| Texas Truths from Walt |
| Texas, Our Texas |
| 4/30/07 - From Judy P.S. What I Like About Texas A beautiful YouTube Slideshow created by sammietexas |
| Fabulous site with Texas songs, photos, history, and more. Created by displaced Texan/Aggie, Lyman Hardeman, now living in Fairfax, VA. (This is not a paid ad.) |
| Check out TexasBob.com for all kinds of great Texana. (This is not a paid ad.) |
| Texas has 3 cities with over a million people: Houston, 1,980,950; Dallas, 1,201,759; and San Antonio, 1,182,840. Austin has 678,198. Per www.texasbob.com from the 2000 State Data Center Estimate |
| Old Stuff (But Good!) |
Excellent YouTube video of motorcycle tour, "I've Been Everywhere," using only Texas names and places---from Judy PS. |
| From Linda M August 2007: Forget rednecks...here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about folks from Texas. You may live in Texas if... someone in a Lowe's store offers you assistance and they don't work there. you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time. you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number. "vacation" means going anywhere south of Dallas for the weekend. you measure distance in hours. you know several people who have hit a deer more than once. you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked. you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them. the speed limit on the highway is 55 MPH, you're going 80, and everybody is passing you. you find 60 degrees "kind of chilly," you may live in Texas. |
| From Judy PS: Texas is in the news again. After digging a depth of 10 yards, NY scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years and concluded that their ancestors already telephones 100 years ago. Not to be outdone by New Yorkers, CA scientists dug 20 yards deep. The LA Times reported "California Archaeologists Find 200-Yr-Old Copper Wire," showing their ancestors already had high-tech communications 100 yrs earlier than the New Yorkers. One week later, The San Antonio Express News reported, "After digging 30 yds deep in his cotton fields near Austin, Bubba Jones, self-taught archaeologist, reported he found absolutely nothing, thus concluding that 300 years ago, Texas had already gone wireless." |
Texas, our Texas! All hail the mighty State!
Texas, our Texas! So wonderful, so great!
Boldest and grandest,
Withstanding ev'ry test;
O Empire wide and glorious,
You stand supremely blest.
[Refrain]
God bless you Texas!
And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth,
Thro'out the ages long.
Texas, O Texas! Your freeborn single star,
Sends out its radiance to nations near and far.
Emblem of freedom! It sets our hearts aglow,
With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious
Alamo.
[Refrain]
Texas, dear Texas! From tyrant grip now free,
Shines forth in splendor your star of destiny!
Mother of heroes! We come your children true,
Proclaiming our allegiance, our faith, our love
for you.
[Refrain]
(Jan's note: When I learned it, 'way back before
party-pooping Alaska butted in, the third line
was "Largest and grandest.")
| Our state song is "Texas, Our Texas" by William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright. |
| 1. A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road. 2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in Texas. 3. There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in Texas. 4. If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha. 5. 'Onced' and 'Twiced' are words. 6. It is not a shopping cart, it's a buggy. 7. 'Jaw-P?' means, 'Did y'all go to the bathroom? 8. People actually grow and eat okra. 9. 'Fixinto' is one word. 10. There is no such thing as 'lunch.' There is only dinner and then there is supper. 11. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar. 12. Backwards and forwards means, 'I know everything about you.' 13. The word 'jeet' is actually a phrase meaning, 'Did you eat?' 14. You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see. 15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH EM. (Mash on it, Doll!) |
| 17. You measure distance in minutes. 18. You switch from heat to A/C in the same day. 19. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal. 20. You know what a 'DAWG' is. 21. You carry jumper cables in your car --- for your OWN car. 22. You only own four spices: salt, pepper, Tabasco and Ketchup. 23. The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip and high school football. 24. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday. 25. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit 'a bit warm.' 26. You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas. 27. Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past time known as 'goin' Wal-Martin' or 'off to Wally World.' 28. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good stew weather. 29. Fried catfish is the other white meat. 30. We don't need no dang driver's ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive, dag-nabbit. 31. Yankees probably wont understand. |
| July 12, '07 |
Texas Map Locating Classmates Who Make Their Homes in The Great State of Texas |
Look at Texas with me on a map of the world, 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 planet, there is a person who wishes just once he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride off in a pickup. There is a little bit of Texas in everyone. 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 Davy 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 Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana at San Jacinto. Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett and Sam Houston National Forests . 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 Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas. Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork. Texas is Mexican foods like nowhere else, not even Mexico . Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, the Ballpark in Arlington, and the Astrodome...guess now the Reliant Stadium too. Texas is larger-than-life legends like Michael DeBakey, Ann Richards, Denton Cooley, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Gene Autry, Audie Murphy, Tommy Lee Jones, Waylon Jennings, Farrah Fawcett, Janis Joplin, Sandra Bullock, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Landry, Eva Longoria, Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Sam Rayburn, Howard Hughes, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and let's not forget GEORGE STRAIT- PANTERA!!!!!!!!!!!! Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments and Compaq, Bell Helicopter and LOCKHEED MARTIN AEROSPACE, Home of the F-16 Jet Fighter and the JSF Fighter. Texas is NASA. Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops. Texas is home to the most amazing sunsets of gold over an empty field. Texas is hundreds of deer running around neighborhoods and fields. Texas is skies blackened with doves and fields full of deer. Texas even has its own power grid!! It's a given that Texas is Live Music Capital of the World! Texas is a place where towns and cities shut down to watch the local high school football game on Friday nights and for the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, and for the Night In Old San Antonio River Parade in San Antonio. To drive across Texas is to drive 1/3 the way across the United States . Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities. If it isn't already in Texas, you probably 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 Belton High or anyplace else at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. Do you know why? Because it is the only state that was a republic before it became a state. Also, being a Texan is as high as being an American down here. 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 at any time if we want to! We can become a republic again at any time the voters of Texas choose, and we included these things as part of the deal when we came on. That's the best part, right there. Texans are truly FREE! |
| Testimonial to Texas |
| from Linda M |
Sept. 16, 2009: Rob forwarded this photo of
the flood waters at the Salado Bridge. Charles
Chaney, now in Ohio, had forwarded the pic
sent to him by a Texas friend. Isn't the Internet
wonderful? Wasn't the damage devastating?
