I Like Texas........

Originally posted by adduncan


My DAR chapter meeting incorporates the Texas pledge into their meeting ritual. Texans see themselves as holding dual citizenship, even in that organization!

Adrienne (current president of the Texas Insomniacs Club)

That's awesome!!

I'd love to do the Texas pledge at our meetings. We'll start each day with it in the Texas Wing of the GreekChat Life house!


Kitso
KS 361(can i be VP of the Texas Insomniacs Club?)

[tinydancer]

Our students say it every day right after the Pledge of Allegiance. I just wish the teachers would teach it correctly. It almost always comes out "honor TO the Texas flag" which wrong.

I love Texas and have lived here all my life!!

[APhiRattlerGal]

"Songs About Texas"
by: Walt Wilkins
Performed by: Pat Green, Chris Wall, Cory Morrow


I sing songs about Texas
Sing them often as if she was some old lover I used to know
Wish I could follow them back to the homeland every time
I hear one on my radio

Twin fiddles playing in my memory
My daddy sang the wonders of old cow town
Silver haired and he's still there, under a sky so warm and fair
I tell you friend there's a song in every town

Sing me one more song about old San Antone
Seems like a dream now it was so long ago
Jerry Jeff Walker can be just like a coat from the cold
Yeah, I'm goin' home

Nothing short of the gospel hymns
I guess that's why folks keep writing 'em
And when I die, I want to go there too


Someday I hope to walk along heavens street
I'll still be looking for my taco meat and I swear
I hear a steel guitar rising in the air

Sing me one more song about old San Antone
Seems like a dream now it was so long ago
Ol' Guy Clark he can be just like a coat from the cold
I'm goin' home

When the night is real, real still
Swear I could hear a whippoorwill
She knows there's music in the dirt down there

Hill country rain is a cleansing thing
All I have to do is see one
And I'll be sitting in a shallow creek with nothing to do

Sing me one more song about old San Antone
Seems like a dream now it was so long ago
Jerry Jeff Walker can be just like a coat from the cold
I'm goin' home

Sing me one more song about those dusty plains
Them honky tonk angels and their lonely bee hive pain
Wish I was stowed away on some fast moving train, going home

Adri,

I absolutly love this song!!! My cousin goes to school in Cali but she grew up here in tx (San Antonio to be exact) and she popped in the Pat Green CD to this song.......she called me sobbing saying how much she missed home. I will probably go to law school somewhere outside Texas after i get my BA and i'm pretty sure i will hear that song and cry too.

[tinydancer]

From today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram

see: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/living/4594763.htm

[adduncan]

Yup, that article is perfect. A lot of Yankees learn how great this place is once they transfer in. Even if they think it's "temporary", they get hooked.

Here is my take that was posted on another thread.

Adrienne

[SATX*APhi]

Originally posted by APhiRattlerGal



Adri,

I absolutly love this song!!! My cousin goes to school in Cali but she grew up here in tx (San Antonio to be exact) and she popped in the Pat Green CD to this song.......she called me sobbing saying how much she missed home. I will probably go to law school somewhere outside Texas after i get my BA and i'm pretty sure i will hear that song and cry too.

Awww, Ili!!! I LOVE this song too!!!! As much as I want to leave Texas for grad school/law school (whatever I decide to do), I can't. I love Texas too much and I know I would get VERY home sick!

[SATX*APhi]

tinydancer -

I loved that article!! It is absolutely true!! Thanks for posting it.

[lifesaver]

