A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....02-21-06....Are You From Texas?

Billie

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

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~ Billie, Dutchess, DollyCali, Mama_Bear, GodBlessUSA ~

I received the following (two) emails not long ago ~ the authors are both unknown. Though I profiled my state ("Texas, My Texas") over a year ago, I couldn't resist posting these.  (Hey, we Texans are mighty proud of our roots!)

The second part, "Rules To Enter Texas", is a bit more *tongue in cheek*, so even if you're *not* from Texas, I still hope to see more smiles than groans after reading it. :)

Have you ever looked at a map of the United States? Everyone who lives in the United States can zero in on their state and name those around it, and everyone knows which ones are California, Florida, and Texas. But 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 you show him a picture of any other state? A puzzled look is all you'll get. (Did you ever hear anyone say, "Wow...so you're from Iowa? Cool, tell me about it?")

Texas is the Alamo, 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 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 ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities.
  
  
• Texas is Sam Houston capturing Santa Ana at San Jacinto.
  
  
• Texas is "Juneteenth" and Texas Independence Day.
  
  
• Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett National Forest.
  
  
• Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend.

• Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country.
  
  
• Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork.
  
  
• Texas is Mexican food like nowhere else, not even Mexico.
  
  
• Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, the Astrodome, and Six Flags Over Texas and the Ballpark in Arlington.
  
  
• Texas is a place where towns and cities shut down to watch the local High School Football game on Friday nights.

• Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments and Compaq. And LOCKHEED MARTIN AEROSPACE, Home of the F-16 Jet Fighter and the JSF Fighter.
  
  
• Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas.
  
  
• Texas is NASA.
  
  
• Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas.

• Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops.
  
  
• Texas is skies blackened with doves, and fields full of deer.
  
  
• Texas is beautiful, old, Southern-style homes on large shaded lots in sophisticated small cities.
  
  
• Texas is symphony orchestras, art museums, natural history museums, festivals, and celebrations.

AND.........

• Texas is home to the President of the United States of America, and we are proud of our Cowboy!

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 or Maine or California, and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet.  You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in front of Pine Tree High in Longview or anyplace else in Texas, and the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. Know why? Because it is the only state that was a republic before it became a state.

Our capitol dome 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 wanted to! We included these things as part of the deal when we came on. That's the best part, right there.

Disclaimer: Remember, I didn't write these rules.
I don't even drive a pickup truck. :)

Applies to each person as they enter Texas...
East Coast and California-types pay particular attention!

1. Pull your droopy pants up. You look like an idiot.
   
   
2. Let's get these things straight:
   
   A)   It's called a "gravel road."
   
   B)   I drive a pickup truck because I want to.
   
   C)   No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get dust on your Jaguar. Drive it or get out of the way.
   
   
3. They are cattle & oil wells.
   
   That's what they smell like to you. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-20 and I-10 go east and west, I-35 goes north and south. Pick one.
   
   
4. So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 cotton strippers that are driven only 3 weeks a year.
   
   
5. So every person in every pickup waves. t's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.
   
   
6. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of doves are coming in, we WILL shoot it out of your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.
   
   
7. Yeah, we eat catfish & crawfish. You really want sushi & caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.
   
   
8. The "Opener" refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.
   
   
9. We open doors for women. This is applied to all women, regardless of age.
   
   
10. No! There's NO "vegetarian special" on the menu. Order steak. Or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham & turkey.
    
    
11. When we set out a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and Picante Sauce. Oh, yeah - we don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you eat. It AIN'T real chili! Real chili was born and bred in San Antonio; and real chili never met a tomato!
    
    
12. You bring "coke" into my house, it better be brown, wet, and served over ice. You bring "Mary Jane" into my house, she better be cute; know how to shoot; drive a truck; and have long hair.
    
    
13. College and High School Football is as important here as the Lakers and the Knicks there; and a dang site more fun to watch.
    
    
14. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards - it spooks the fish.
    
    
15. Colleges? Try Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech or the U of H. They come outta there with an education plus a love for God and country; and they still wave at passing pickups when they come for the holidays.
    
    
16. We have more folks in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, than any other state; so "Don't Mess with Texas!" If you do, it will get you whipped by the best.
    
    
17. Always remember what our great governor Sam Houston once said: Texas can make it without the United States, but the United States can't make it without Texas."