the flood waters at the Salado Bridge. Charles
Chaney, now in Ohio, had forwarded the pic
sent to him by a Texas friend. Isn't the Internet
wonderful? Wasn't the damage devastating?
| Major Flooding after 18-inch Rain |
The Temple Telegram On-line had this picture and an
interesting history of Zabcikville by Harper Scott Clark. This is
downtown Z'ville with a Model-T Ford in the 1920s. Photo is
courtesy to the TT from Calvin Zabcik and the Michael and
Nancy Kelsey collection. The pic is courtesy to US from Duryl
"Gibby" Bailey. Thanks, Gibby.
interesting history of Zabcikville by Harper Scott Clark. This is
downtown Z'ville with a Model-T Ford in the 1920s. Photo is
courtesy to the TT from Calvin Zabcik and the Michael and
Nancy Kelsey collection. The pic is courtesy to US from Duryl
"Gibby" Bailey. Thanks, Gibby.
| Gibby (Class of '53) |
| JUST TEXAS Pep, Texas 79353 Smiley, Texas 78159 Paradise, Texas 76073 Rainbow, Texas 76077 Sweet Home, Texas 77987 Comfort, Texas 78013 Friendship, Texas 76530 Love the Sun? Sun City, Texas 78628 Sunrise, Texas 76661 Sunset, Texas 76270 Sundown, Texas 79372 Sunray, Texas 79086 Sunny Side, Texas 77423 Want something to eat? Bacon, Texas 76301 Noodle, Texas 79536 Oatmeal, Texas 78605 Turkey, Texas 79261 Trout, Texas 75789 Sugar Land, Texas 77479 Salty, Texas 76567 Rice, Texas 75155 Pearland, Texas 77581 Orange, Texas 77630 And top it off with: Sweetwater, Texas 79556 Why travel to other cities? Texas has them all! Detroit, Texas 75436 Cleveland, Texas 75436 Colorado City, Texas 79512 Denver City, Texas 79323 Klondike, Texas 75448 Nevada, Texas 75173 Memphis, Texas 79245 Miami, Texas 79059 Boston, Texas 75570 Santa Fe, Texas 77517 Tennessee Colony, Texas 75861 Reno, Texas 75462 Pasadena, Texas 77506 Columbus, Texas 78934 Feel like traveling outside the country? Athens, Texas 75751 Canadian, Texas 79014 China, Texas 77613 Egypt, Texas 77436 Ireland, Texas 76538 Italy, Texas 76538 Turkey, Texas 79261 London, Texas 76854 New London, Texas 75682 Paris, Texas 75460 Palestine, Texas 75801 No need to travel to Washington, DC. Whitehouse, Texas 75791 We even have a city named after our planet! Earth, Texas 79031 We have a city named after our state Texas City, Texas 77590 Exhausted? Energy, Texas 76452 Cold? Blanket, Texas 76432 Winters, Texas Like to read about History? Santa Anna, Texas Goliad, Texas Alamo, Texas Gun Barrel City, Texas Robert Lee, Texas Need Office Supplies? Staples, Texas 78670 Want to go into outer space? Venus, Texas 76084 Mars, Texas 79062 You guessed it... It's on the state line. Texline, Texas 79087 For the kids... Kermit, Texas 79745 Elmo, Texas 75118 Nemo, Texas 76070 Tarzan, Texas 79783 Winnie, Texas 77665 Sylvester, Texas 79560 Other city names in Texas, to make you smile... Frognot, Texas 75424 Bigfoot, Texas 78005 Hogeye, Texas 75423 Cactus, Texas 79013 Notrees, Texas 79759 Best, Texas 76932 Veribest, Texas 76886 Kickapoo, Texas 75763 Dime Box, Texas 77853 Old Dime Box, Texas 77853 Telephone, Texas 75488 Telegraph, Texas 76883 Whiteface, Texas 79379 Twitty, Texas 79079 The Anti-Al Gore City Kilgore, Texas 75662 And our favorites... Cut n Shoot, Texas Gun Barrell City, Texas Hoop And Holler, Texas Ding Dong, Texas and, of course, Muleshoe, Texas |
| Judy PS & Gibby (Class of '53) |