I love texas. I cant express it better than that. I love being texan. I often imagine that I was born and raised elsewhere and wish that I was born here. Then I remember that I was born here and thank god everyday that I was. We have a sense of identity. Bigger than just being American. I am glad to be american, but proud to be a texan. The spark you get in your eye when you see the Texas flag waving proudly against a crisp blue cloudless sky on an October morning. The excitment of elementary school kids first learnign of Stephen Fuller Austin (the father of Texas). The Bone Chilling Gosebumps one gets when they step onto the grounds of the Alamo. The hereoism and sacrifice is almost palpable. Deep Ellum. Mi Tierra. At the drycleaners, "Heavy starch on everything." Being willing to try anything. The wind encompassing you as you stand, looking oceanward at JP Luby state park in Corpus. Wheatfields. Las Colinas. Having a love hate relationship with Love Field. Understanding Love Field is the same place as Hobby Airport, just in Dallas. Redwings and khakis. Enchaliadas. Mo-Pac traffic. The feelign that you can see into forever looking out over the plains and praries of west texas. Quanna Parker. Knowing aboout 50 people named either Quannah or Parker. The thunderheads that you feel will engulf everything you know around abeline. The antelope you see wondering around the canadian river in the panhandle. Being able to tell what part of the state a lady is from by the height of her hair. How anxious everyone on the coast gets when theres a tropical depression in the gulf, and that 100 years later we still pay homage to the Galveston hurricane of 1900. Stockyards. Our capital. Venison. The first dip of the year in the guadalupe, and the feelign in it that you are connected to soemthing deeper, somethign longer, something almost primordial in you bones about the guadlup. HEB. Allsups. The UT/AM game. Texans who think they surf. Christmas day being 70 degrees. The chill of the beach in front of the Raddison on South Padre at Spring Break. The drive from San Antonio to Dallas, and understand that you are diving at 85 mph on the freeway up there, but cars will start to pass you around Waxahache -going 95. Its that thicket of pine trees around Brehenam that you dont understand how it got there. East texas vs. west texas accents. The cotton you see on the side of the highway around lubbock. Watchign yankees sweat as they eat picante sauce. Knowing kids who have never seen snow. The panhandelers on Guadalupe in austin. A people with an eye on the past and an eye on the future. Bayfest. Towns with wierd little names, like Noodle Doon, Pampa and Cut and Shoot. Schlitterbahn. Pronouncing Spanish names properly. El Paso being 1 hour from good snow skiing. A chicken fried steak the size of your head. Border towns. Knowing that Six Flags Astrodome is the grand Dame of theme parks. Recognizing a ranch by its brand. Texas wine. A place where schools are named after heroes of the Texas revolution. Grapefruit from the valley. Taco Cabana to 3 am, knowing NO ONE there is sober where "I'd like a breakfast taco combo, potato and egg, bean and cheeze." rolls off your tounge as easy as your name does. Friday night lights. The warmth of an afternoon in winter the day before a blue norther passes. Deer season. Low-water-crossings. Blinndergarten. Howl at the moon. Kerrville Folklife Festival. Perpetual construction. The golden triangle. Piney Woods. Not having to use the term "breakfast" when describing an egg and bacon taco. Homeade pico. Lake LBJ. Any lake in Texas. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion. Raising a finger (not the middle one) in salute to soemone you pass in the middle of west texas as a recognition that that is probable the only person you will see for an hour. Holdign doors open for ladies. The smell of fresh cut grass.... in January. Raspas on Alamo square. Oysterbake. Nuevo Laredo. Tyler rose festival. Beer cans that have the texas flag on them. WFAA. DFW. Winter Texans. Tornado Warnings. The riverwalk. Mountain Cedar. Closing the town because someone saw snow. Anna Nicole Smith. People who remember Braniff Airlines. People who flew Braniff Airlines. I still say its the Transco Tower. Dan Cook. Remembering that there was a time before liquor by the drink. Wurzfest. I-10, I-35, and I-45. Political scandal. Living and loving the lone-star. Everyone has a ranch, or knowing someone who has one. The Cotulla/Sarita checkpoints. Bocktoberfest. Chimineas. Westlake HS Football. Our state constitution with 350+ ammendments. Whataburger.

[SATX*APhi]

lifesaver,

WOW!!! When someone says, "You can go on and on about how wonderful Texas is," you don't mess around! Texas is bad ass and you did an awesome job showing that. I could probably add a list as long as yours, Kitso another, and so on. There is so much in Texas, ""You can go on and on about how wonderful Texas is!"

