I recently took a road trip to Fort Worth with my eldest granddaughter to visit family. At the state line, we stopped for a photo by the concrete Texas sign. Is the unique shape of the state the reason its citizens display such pride and loyalty? Take the Texas-shaped waffle, for instance (backwards in the photo below). My granddaughter and I agreed that a Colorado or Wyoming shaped waffle would just be square. Nothing to get excited about.
Maybe it is the food. From deep fried everything to healthy local produce like pecans, Texas can provide for every taste, but there is definitely an inclination toward meat and potatoes. My brother and sister were slightly disgusted with me and my granddaughter for ordering salmon at a steakhouse.
Texans have a sense of their history, the whole cowboys and cattle thing. But not your ordinary bovines. No, Texas is known for their longhorn cattle. The discovery of massive oil fields gave Texas the autonomy provided by rich natural resources, and with that seemed to come attitude. Sure, Colorado experienced the gold and silver rush, and all the historic drama associated with a rapid influx of settlers and sudden wealth. And so did California. Somehow Texas has managed to own the mythology of the American West like no other state.
While in Fort Worth we visited The Pour House, a brew pub operated by a former student of my father's. Later we went to The Brewery in Burleson. When we got home, I had to explain the photos of my granddaughter playing pool in a pub with great-grandpa.
When you travel through Texas, you know you're in Texas. I hope my next trip won't be such a quick dash.
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