That is good to know. I suppose that it’s like anything else–there is a picture and then there is the real picture…It’s like when I travel overseas and as soon as people here I’m from Chicago, they all say,“bang, bang.” Um, right–Al Capone died a loooong time ago!
AS for George Ryan–as nasty and corrupt as his License for Bribes scandal is and was–I think he is not evil incarnate. He did some good things for IL, including putting the kabosh on killing folks whose guilt we have not totally determined. Having listened to his speech upon the occasion of the moratorium, I consider the sentiments declared in it as genuine. I’m sure that there are those who disagree–but at least it is still upheld, and will be for some time, from all I hear.
Preach it! I, along with every native Texan I know, am long past sick of all this "Texas-sized’ “don’t mess with Texas” “Texas-this” “Texas-that” bullshit. I have never heard anybody say “howdy” as a greeting. Yes, living in a Houston suburb, you can drive around and see occasionally somebody having a few acres of land with a couple of cows or horses on it. This means that all Texans are cowboys in the same way that sheep in Scotland mean that all Scots are shepherds, or snow in Canada means that all Canadians live in igloos. Real cowboys don’t race around on horses in a ridiculous getup while swinging lassos, they ride pickup trucks and helicopters and use two-way radios. George W. Bush is not a cowboy, nor does he act particularly cowboy-like. The only Texans you are likely to see wearing cowboy hats either actually work with livestock or in some other outdoor job where they are exposed to the elements, or are intentionally dressing in “western” wear for their own twisted ends. And country music sucks.
Well, I do actually like some country music, but mostly older stuff. Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells – they’re all good, and so are less mainstream singers like Nanci Griffith or Emmylou Harris. And I also love bluegrass. What I believe sucks is what most people these days listen to as country music – the overproduced, soundalike, glurgy pap that you hear on almost every country radio station; Houston actually has a station playing old country music, but everything else sucks.
I’ve met plenty of Aggies, and ain’t never heard one of them say “howdy” as a greeting. They tend to say things such as “Hi!” or “How are you?” or “Sup.”
Right – they’re dressing in “western” wear for their own twisted ends, just like I said.
Indeed. It’s likely that I would like some of what that station appears to play, as it doesn’t appear to be the overproduced soundalike glurgy pap that I specifically said I think sucks.
I lived in Austin for nearly 20 years and in rural Texas for going on five.
I love many things about this state but I’m not going to get my panties in wad defending it against stupid stereotypes.
And anyone that doesn’t think Texas politics is a general clusterfuck hasn’t (to steal from a bumpersticker) been paying attention.
When I attended Texas Tech, back when it was still a college, cowboy hats and boots were commonplace and not just among the college kids. After all, way back then, one could attend Texas Tech on a full Rodeo scholarship. I will add that cowboy hats and boots were not uncommon in either Dallas or Houston during that time frame. Western cut suits could be found in any clothing store and the western style shirts, with snaps instead of buttons were as common as dirt. And I have heard many a “Howdy, how y’all?” as a greeting although it was usually given with more than a hint of self mockery. To watch somone tip his JC Stetson hat to a woman and greet her with a “Howdy, Mam” is somehow heart warming. Or amusing, at least. I’ve done it myself.
As to Aggies, did you know they invented a new and improved parachute? It opens on impact.
