info, visit us online at www.TPHFW.org.

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