# Let's say some good things about Texas **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603 "2009-09-10T20:28:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Brainiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/21 "2009-09-11T00:30:42Z")
The only good thing about Texas, they told me when I lived in Oklahoma, is that it separates the rest of the country from Mexican drug lords. There’s your next travel billboard right there! ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/22 "2009-09-11T00:41:11Z")
I’ve traveled to and through the Lone Star State on various road trips. Down to Big Bend, along Route 66, I passed thru Pecos, Fredricksburg, Austin, San Antonio and Houston. Got to see the Marfa lights. I loved Balmorhea State Park with the big pool fed by warm water springs. Had a great time camping at Padre Island and Stephen Austin State Park. My visits to Texas have been, without fail, most enjoyable. I never encountered anything but friendly people. I like Texas and those are the good things I have to say about it. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/23 "2009-09-11T01:11:55Z")
They’ve hosted several interesting cults. That’s always good reading. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/24 "2009-09-11T01:23:48Z")
> [@Brainiac](#): > > The only good thing about Texas, they told me when I lived in Oklahoma, is that it separates the rest of the country from Mexican drug lords. There’s your next travel billboard right there! Does that mean we Texans buy up all the drugs? That _can’t_ be true! Let me start with\* The Texas Observer\*, carrying the Liberal banner here since 1954; check out the [Molly Ivins tribute issue](http://www.texasobserver.org/molly/). The [Texas Freedom Network](http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer), “a mainstream voice to fight the religious right” opposes jokers like the State school board–source of so many embarrassing headlines. Texas Music has been mentioned; in fact, I’ve mentioned it at length on The Dope. (No, not a reference to that Oklahoma snarker!) The [Homesick Texan](http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/)writes from Noo York City, but her subject is Texas Food. San Antonio is a gem of a city. Austin ain’t what it was 20 years ago. But they were saying that 20 years ago. It’s still a pretty nice little city, if a bit full of itself. People can live surprisingly well up in the Metroplex. El Paso is way out there. Big Houston has a lot of good non-Texan stuff, too. People keep coming from all over the world, keeping parochialism at bay. We even have art! From the exquisite [Menil Collection](http://www.menil.org/) to the loud & rowdy [Art Car Parade](http://www.orangeshow.org/artcar.html). Our famously dreadful summer seems to be ending early; winters are mild, compared to much of the country. And we haven’t had a hurricane this year–so far! ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/25 "2009-09-11T01:42:01Z")
\ It’s large… \ ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/26 "2009-09-11T01:42:38Z")
It has a very pleasing shape. I’m serious. It’s distinctive, you wouldn’t mistake it for anything else but Texas, unlike some other states that are mostly square or ambiguously blobby. It has a nice balance of straight artificially-imposed borders and jaggedy natural borders. Texas is not the only well-shaped state, but it’s definitely in the top percentile. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/27 "2009-09-11T01:42:47Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Austin ain’t what it was 20 years ago. But they were saying that 20 years ago. Ah, amen to that. > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > And we haven’t had a hurricane this year–so far! Now, you just shut your filthy mouth! 😃 ::knocks on wood:: And… what everyone else said: great barbecue; big, beautiful skies; friendly people ready to hand you a cold beer as long as you keep your liberal trap shut; the Tex-Mex; the brisket and ribs and various other assorted barnyard meats; oh, God, the food… ---
**Author:** ![Countrypolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/858c86/32.png) [@Countrypolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Countrypolitan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/28 "2009-09-11T02:03:13Z")
San Antonio mild winters “dry” heat (I hate being cold) 80 MPH legally on parts of I-35 no state income tax WHATABURGER!!! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/29 "2009-09-11T02:11:09Z")
> [@Brainiac](#): > > The only good thing about Texas, they told me when I lived in Oklahoma, is that it separates the rest of the country from Mexican drug lords. There’s your next travel billboard right there! Exactly. The good thing about El Paso is that it keeps the violence in Juarez out of Las Cruces. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/30 "2009-09-11T02:14:23Z")
Brisket and sausage. [Conjunto.](http://www.lib.utexas.edu/benson/border/) [Resistol.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2572/3850997358_e279103170.jpg) Western Swing. Molly Ivins. Ornette Coleman. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/31 "2009-09-11T03:08:08Z")
