I heart Texas

(c) 2010 by Steve Martaindale

I’ve often heard of The Village Voice, perhaps the original so-called alternative weekly news tabloid in New York City, but don’t recall ever reading it. A link to an article headlined “50 Reasons to Be Pretty D*** Euphoric You Live in New York City” quickly changed that.

The article by Jen Doll (well, that’s what it said) on a blog called I Really Do Heart NY provided the edgy, we don’t care what the rest of the country thinks, in your face, love us or leave us attitude the headline suggested.

One reason it intrigued me is that, after years of saying I’d never want to live in a city, I’ve almost come to the opinion that it might be fun for a while. Perhaps that’s easy to say since it seems highly unlikely, but I enjoyed living in Deep East Texas and McMurdo Station, Antarctica, places separated by much more than distance and temperatures. Maybe ...

Two examples taken from the 50 (find the article here) include:

29. Restaurants are as common as single men and women. And equally diverse. And you never have to see either of them again after the initial awkward encounter.

9. Jaywalking is an art form.

It occurs to me New Yorkers and Texans have something big in common. Both groups love what they are and do not care what the rest of the world thinks. Therefore, here’s my list:

“25 Reasons to Be Pretty Dang Pumped You Live in Texas”

25. You can travel anywhere in the world and they’ve heard of Texas. (Texas, Queensland, Australia is a town named after the Lone Star State.) Many places may have outlandish misconceptions, but they’ve heard of us.

24. Barbecue and Tex-Mex restaurants in just about any town large enough to have a water tower.

23. People make fun of the way we talk, but still they try to imitate it.

22. Publicly owned beaches, it’s a constitutional right.

21. It’s OK to act like you’re a cowboy.

20. The deeply ingrained conception of a constitutionally endowed right to secede from the union is so pervasive that even our highest elected officials think it’s true. And if it’s not, then it should be.

19. By turning 16 years old, we think we’ve earned the right to our own automobile.

18. The family car might be a crew cab pickup truck.

17. If you’re feeling crowded, we have 89 counties with populations less than 10,000, eight less than 1,000; Loving County had only 45 people at the last count.

16. If you like cities and Texas, three of the nation’s top 10 would satisfy you – 4, Houston; 8, Dallas; and 10, San Antonio.

15. Soon, three of the 13 libraries administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries will be in Texas.

14. You can tour for days and weeks without leaving the state and without repetition.

13. The State Fair of Texas.

12. We have our own Independence Day – March 2.

11. Saying “Howdy” to strangers on the street.

10. Crossing the state line on a return trip home and seeing the sign that says, “Welcome to Texas.”

9. We have the most recognizable of any state flag.

8. Remember the Alamo.

7. Most of our smart people, of which there are plenty, tend to play down the fact in social settings.

6. Many of our not-so-smart people can make a lot of sense, too.

5. The Adopt-a-Highway roadside cleanup program began here. Then, when the Don’t Mess With Texas anti-littering campaign began, much of the rest of the country took it as a warning to them; so be it.

4. Big Bend.

3. We gave the world indoor baseball.

2. Texas is the nation’s largest generator of electricity through wind power.

1. If you can make it here, why bother making it anywhere else?

OK, dear reader ... click the comment and pile on ... why are you pretty dang pumped you live in Texas?

(c) 2010 by Steve Martaindale