[SATX*APhi]

Ahhhhhhhh, Cory Morrow (my favorite) is going to be here in Corpus on Thursday!!!! Friday it's Pat Green, Gary P. Nunn, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Owen Temple, Trent Summar & the New Row Mob, and Kevin Fowler. On Saturday Jack Ingram will perform. I CANNOT WAIT!!! I am definitely going to see Cory -- he is THE man! I'm super excited!! Woo hoo!!!!!!

[White_Chocolate]

Does anyone remember learning the millions of songs that had to do with Texas in grade school?

Texas
Land of blue bonnets and the mockingbirds
We're singing 'bout Texas
We're singing cowboys and their herds
Texas
Some folk call it THE LONE STAR STATE
Texas is our home
WE LOVE IT!!!
It's part of the good ole USA. . .

and. . .

Texas
I like the sound of the name
Cause next to Texas, there's nothing quite the same
Texas
I like the sound of the word
Cause when that word is heard
It puts a lump in my throat
It puts a beat in my heart
Texas
Every boy and girl should know the feeling of
Texas
All around the world
They know our name
They call us dreamers, tailgaters(?), cowboys, stargazers
I don't care what they call me
As long as it's
Texas

(Gosh, it's been awhile. . .)


My short list:

Best Texas Band:
Shane and the Coyotes

Best BBQ Joint:
those backyard BBQs during the summer

Best Live Music Venue:
Bronco Bowl

Best Dancehall:
Club 2000

Best Way to waste an afternoon:
shopping in any of the 30 malls in the Dallas/Ft Worth area(okay, so I exaggerated. . .but I'm a Texan. . .who doesn't)

Best way to get away from it all:
take the highway east until you stop seeing malls. . .it takes a while

Best way to experience Old Texas:


Best Drive to hall ass, going 110mph w/out fear of getting caught:
are you kidding me?

Best free show:
downtown Dallas's West End. . .you can experience the craziness

Fastest Drivers:
Dallas maniacs

Best strip of Clubs:
Deep Ellum(used to be)
Upper Greenville Avenue-Dallas,
Lower Greenville Avenue - Dallas
6th Street - Austin
College Station

Best City Park:
i haven't seen many in Dallas. . .

Best Place to feel lost:
Dallas. . .does the traffic ever end? How did I end up on Loop 12? Wait, what in the world am I doing heading toward Waco?

Best day trip:
El Paso, Houston, San Antonio

Best city-wide festival:
State Fair

Most Romantic Scene:
Riverwalk in San Antonio

Best weather:
any day that it's not scalding hot

[MereMere21]

I can thank Robert Earl Keen, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Pat Green, Cory Morrow, Jerry Jeff Walker and others for keeping my sanity intact during an out of state move...yeah that lasted 6 months before I got so homesick I came home!

I used to go see Pat Green play at a bar in College Station years ago before anyone knew who the hell he was. Do you know how strange it is to see that boy doing beer commercials?

eventually Texans will rule again *mwahahhahaaaa*

[SATX*APhi]

Originally posted by MereMere21


eventually Texans will rule again *mwahahhahaaaa*

Don't let the cat out of the bag just yet!

[dzandiloo]

How have I missed this thread???

I'll tell you it makes my day to come home and find a Texas Monthly sticking out of my mail box, if for nothing more than the pictures.... I was raised in DFW, went to college on the edge of the hill country & found myself in the plains of West Texas. I love every place for its uniqueness, and hope to never leave this state!!!

Lifesaver-your rambling description from months ago made me homesick for so many things-and I haven't left the state!!! I need a road trip....

My answers to some of the short lists:

Best BBQ Joint:
The County Line, Lubbock, TX

Best Way to waste an afternoon:
Hit the Dallas Arboretum & wander around the flowers...take your kids to Cadillac Ranch and tell them it really is a car farm & those cars really are growing up out of the ground...

Best way to get away from it all:
visit Palo Duro Canyon & hike or bike to your heart's content...

Best way to experience Old Texas:
3 words: Bed & Breakfast in Fredricksburg (you can tell I'm older than most of the posters here) or any other little hill country town w/antique shops...better yet, hit New Braunfels & get some antiquing & tubing in...


