OT: Texas

[Guest guest]

Dear Butch and Group,

I've been trying to figure out for weeks now how to talk about the

Great State of Texas since several weeks ago there was a thread about how

Texas was such a big state and so different. Then Butch made his armadillo

comment and I decided to write. Texas is full of folk lore and people from

everywhere else. We tell tall tales the same as Butch, our resident

storyteller (and he is good - I only wish that I could tell a yarn as good

as he but then I never met a man from Tennessee who couldn't tell a good

story) and make most people believe them. An example would be if you melted

all the snow and ice in Alaska it would be the size of a postage stamp and

Texas would be the largest state in the Union. (Well, we are still the

largest state in the contiguous Contential United States.) Texas is made up

of people that got here as fast as they could. We are full of scamps,

scalawags, theives, religious fanatics, adventurers, and just plain folk who

wanted a great place to live. We have lived under 6 flags and a history that

goes back to before the United States to 1528 whenAlvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

was the first to land on the Texas Coast. The gentlemen and ladies that

fought for our independence from Mexico were Americans that came from

Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and other Southern States to fight along with

the Mexicans or Texacans and Indians who were also ready to fight for

independence. We modeled our constitution after the Constitution of the

United States of America. And yes, Texas was wild and woolly back in its

early days. Today every student in Texas in the 7th grade is required to

take Texas history so that they will know something about our great state.

Texas is from the Indian work, Tejas, meaning " friend, " and Texas is a

friendly place. Just come down here and visit us. We like people with

foreign accents just the way that they like us.

A few facts about Texas: It has a population of over 17,000,000 and

over 267,338 square miles in land. Our capital is Austin and we cover two

different time zones. It is approximately 850 miles in both length and

breadth and its coastline stretches 624 miles. It takes over 12 hours to get

from the Lousiana side of Texas to the El Paso side. Every different type of

economy can be found here and some new company is always moving in to start

up. For recreation there is fishing, boating, hunting, and anything else

that you can think of. (These facts are from the AAA Texas Tourbook. We have

NASA in Houston, LBJ Library in Austin, GHW Bush Library in College Station,

and in about 4 years the GW Bush Library somewhere in North Texas. We have

many very good colleges such as Texas A & M (Go AGGIES), University of Texas

at Austin (Hook'em Horns), Texas Tech (Red Raiders), and many more. We are a

state of great diversity because of the land and the people that live on it.

Each different part of the state has its own flavor and types of people

along with the weather. We have a saying here that if you don't like the

weather, just hang around a bit and it will change. Tuesday, we were 79.

Wednesday, we were 69. Today we are 44 and tomorrow the high is only

supposed to be 40 but Saturday we will be back to 70. We also have great

feuds here as they do in the deep South like Tennessee and Kentucky between

different parts of the state. Dallas does not like Houston. Houston does not

like Dallas. Austin is hippy land even though it is the state capitol.

People want to go to school there but have to go back home to find a job.

The people in East Texas think that they are the best in Texas because they

are the " Rose Capitol of the World. " (I've always wondered who made them

that. The rest of the state just figured that they had a great publicity guy

long ago.) Speaking of Tyler, I actually met the man who made the Rose

Queen's " Diamond " Crown several years ago. Talk about being larger than life

and very interesting. He was 6 ft. 8 in. tall and as nice as could be but a

recluse. The only time that he would speak would be at the Tyler Rose

Fesitval in October.

East Texas is in the heart of the Piney Woods region. It is

beautiful with many trees, lush forests, plants, and good folk. Houston is

full of hustle and bustle with its oil folk and NASA. Houston according to

the people in Dallas was new money that wouldn't keep it. Houston is all

show and no real substance. Galveston is next to Houston and is one of the

prettiest places to visit in Texas. Galveston, Houston, and Beaumont are

where the oil refineries are and they are a site to see. They also have very

high humidity and you definitely need air conditioning in your home and car

if you live here or any other place in Texas. We do get mightly how here in

the spring, summer, and fall and sometimes winter. Butch was talking about

getting a place close to Houston so remember, Butch, that the weather will

be hotter and definitely not like Tennessee, New Mexico, or Turky. Then you

go further south on the coast to Corpus Christi and to the Valley where many

of the fruits and vegetables are grown and exported around the United States

and to the rest of the world. Then there is Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, the

famous border towns where you can go and get great buys (this is also true

for the El Paso, McAllen, and Brownsville areas of Texas) from Mexico. Next

we will move on to San Antonio and Austin. Each city has it's own flavor.

