Howdy, ya'll! This here's a li'l ol' page about the GREAT State of Texas. Now, I know what some of ya'll are thinkin' right about now -- what's so great about Texas? Well, obviously, for starters, you haven't lived there, or you wouldn't ask! Ser'usly, though, speakin' from exper'nce -- and bein' a NATIVE TEXAN myself, let me tell ya just a few of the things I love about my native state.

Let's see -- where to start? There are so many things I love about Texas. One is the diversity of terrain. You have North Central Texas, where I'm from, which is filled with rolling hills and field after field of black rich soil growing anything from cotton to alfalfa hay to corn. And those native pecan trees produce the best pecans I've ever had! Then there's the Hill Country, which rivals North Texas in its beauty -- around Fredericksburg and Kerrville... you just can't beat the beauty of nature! Then there's the state capital, Austin, and San Antonio area -- such a beautiful place, especially in spring time. Have you ever looked out over the Brazos River, or been on the RiverWalk in San Antone? Absolutely spectacular... and then we have to REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!! We can't leave out West Texas, either (although sometimes..... no, just kidding!) A friend of mine once said it was a place filled with "miles and miles of MILES AND MILES! " And she was closer to the truth than some may want to admit! Who can forget that drive on the interstate to Amarillo and going past the Cadillacs buried nose down at a 45-degree angle??? Only in Texas!!!

Another thing I love about my native state is the people. In the town I grew up in, there were so many friendly people. You had real neighbors who would lend a hand when you were down, and of course you did the same for them. If you were a kid growing up with me, you didn't have only one set of parents... everybody's parents in the whole neighborhood felt obligated to help raise ALL the kids!! (So, needless to say, we as kids never got away with anything.... who could, with all those parents?) If you've been around Texas at all, you know the people are the greatest!

Obviously, one of my VERY favorite things I love about Texas is the town I was "borned and raised" in. My hometown, Sherman, Texas, was known in the early 1900's as "The Athens of North Texas" because of its beauty and literary and scholarly resources. We have Austin College (my alma mater), among other things. Sherman is also the county seat of Grayson County, so it is kind of a hub of activity -- even as far as businesses go. I remember growing up and going downtown in summers to the sidewalks sales. (They always had them in August... why, I'll never know!!! If you know anything about Texas, August is the hottest month of the year!) So what did everybody do? Went to the sidewalk sale, of course! Seems like the whole town was there, and you saw friends and laughed and visited --- all while picking up great back to school bargains!

I also remember the Texas Theater in downtown Sherman, where all the latest movies were showing. My mom and aunts would go shopping and send us kids to the movies. (gave both of us a break!) In those days, everyone knew everyone else and their parents, kids, aunts, uncles, cousins.... and it was kind of like a big small country town. Now, of course, it has grown both in population and in industries and commerce. Sherman is a great place to be from and a wonderful place to live and raise a family. I am very proud to be a native Texan from Sherman! (Go Bearcats!)

Another neat thing about Sherman is that it's so close to the Metroplex. Now, if you're from Texas at all, you KNOW where "The Metroplex" is -- of course it could only be Dallas/Ft. Worth -- home of J.R., Billy Bob's and the Dallas Cowboys. And speaking of the Cowboys, it was a sad day on February 12, 2000, when Coach Tom Landry passed away at Baylor Medical Center. He will be sorely missed by us all. There is talk around Big D of renaming Texas Stadium in honor of Tom Landry. I for one think that is a fantastic idea!!!! There is a link at the top of the page where you can go to sign a petition to get this process started. Please take a minute to go there. (see link above) Here is a page I did with Coach Landry's obituary on it, taken from CNNSI.com.

One aspect of Texas culture I really enjoy are them there "sayin's" -- you know what I'm talkin' about -- those phrases that Grandma used to say that made no sense whatsoever to someone from NewYorkCIITEEEE, but were universally understood in Texas talk. Phrases like:

"Well, hang my pitchur!"
"If that don't take the rag off the bush!"
"He's as nervous as a long-tailed cat at a rockin' chair convention!" (now, THAT'S nervous!!)
"He'll be on that like white on rice!"
"She jumped on that like a chicken on a june bug."
(Talking about how cold it is) "There's nothin' between here and the North Pole but a "bob-war" (barbed wire) fence -- and it's down!"
"His elevator just don't go all the way to the top!"
"The porch light's on, but no one's home! Hello!!"
"Don't break your arm pattin' yourself on the back!"
"She's so hard-headed, she'd argue with a fencepost!"
"You just don't know it, but you got a bird's nest on the ground!"
"Earth to Mars!" (when somebody's not paying attention!)
"The finest thing since sliced bread!"
And my momma's personal favorite:
"I'm gonna WEAAAARRR you out!!!"

Well, this will be all for now on my Texas page... as you know, the "Eyes of Texas" will always be "upon you" so ya'll come back now, y'hear?


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This page was hand coded and created on
February 16, 1998 using my brain and Yahoo! resources.
This page was moved to this website on
Sunday, May 26, 2002.