I know you hear me talk about England a lot, and you are probably thinking, “Hey, what are we? Chopped liver?”
Far from it! I thought I’d take a moment to sing the praises of my beloved homeland.
Texas is to me…
the smell of salt air and hot asphalt. The sound of seagulls. Sand between my toes, humid winds, pine forests, and the clink clink of rigging on shrimp boats tied at the docks.
I live to watch the sun rise over the Gulf and set over the Central Texas hills.
Texans are friendly people… we never meet strangers. We dance polkas and schottisches. We listen to the happy music of Mexico mixed with strains of Bob Wills and Janis Joplin.
The expanse of my state amazes me. We are larger than France, but smaller than Zambia. We have a large population of Hispanics, Germans, Czech’s, Polish, and other nationalities, and welcome each of them. Even Californians!
When I close my eyes and think of my life in Texas, I’m filled with a warm glow of love and the smell of fresh tamales on Christmas morning.
Texans respect the military and support our service men and women wherever they are. They are not “troops” or “casualties”… they are mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. We may not like War, but we love our military personnel for how much they put on the line for us.
Texans love football. We camp by our stadiums, picnic with other sports fanatics, and paint ourselves Orange. Or Maroon. I hear that in the far northern territories, some even paint themselves Red!
I don’t like football, but if I close my eyes, my mind fills with my youth spent on the marching field. The bright lights of halftime. The cheers of the fans in the stands. And music. The hot, humid air of a waning summertime.
The sun beats hot in Texas summers. It’s not for the faint of heart, but we deal with it happily and reserve our right to swim, drink margaritas, and bask in the air conditioning whenever we like.
Texas raised my friends and people I have loved for decades. We grasp the bayous, canyons, and mesquite with a hunger only those who have been Texas bred can truly understand.
