And he is off to eat that big, proverbial, Fletcher's Corn Dog in the sky...

 Trevor via text message at 10:46 AM: 

"There is a rumor big tex is on fire"

Stolen off of a friend's Facebook wall.

I missed the flames because I was catching up with an old coworker friend of mine and meeting his four year old grandson, Connor.  Connor was trying to hurry grandpa along because he "wanted to go see Big Tex". 

So, unwittingly, I delayed Connor just long enough that he missed his chance to see Big Tex one last time.  However, on the flip side, at least the little guy didn't have to go through the trauma of watching Big Tex's face melt off.  Because that has "reoccurring nightmare" written all over it.  Especially since I've heard from several people that Big Texas, not realizing he was on fire, continued to talk long after he was engulfed in flames.

I got there in time to see the firefighters put out the last of the flames.  The crane showed up not long after, and I watched people sob hysterically (kid you not) as Big Tex was slowly lowered to the ground.  Don't get me wrong.  I love Big Tex.  It was just almost comical to hear people talk about him like he was human.  I guess that is what happens when a 60 year old icon goes up in flames.

Pam via text message at 10:57 AM:

"Local stations have stopped their regular programming 4 Big Tex

they are talking about him like he is a real person"

A lot of people were under the impression that Big Tex was the unfortunate victim of arson.  I don't think anyone is 100% sure what happened to start the fire (at least not yet), but the favorite theory is that it was electrical in nature and started by a short in his head or mouth (both of which normally move during the infamous, "Howdy, Folks!").

My favorite thory?  A small boy visiting the museum this morning asked one of the volunteers if she knew what had happened to Big Tex to start the fire.

Volunteer:  "No.  What?"

Boy:  "I bet his battery go too hot."

Little kid logic is awesome.

After Big Tex was taken down and loaded onto a truck, his funeral procession traveled slowly down Grand Avenue and out of the park:

His hands, too wide to safely travel in the same truck bed as his body, rode separately:

Trevor via text message at 12:39 PM:

"Are they taking him away?  He would look great for Halloween."

All day, the sounds of helicopters could be heard hovering over Fair Park, and you could still smell the faint odor of burning plastic in the air as of 5:30 PM.

It has definitely been a weird day.  I honestly never thought that anything would ever happen to Big Tex.  Much less that news of his demise would be front and center on MSN:

They can rebuild him.  They have the technology.  I'm just not sure if it ever will be the same.