In San Antonio we have the famous Texas Alamo where the Texicans withstood

the Mexicans for 10 days and then were killed. We also have a number of very

good breweries in this area and around Austin. These breweries are the work

of the German settlers that settled in Texas in the mid-1800's. They make

mighty good German Style Beer and they have wonderful dance halls still and

food to die for. (Sorry but I like the name of that company and had to work

it in.) Then we go out West to El Paso which is next to New Mexico and

Mexico. I haven't been there so I can't say much about it except that I have

heard good things with good people and that it is dry. West Texas period is

dry and flat with little water. That's why us more civilized folk live

Tarrant County and East. Amarillo is pretty much near the top of the state

and has some great museums to visit, especially in Canyon, Texas outside of

Amarillo. Outside Canyon there is Palo Duro Canyon State Park which is the

only other place in the United States where you can see the different layers

of the earth exposed. The Grand Canyon is the other Park. Next you head to

Lubbock which is in the middle of nowhere, Texas. It is hot, flat, windy,

and dry here and home to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Then it is on to

Wichita Falls heading back into North Texas, Fort Worth, and Dallas areas.

In Fort Worth there are many wonderful museums and places to visit. As a

child growing up in Dallas we would always go to Fort Worth for the culture.

Dallas was considered to be a business center while Fort Worth was old money

and the cultured class. Then we return to Tyler.

By the way armadillos and horned frogs are almost extinct here.

Every once in a while when travelling in the far stretches of the state we

will see a dead armadillo on the side of the road.

I hope that you have enjoyed your short tour of Texas. It is a big

state with a long history and even more colorful people. We argue and fight

within the state with each other but you get us out of Texas (or Tennessee)

and you will see us band together quicker than a flea takin to an old hound

dog. If you would like to read more about the people of Texas, Marilyn

Swhartz wrote a small book about 15 years ago that is still in print called

A SOUTHERN BELLE PRIMER and it will help you understand our culture a little

more. Maybe interest more of ya'll in moving down here. There always room

for more new people here. I'm stopping here because ya'll can always go and

find information on Texas on the Internet or at your local library or better

yet come and visit and we'll show you around. ;-D

See ya' real soon. Ya'll take care now.

Rhavda Emison

Arlington, Texas (Between Dallas and Fort Worth where the West begins)

 

 

>>I see nothing wrong with your spelling .. ain't no sense in tacking on

>>an unnecessary O' in fronta Possum .. they ain't Irish .. and tacking on

>>a Ra in fronta Coon don't make no sense neither to a Suthran Boy less'n

>>you're at a Pep Rally or some such.

>>

>>Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

[Guest guest]

" We tell tall tales snip and make most people believe them "

 

Thank you for finally explaining American politics!

 

Sorry. Couldn't resist that. Let's NOT get into a discussion, OK?

 

Ien in the Kootenays

****************************

" Intelligence is like legs.

Too many and you trip yourself up "

~Terry Pratchett

Meet my medium intelligent face

http://greatestnetworker.com/is/ien

****************************

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Ien,

Don't worry. That was as far as I intended to go about Texas. We all

need a little relief sometimes and I enjoy having fun with my state. Have a

great weekend and wonderful week ahead!

Rhavda

 

>

> " We tell tall tales snip and make most people believe them "

>

>Thank you for finally explaining American politics!

>

>Sorry. Couldn't resist that. Let's NOT get into a discussion, OK?

>

>Ien in the Kootenays

>

[Guest guest]

I am frwarding this to my West Texas relatives. I am sure they can add to

yourTexas thread. Of course they may want to keep West Texas for themselves.

Jan

 

In a message dated 1/27/2005 8:54:37 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,

sos79 writes:

 

Dear Butch and Group,

I've been trying to figure out for weeks now how to talk about the

Great State of Texas since several weeks ago there was a thread about how

Texas was such a big state and so different. Then Butch made his armadillo

comment and I decided to write. Texas is full of folk lore and people from

everywhere else. We tell tall tales the same as Butch, our resident

storyteller (and he is good - I only wish that I could tell a yarn as good

as he but then I never met a man from Tennessee who couldn't tell a good

story) and make most people believe them. An example would be if you melted

all the snow and ice in Alaska it would be the size of a postage stamp and

Texas would be the largest state in the Union. (Well, we are still the

largest state in the contiguous Contential United States.) Texas is made up

of people that got here as fast as they could. We are full of scamps,

scalawags, theives, religious fanatics, adventurers, and just plain folk who

wanted a great place to live. We have lived under 6 flags and a history that

goes back to before the United States to 1528 whenAlvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

was the first to land on the Texas Coast. The gentlemen and ladies that

fought for our independence from Mexico were Americans that came from

Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and other Southern States to fight along with

the Mexicans or Texacans and Indians who were also ready to fight for

independence. We modeled our constitution after the Constitution of the

United States of America. And yes, Texas was wild and woolly back in its

early days. Today every student in Texas in the 7th grade is required to

take Texas history so that they will know something about our great state.

Texas is from the Indian work, Tejas, meaning " friend, " and Texas is a

friendly place. Just come down here and visit us. We like people with

foreign accents just the way that they like us.