"Texas, Our Texas"

Written by William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright
Composed by William J. Marsh

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.

Texas, O Texas! your freeborn single star,
Sends out its radiance to nations near and far,
Emblem of Freedom! it set our hearts aglow,
With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious Alamo.

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.

God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.
God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.

12-28-05 ~ Hall of Fame #14

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 02-20-06 Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Thanks so much Amy~ HUGS!

[Billie]

Hi, Pippin! We need to get you a cowboy hat and boots! :)

[PreviouslyA-Lurker]

Can I be Texan? I try to go here as often as I can...

[Billie]

A little town called Houston. Some people have heard of it.

Oh, yes, I think I have - just a small town in Texas, but I've been through there on my way to somewhere more bigger. :)

Hi, 'Legra!

[Billie]

Hi, there, Rte66 - glad you like the Dubya gif, and thanks for sharing the posts about Texas and why you love it! :)

[Billie]

More than 4800 trail riders are heading into town right this minute, to converge in Memorial Park Friday for a hootin' and hollerin' good time. Friday is GO TEXAN Day, where everyone wears Western wear - EVERYONE!

I bet that's a blast - are there really lots of covered wagons in that trail ride? You know, somehow I just don't think of Houston as rodeo and trail rides! Fort Worth maybe. :)

[CovenBuster]

Yes, as a matter of fact, I am from Texas!
And here's a friendly reminder that it won't be long now!

I love Texas!!!

[Billie]

Good morning Billie. I haven't dropped by in a while but couldn't resist the thread about Texas. Part of my family has been in Texas since it was a Republic. Our oldest son will be getting out of the Air Force by the end of the year and will move back to Texas and our whole family will be back in Texas where they belong. Here is my favorite quote about Texas, specifically West Texas.

“It is what Beethoven reached for in music. It will make you breathe deeply whenever you think of it, for you have inhaled eternity.”

I am so glad to hear from you, ladtx. It *has* been a long time. Happy to hear all of you will be back in Texas together soon. So your younger son is home to stay? Love the quote....inhaled eternity...:)

[Mama_Bear]

Can you and Maggie take turns wearing the boots? :)

Sure! Either that, or I can take the right and she can take the left. ;-)

I have already had the distinct pleasure of being made an honorary Canadian by a mutual friend of ours. ;-) Now I can be an "Honorary Texan" too! :-)

[Billie]

Well, phooey. I copied the wrong url (with tinypic, it's hard to tell what's what!) You didn't *need* the Welcome to Texas, Rte66 - you ARE Texas! :)

[deadhead]

Awesome thread, Texas looks beautiful. Would love to vacation there one day.
I do love wearing the cowboy boots that I have.

Below is the 2005 Texas Easter Egg decorated by
artist Sandra J. Day, Cleburne, Texas.
Found it on the White House web site.

[Billie]

He said; “Never ask a man if he is from Texas. If he is from Texas, he is going to tell you. If he aint, your just going to embarrass him”.

Thanks for those words of wisdom, Greg. :)

"If it isn't in Texas, you probably don't need it."

"No one does anything bigger or better than it's done in Texas."

[Billie]

Thank you, Zacs Mom! Glad you enjoyed the thread, and thank you for those great "Texas" style graphics!!!

[Billie]

Thank you, Dolly! You always have such nice compliments to offer. The Hill Country has always been my very favorite part of Texas, but there are still many places in the state we haven't visited.

What College is the movie "Glory Road" about?

[Billie]

And I made a few new Texans ; )

That's an interesting statement. :)

[Billie]

Hi, there, Lakeside - didn't mean to make you homesick. Oh, okay, maybe I did. :)

It's good to see you again lately!

[Billie]

Hi, hoped I'd be hearing from you on this thread about our great Lone Star State, home of all these wonderful places and things....... and PEOPLE!! :)

[DollyCali]

TGlory Road -Texas Western, Don Haskins - mid 60s..

leaving for PM.. will read all when I get back..

dogs had 2.5 hour outing up & down ravines, thru streams & fields.. Not sure who is more tired ..them or me? well, I am sure.. they did a whole lot more running

[DollyCali]

magnificent pictures.. going to snag them when I get home.. thank you so much!

[Billie]

And oh how I wish that my State could say that Pres. Bush came fom here!

Hi, Majjie, it makes me smile to know *we* produced a great President - I would not be so boastful if I were in Arkansas. LOL