From May 9th-14th, I visited the Lone Star State. The intent of this trip was to meet Clay's family and attend Clay's sister's college graduation from Abilene Christian University. This was only my second trip to Texas ever. (The first trip was last October for the Youth Specialties' Convention in Austin, when I met Clay.) So--this was my first real immersion into Texas culture.
To capture an entire state in one blog based on a 6-day visit seems rather ridiculous...so I'll merely give you the Texas Top 5...which is definitely the Top 5 conclusions I deduced about Texans based on my observations of the state.
- Texans love their state flag.
Seriously...I'm telling you...the state flag is everywhere and on everything. My absolute favorite Texas- flag- themed item I saw for sale was this snazzy desk chair in Abilene. Who would not want to sing Deep in the Heart of Texas everyday at work when sitting in one of these?!
While eating lunch in Fredericksburg, TX, I swear to you I saw no less than a hundred Texan flags hanging from businesses on the main drag. I suppose this would not seem so odd if any of the other three states I've lived in loved their flag this much. But Texas is the only state I know of that has a Pledge of Allegiance to its state flag, so at least there is consistency to the passion.
So, FYI, Texans love their state flag. - Texans love their state history.
They love it so much, that there are markers posted a
pproximately every fifty feet that recount important historical events which may have happened on this exact spot. Here, Clay shows off the very marker that commemorates the first railroad across West Texas. It would certainly be an impressive collector's item to visit all of the significant railroad-related Texas State history markers. In fact, I have just added this to my to-do list! - Texans love tortilla soup.
I had never before in my life eaten tortilla soup, but I think I ate it once per day on my visit to Texas. When I heard "tortilla soup" I was thinking it wou
ld look like a can of tomato soup poured over top of a tortilla. This was not true. It actually looked like this. Tortilla soup is the best-dressed soup I've ever seen. It gets an A+++ for presentation and an A+++ for taste. My newest favorite food! - Texans believe their state to be really, really important.
I hesitate to be so brash as to generalize to say that Texans have a warped view of geography...but this photo from a children's book that I've loosely titled, Indoctrination to the Superiority of All Things Texan should speak for itself:The state is really large, this is true. I mean, in the time I can be in California, you can drive from east Texas to central Texas. But seriously, this map is OUT OF CONTROL! Look! Texas basically goes from Mexico to North Dakota and from San Bernadino to Alabama. What is going on?! This is not an accurate depiction of reality!
Our trainer on our new database who is from Dallas claims that this is evidence of Texans poking fun at themselves. I call it infantile brainwashing! Beware! - Texans are people too.
So while in general I'm confused about the Texans' love for Texas, I enjoyed my time spent meeting and interacting with Texans. Every Texan I met was friendly and more than excited that I was visiting their state. And, they have nice accents. Also, I ate some fantastic food while I was there (ribs, BBQ, tortilla soup, enchiladas, horchata) meaning that Texans are good cooks, which speaks to my soul's core.
It's definitely true that with all the crazy indoctrination, Texans grow up to be real people (i.e. Clay and family...although maybe I'm biased). It's also true that every state has its own quirks (i.e. Ohio's passionate love for a poisonous nut or North Webster, Indiana's Mermaid Festival or eco-friendly Seattle's aversion to mass transit).
So I'm probably willing to let Texas off the hook if they are willing to put actual maps into their children's books and occasionally imply that there are other states besides Texas.
3 comments:
Two sayings about Texas that I find funny: 1) Alaskans always like to keep Texans humble by telling them to behave themselves, or Alaska will divide and make Texas the third largest state in the Union. 2) I have been told by Texans (Shari has an aunt and uncle and cousins there) that Texas is the only state in the Union that has it written into their constitution that they can legally secede from the Union and create their own country w/o fear of retribution from the rest of the Union - and they are convinced they can do it based on the industry and agriculture there, not to mention their geography. By convinced, I don't mean just believe like luke-warm Christians. I mean they (at least Shari's fam), believe like Paul the Apostle believed in Jesus' power, and used it - like, they would do it if they thought it would benefit them more than staying a part of the Union. You can ask Clay about that one, but I think it's hilariously cool if it's true. Glad you enjoyed yourself. Based on my visits, I find your observations to be completely accurate. Gotta love Texans. They are unique.
i HEART tortilla soup. a lot.
I say "I'm fixin' to [insert activity]" all the time. I don't even consider it weird.
Texas has many flaws, like the heat and the franchises and the stunning ability to produce presidential candidates with learning disabilities. But it's also got good food and a few spots of culture, and on the whole there are worse places to be from. Plus, who doesn't love bluebonnets? In conclusion, I think flowers are pretty.
Post a Comment