Texas government does not let _anyone_ fuck with it’s denizens. The only people who can garnish your wages here are the government itself or child support folks. (and rightly so) I was joyed to find this out when I got into a dispute over a loan I got many years ago. The bill collector kept calling me and threatening to garnish my wages if I didn’t pay up. He had me scared shitless. I made a phone call to an attorney to ask what my rights were. He laughed and told me “Don’t sweat it”. Then he went on to tell me why. Next time that bill collector called I sure gave him what for. I laughed in his face when he threatened again to garnish my wages. He never called back after that. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/32 "2009-09-11T04:42:00Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Scott Joplin > Blind Lemon Jefferson > Big Mama Thornton > Lightnin’ Hopkins > Buddy Holly > Roy Orbison > Bob Wills > Ernest Tubb > Tex Ritter > Willie Nelson > Waylon Jennings > Janis Joplin > 13th Floor Elevators > Doug Sahm > Freddy Fender > Flaco Jimenez > Townes van Zandt > Guy Clark > Joe Ely > Butch Hancock > Jimmie Dale Gilmore > Lyle Lovett > Los Lonely Boys > > (just for a start…) Junior Brown ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/33 "2009-09-11T04:49:11Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > Bluebonnets! A field of them is a sight to behold. They’re nearly my favorite flower. I miss home now. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/34 "2009-09-11T06:48:42Z")
They took Dubya back. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/35 "2009-09-11T06:54:38Z")
Good Thing About Texas: it’s far away from here. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/36 "2009-09-11T07:09:01Z")
its Kinky:D ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/37 "2009-09-11T07:10:46Z")
I almost got a job in Houston (HR got in the way). They speak my two main languages, my sense of humor was compatible with those of the people I met there, the food and weather were pretty nice (I can see how the weather would be too hot for many people but it is similar to “back home”) and housing costs were a lot more reasonable than in Philly, where I was living at the time. Mind you, I still think they need to put [cañizo](http://www.astrolandia.net/galeria/paisaje/nelly/canizo.jpg) over their parking lots (keeps the cars from roasting, a little bit). If someone with a huge-UV rips the covering off with his car, not only does he NOT get to sue the company over it, he’s got to pay to replace the covering. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/38 "2009-09-11T07:47:27Z")
The best part about Texas food isn’t the taste, really. Tasty food is everywhere. The best part is the social style of it. Food is a community production in Texas. A hundred people grilling half a cow on a Tuesday evening would not be an overly strange sight in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/39 "2009-09-11T07:57:59Z")
I’m almost certain that **no** part of Texas got ten feet of snow this winter or last winter. A definite plus in my book. ---
**Author:** ![lynne-42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lynne-42/32/3138_2.png) [@lynne-42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynne-42)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603/40 "2009-09-11T08:27:44Z")
I went to Texas while on a trip to the US two years ago. I expected to hate it, but I wanted to visit a friend - I adored it. It was the highlight of the trip. Flower Mound, Texas. I was told just to avoid religion and politics and all would be fine, which I did. First, it is where I held my first tarantula. As a recovered archnophobe, I needed to do that to show I had really done the trick. It was fantastic! Walking down around the lake near Flower Mound - I have never seen so much wildlife. Orb weaving spiders were everywhere. Lots of other critters. Squirrels racing back and forth across a squirrel-freeway outside the kitchen window. We were circled by vultures! Incredible! I had my first Halloween. Being a spider addict, that was good - all of America decorated for my passion! We went on a hay ride with lots of kids who couldn’t believe this strange woman from Australia knew almost nothing about Halloween, or American candy. They set about educating me. You could not ask for more fun kids. They noticed that I kept looking the wrong way crossing roads, so they always made sure someone held my hand! I ended up with more candy than any of the kids, because they were all so keen to give it to me. Then I had fried chicken. At Babe’s, Roanoke, Texas. I have never tasted chicken, mashed potatoes or creamed corn so good. Nor had so much fun with Texans being super nice to the foreigner. I’m going to New Mexico and Louisiana next month for research. Guess where I’ll be stopping off? And guess where I’ll be eating? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-some-good-things-about-texas/509603.md?page=3)