Texas Monthly recently released their 2005 special publication of "How to be Texan". Even though it's been hotter'n a goat's behind in a pepper patch lately (save the past couple of days) and I hate the heat, I have recently been thinking about all the things I love (or have loved) about Texas. Most of these are personal to me.....probably wouldn't make the Texas Monthly list. Here are a few (in no particular order):
1) Lakes- some of my favorite memories of my teenage years were spent on Texas lakes with friends, family, or both. Horseshoe Bay, Lake Brownwood, PK, and some other lake that I used to go to with Staci Sessom..... can't remember the name. Good times.
2) Big Red mixed with Dr. Pepper and calling it "Coke"-Don't really know if mixing sodas is a "Texas" thing, but back in high school I always mixed Big Red and Dr. Pepper together, so it's Texan to me. In Texas, however, we always call a soda "coke". It can be Coke, Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, Sprite, Pepsi......it's all "Coke". Mmmmmm....I'm thirsty.
3) Taco Bueno- while there are a few in OK and KS, this is a Texas place. In fact, the first one opened in 1967 in Abilene, Tx on South 1st Street. My dad worked there. I have Bueno memories as far back as 7 years old. My mom used to take us there when we were younger at the one on the "Hill." We would play Galaga, Donkey Kong, and QBert until our eyes crossed. Brady would ONLY eat plain, dry tortillas. Today, his palate has become more sophisticated and he will eat the tortilla AND meat AND cheese ONLY. Lindsay would ride on the 3-horse musical quarter carrousel until the mechanical horses collapsed. As a teenager, Bueno was THE hang-out!! If you wanted to be cool, appear cool, or find someone cool, you had to go to the Bueno on Buffalo Gap Rd. And, you NEVER went in- you ONLY hung out in the parking lot. The only thing I hate about Bueno now is their "new image."
4) Country roads- I love to find a good "drive" on a great FM road. There is nothing prettier in Texas than driving by a green field on a cloudy day with a little bit of sunshine way up above the clouds. I love how the bright green meets the dark blue and shines. Picture perfect. The only thing better is driving through the hill country in the spring when the bluebonnets have bloomed.
5) Summer nights in Lubbock- Most of my fondest memories are of summer nights in Lubbock. It would be so hot in Lubbock during the day that the trees were bribin' the dogs, but not at night. It was like the desert. It always cooled down to at least the 80s (brrr!) and it was so wonderful to go sit on a porch somewhere or drive with your windows down and just enjoy the weather.
6) Joe Allen steaks, with Cagle Steaks being a close second- Joe Allen's only wins because they served both Big Red AND Dr. Pepper.
7) Football- High school and college, only, though. NFL can't compare. I love everything about it. Day games, night games, regular games, playoff games, hot games, cold games, tailgating, hot chocolate, bands, big stadiums, small fields, long passes, long runs, sacks.
8) Waving-This goes hand in hand with number 4. People in Texas wave when they drive past. They are friendly with no strings attached. They don't have to know you; they just wave.
9) Texasisms- We have our own language and we're proud of it. Of course there are the obvious ones, "y'all", "fixin' to", and "howdy", but there are also the sayings. Here are a few examples:
Sweeping through the south like a tornado through a trailer park
It's shaky like cafeteria jello
He swept the south like a big wheel through a cotton field
It's so tight, you can't get a cigarette paper between them
For him to win it would be like trying to scratch his ear with his elbow
Hold on to your drawers
They are jumping out of their seat like they had been stabbed with a hat pin
He'll be madder than a rained on rooster
Close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades
10) the movie "Dancer, Texas pop. 81" It's great. Rent it.
Anybody got anything else to add?
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