THE GREAT STATE, of mind and otherwise!

I being today’s blog by pointing out I was born in far north Texas. Tulsa. As I try to skirt the debate now about being in THE GREAT STATE illegally, I must point out that I married a citizen that was born in San Antonio and has live here her entire life. Whereas I’m not sold on amnesty, I have lived in THE GREAT STATE for 35 of my 44 years. I was educated in small town TEXAS. Have worked for state and county governments here and all of my kids and grandkids have been born in THE GREAT STATE. Also, I have contributed a great deal to the tax base here. I have not only paid my fair share, but other’s too. Even when I go to New Mexico to go skiing (which would still be in the GREAT STATE by the map of 1836), I will fill up at the state line and will not fill up again until I come back to Texas. My wife and I were talking the other day about places we would like to go and she doesn’t really care to leave the U.S. and I told her that I really didn’t care to leave Texas. So now I will go on with my rant knowing I’m a complete hypocrite since I was not actually born here. (anyone who has read previous blogs know I am a hypocrite anyway due to strong Catholic upbringing and a mother who perfected Catholic guilt. IJS). I must also remind readers that Travis, Bowie and Crockett while not born here, were all VERY TEXAN! Travis was born in S. Carolina, Bowie was from Kentucky and Crockett from Tennessee, but all very TEXAN. All of these men died in the Republic of Texas. That is my dream as well. (All were also Colonels. Everything dear to me, besides my wife, is named with a “C”. All my kids, grandkids etc. I would now like to challenge my children. Next person to have a baby, which should be in at least 10 years, name him “Colonel” after these great Texans! And he would immediately outrank Major Applewhite, not easily done here. Hmmmm, Colt also begins with a C?) I would also like to give much respect for all of those great states for their contributions to THE GREAT STATE.

Now, about my claim of being born in Far North Texas…..it’s not that farfetched. We all know that “manifest destiny” was our founding father’s dream. From “sea to shining sea” was what they had in mind from the beginning. However, much like north and south Austin are very different from each other, THE GREAT STATE is very different from much of the U.S. We were once a republic. Our own country. If our founding fathers would have had the vision of the U.S. founding fathers, North America would have 3 countries, not just two. (Editor’s note: I realize North America has 23 countries, but right now I’m focusing on the north and not central or Caribbean). That’s right; North America would consist of Canada, The U.S. and Texas. Had Texas founding fathers followed their manifest destiny maybe Texas could have gone from sea (Gulf of Mexico) to shining sea (Pacific Coast). Then Ronald Reagan would have been president of Texas and not from California!! I like to bring to mind all the great things THE GREAT STATE has to offer. If you don’t live here, you may not get it. You really have to listen to the Lyle Lovett song “That’s Right You’re Not From Texas” to start to understand it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMhaehb5AnE

In my favorite part of the song his girlfriend asks him….”what’s so great about your Lone Star State?” And then lets her out on the side of the highway. Classic. Music is one thing Texas has done right. Willie Nelson, George Strait, ZZ Top, The Great Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robert Earl Keen, Kevin Fowler and way too many singer/songwriters to mention them all. And all with an attitude. Just listen to Ray Wylie Hubbard explain it here…………

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Mrez7ahZA

There is just moxie in everything every Texan does. An attitude befitting of any demi-god. Remember the old saying, “one riot, one ranger?” or how about the following joke…………….....

Upon hearing there was one last survivor in the Alamo, Santa Anna sent in 10 of his soldiers to go get him. Nothing. Santa Anna sent 20 of his soldiers in after him. Nothing. Frustrated, Santa Anna sent in 100 soldiers. One battered and bruised soldier escaped to report to Santa Anna, “It’s a trap! There’s TWO of them!”

It’s that same moxie that certainly allowed me to bite off more than I could chew several times as a young man. And again as a middle aged man, IJS. Yes, Texas is made up of a bunch of proud and maybe arrogant people. Not French arrogant, Texas confident! Again, IJS.

I go visit the less fortunate in other states and I swear whenever I leave THE GREAT STATE it just gets cloudy and dreary. Whenever I return, it’s blue skies. There are not bluer skies anywhere than Texas. I always enjoy coming back in from the east on I-10 to read the sign that says……El Paso 879 miles. It’s just kinda brassy. I enjoy going to Oklahoma as well. It’s just nice to know I’m the smartest one in the whole state!

You’ve always heard the arguments that Texas would still be one of the strongest countries in the world. We got NASA. We got the largest army base. We got the beaches. We got the entertainment. We got the Dallas Cowboys for Pete’s sake. (We will make a concession and give Jerry Jones back to Arkansas however!). Texas Rangers (team and elite crime fighting unit, and Walker!). Mavericks. Astros. And beautiful women. I know the 3 most beautiful women live in Texas because I have lived with all them at one time or another.

And I take nothing away from other great states. I would certainly include most of the states in the south in the list of great states. And don’t turn this into a racist thing, it’s not. Less we forget it was a President from Texas who championed equal rights more than anyone (maybe to the extreme of reverse prejudice). All I’m saying here is Texas needs to be its own country. Now that I’ve run that by you look for my upcoming blog on why to vote for me for President of Texas!