March is Texas History Month here in the great Lone Star State. And March 2 commemorates the anniversary of Texas' independence. Celebrations and reenactments will be happening all over our fair state. Some kids will be lucky enought to study everything Texas this month. Why? Because kids who live here gotta know their stuff and start working on those bragging rights at an early age!
We have an adopted Gdaughter who is attending BYU. One of her teachers asked a loaded question – “Why is Texas so great.” Our Gdaughter was more than happy to oblige.
But then the question started me thinking – why do I think Texas is the next best thing since sliced cornbread? Well – here are more than a few of my thoughts.
Bluebonnets. Dr. Pepper. The Alamo. The River Walk. BBQ. Babe's. Tex Mex. Frito pie. Citrus from the Rio Grande Valley. 1015 onions. Native pecans. Fried pies. Smoked brisket. Chili – with or without beans (this will cause a heated debate, I’m sure). Peach cobbler. Steaks on the grill. Kolaches from West. German food from New Braunfels. Mud bugs.
Palo Duro Canyon. Galveston (as tacky as it is - I still love it). Piney Woods. Padre Island (minus drunk college kids). Central Texas and the Hill Country. Bats flying out from under the Washington Street bridge in Austin. Texas A&M vs. TU. The Texas/OU game. Oil derricks pumping away to a beat that only they can hear. Jefferson. Granbury. North Park Mall. Kilgore Rangerettes. Possum Kingdom Lake. A horizon that goes on forever as you drive through west Texas. Fort Worth. Heck. I'll even throw in Houston just for the fun of it.
Football (especially in Midland/Odessa where they do high school football right!). Soccer (hey! It’s a new age, folks.) T-ball. Hockey. Basketball. Baseball. Hockey. Little league.
Whole Foods. HEB. Minyard's. Brookshire's. 7-11. Titche-Goettinger. Sanger Harris. Foley's. K-Mart. Sears. Montgomery Ward's. Skillern's. A&P. Mott's. Ben Franklin. Ice houses and corner stores.
Folks who wave at you as you drive by in small towns (no - not THAT kind of wave!!). Cowboys tipping their hats. A 200 mile long funeral procession that ran from Dallas all the way to Austin. “Bless your heart”. Texas twang. The chicken dance. Western swing. Willie Nelson's picnic. Janice Joplin. Van Cliburn (Bless his heart – in a very good way.).
Folks pulling over to the side of the road when a funeral procession passes. Thunderstorms. The Texas flag. Remembering to say “please” and “thank you”. Addressing any female over the legal age ‘Ma’am”. (And – no – it’s not a sexist thing or an ageism thing. It’s a sign of respect.) “Yes, sir” and “no, sir” – also signs of respect.
Front porches. Dogs in the yard. Screen doors. Swing sets. Neighborhood parks and pools. Skinny dippin’. Cow tippin’. TP-ing someone’s house (usually a sign of affection – or at least it used to be). Camping in your own backyard.
Texas A&M. University of Texas. TCU. Baylor. University of Houston. Stephen F. Austin. UNT. TWU (go, Maggies!). Texas Tech. Sul Ross. SMU. Paul Quinn. And lots of junior colleges spread all across the state.
As you can tell - I am not one bit proud of being a Texas.
When some folks are asked if they’re an American first – or a Texan, they’ve answered proudly, “I’m a Texan.”
Amen!
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