A few facts about Texas: It has a population of over 17,000,000 and

over 267,338 square miles in land. Our capital is Austin and we cover two

different time zones. It is approximately 850 miles in both length and

breadth and its coastline stretches 624 miles. It takes over 12 hours to get

from the Lousiana side of Texas to the El Paso side. Every different type of

economy can be found here and some new company is always moving in to start

up. For recreation there is fishing, boating, hunting, and anything else

that you can think of. (These facts are from the AAA Texas Tourbook. We have

NASA in Houston, LBJ Library in Austin, GHW Bush Library in College Station,

and in about 4 years the GW Bush Library somewhere in North Texas. We have

many very good colleges such as Texas A & M (Go AGGIES), University of Texas

at Austin (Hook'em Horns), Texas Tech (Red Raiders), and many more. We are a

state of great diversity because of the land and the people that live on it.

Each different part of the state has its own flavor and types of people

along with the weather. We have a saying here that if you don't like the

weather, just hang around a bit and it will change. Tuesday, we were 79.

Wednesday, we were 69. Today we are 44 and tomorrow the high is only

supposed to be 40 but Saturday we will be back to 70. We also have great

feuds here as they do in the deep South like Tennessee and Kentucky between

different parts of the state. Dallas does not like Houston. Houston does not

like Dallas. Austin is hippy land even though it is the state capitol.

People want to go to school there but have to go back home to find a job.

The people in East Texas think that they are the best in Texas because they

are the " Rose Capitol of the World. " (I've always wondered who made them

that. The rest of the state just figured that they had a great publicity guy

long ago.) Speaking of Tyler, I actually met the man who made the Rose

Queen's " Diamond " Crown several years ago. Talk about being larger than life

and very interesting. He was 6 ft. 8 in. tall and as nice as could be but a

recluse. The only time that he would speak would be at the Tyler Rose

Fesitval in October.

East Texas is in the heart of the Piney Woods region. It is

beautiful with many trees, lush forests, plants, and good folk. Houston is

full of hustle and bustle with its oil folk and NASA. Houston according to

the people in Dallas was new money that wouldn't keep it. Houston is all

show and no real substance. Galveston is next to Houston and is one of the

prettiest places to visit in Texas. Galveston, Houston, and Beaumont are

where the oil refineries are and they are a site to see. They also have very

high humidity and you definitely need air conditioning in your home and car

if you live here or any other place in Texas. We do get mightly how here in

the spring, summer, and fall and sometimes winter. Butch was talking about

getting a place close to Houston so remember, Butch, that the weather will

be hotter and definitely not like Tennessee, New Mexico, or Turky. Then you

go further south on the coast to Corpus Christi and to the Valley where many

of the fruits and vegetables are grown and exported around the United States

and to the rest of the world. Then there is Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, the

famous border towns where you can go and get great buys (this is also true

for the El Paso, McAllen, and Brownsville areas of Texas) from Mexico. Next

we will move on to San Antonio and Austin. Each city has it's own flavor.

In San Antonio we have the famous Texas Alamo where the Texicans withstood

the Mexicans for 10 days and then were killed. We also have a number of very

good breweries in this area and around Austin. These breweries are the work

of the German settlers that settled in Texas in the mid-1800's. They make

mighty good German Style Beer and they have wonderful dance halls still and

food to die for. (Sorry but I like the name of that company and had to work

it in.) Then we go out West to El Paso which is next to New Mexico and

Mexico. I haven't been there so I can't say much about it except that I have

heard good things with good people and that it is dry. West Texas period is

dry and flat with little water. That's why us more civilized folk live

Tarrant County and East. Amarillo is pretty much near the top of the state

and has some great museums to visit, especially in Canyon, Texas outside of

Amarillo. Outside Canyon there is Palo Duro Canyon State Park which is the

only other place in the United States where you can see the different layers

of the earth exposed. The Grand Canyon is the other Park. Next you head to

Lubbock which is in the middle of nowhere, Texas. It is hot, flat, windy,

and dry here and home to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Then it is on to

Wichita Falls heading back into North Texas, Fort Worth, and Dallas areas.

In Fort Worth there are many wonderful museums and places to visit. As a

child growing up in Dallas we would always go to Fort Worth for the culture.

Dallas was considered to be a business center while Fort Worth was old money

and the cultured class. Then we return to Tyler.

By the way armadillos and horned frogs are almost extinct here.

Every once in a while when travelling in the far stretches of the state we

will see a dead armadillo on the side of the road.

I hope that you have enjoyed your short tour of Texas. It is a big

state with a long history and even more colorful people. We argue and fight

within the state with each other but you get us out of Texas (or Tennessee)

and you will see us band together quicker than a flea takin to an old hound

dog. If you would like to read more about the people of Texas, Marilyn

Swhartz wrote a small book about 15 years ago that is still in print called

A SOUTHERN BELLE PRIMER and it will help you understand our culture a little

more. Maybe interest more of ya'll in moving down here. There always room

for more new people here. I'm stopping here because ya'll can always go and

find information on Texas on the Internet or at your local library or better

yet come and visit and we'll show you around. ;-D

See ya' real soon. Ya'll take care now.

Rhavda Emison

Arlington, Texas (Between Dallas and Fort Worth where the West begins)