Best Drive to haul ass, going 110mph w/out fear of getting caught:
We used to refer to the stretch of the Dallas North Tollway from Stemmons to LBJ as the "Dallas Autobahn" I think the traffic there has gotten too bad though....

Best free show:
I'll go with the West End....

Fastest Drivers:
Dallas maniacs

Best strip of Clubs:
I'll go with what's been said, but I think the Lubbock Depot District probably rates up there....

Best City Park:
River Legacy Park in Arlington

Best Place to feel lost:
Lost in a good way? Dallas Nature Center--when the blue bonnets are in bloom.
Lost in a bad way? Anywhere in Houston. Blech (I'm a native Dallasite...it's in my blood to love all things Texan, except for Houston....

Best day trip:
First Mondays in Canton, TX!!! I'm such a girl.
Other...From Dallas? Gainesville or Hillsboro for some shopping...or to Glen Rose to visit Dinosaur National Park
From Lubbock? Palo Duro Canyon to see "Texas" the musical in the amphitheatre at the bottom of the canyon

Best city-wide festival:
I'm going with the State Fair, but I've never been to Fiesta.

Most Romantic Scene:
Absolutely the River Walk

Best weather:
I know I seem biased, but Lubbock has great weather (with the exception of the handful of horrid dust-storms you'll see each year).

Add categories to the short-list:
Favorite flowers
The yellow rose & blue bonnets.... We don't get many bluebonnets in West Texas, so I need to get a fix. Are they out in Dallas yet?

Favorite Musician:
Willie, Willie, Willie. I like Pat Green, but Willie rules.

[lifesaver]

This summs it up for me.

When you're from Texas, people that you meet ask you questions like, "Do you have any cows?" "Do you have horses?" "Bet you got a bunch of guns, eh?" They all want to know if you've been to Southfork. They watched Dallas.

Have you ever looked at a map of the world? Look at Texas with me just for a second. That picture, with the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast, and the Red River and the Rio Grande is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It's Texas.

Pick any kid off the street in Japan and draw him a picture of Texas in the dirt and he'll know what it is. What happens if I show you a picture of any other state? You might get it maybe after a second or two, but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you?

In every man, woman and child on this little rock the Good Lord put us on, there is a person who wishes just once he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride in a pickup. There is some bit of Texas in everyone. Did you ever hear anyone in a bar go, "Wow...so you're from South Dakota? Cool, tell me about it?"

Do you know why? Because there's no place like Texas.

Texas is the Alamo. Texas is 183 men standing in a church, facing thousands of Mexican nationals, fighting for freedom, who had the chance to walk out and save themselves, but stayed instead to fight and die for the cause of freedom.

We send our kids to schools named William B. Travis and James Bowie and Crockett and do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes. John Wayne paid to do the movie himself. That is the Spirit of Texas.

Texas is Sam Houston capturing Santa Ana at San Jacinto. Texas is Juneteenth and Texas Independence Day. Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett National Forest. Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend. Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country. Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas and Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas.

Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork. Texas is Mexican food like nowhere else, not even Mexico. Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, and the Astrodome. Texas is larger-than-life legends like Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Janis Joplin, Tom Landry, Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Denton Cooley and Michael DeBakey, Sam Rayburn, George Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson, and George W. Bush.

Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments and Compaq. Texas is NASA.

Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops. Texas is skies blackened with doves, and fields full of deer. Texas is a place where cities shut down to watch the local High School Football game on Friday nights and for the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, and NIOSA or the Fiesta Parade in San Antonio. Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities. If it isn't in Texas, you don't need it. No one does anything bigger or better than it's done in Texas.

By federal law, Texas is the only state in the U.S. that can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland, California, or Maine and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet. You fly the Stars and Stripes in front of Pine Tree High in Longview at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height; 20 feet.

Do you know why?

Because we place being a Texan as high as being an American down here. (it is the only state that was its own country before it became a state).

Our capitol is the only one in the country that is taller than the capitol building in Washington, D.C. and we can divide our state into five states if we wanted too, but never would. We included these things as part of the deal when we came on.

Texas is everything to us.