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Quote of the Day: What I Like About Texas, 29 April 2017
You ask me what I like about Texas? Well aside from the obvious, such as @rightangles’ posts and pics, and the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes in full bloom at the height of spring, the list is exhaustive. We could be here all night long.
Fortunately, 31 years ago during the Texas sesquicentennial, country singer-songwriter Gary P. Nunn put that question and its many answers into a song, from which the following verse comes:
You ask me what I like about Texas?
It’s the big timber ’round Nacogdoches.
It’s driving El Camino Real down to San Antone.
It’s the Riverwalk and Mi Tierra,
Jammin’ out with Bongo Joe,
The stories of the Menger Hotel and the Alamo.
(You remember the Alamo!)
Here’s a video clip of Nunn performing the song on “The Texas Connection,” a weekly program that was broadcast on The Nashville Network during the ’80s and ’90s, live from Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. The song begins just past the one minute mark:
God bless you, Texas. I miss you dearly.
Published in Culture
You know, if you leave out half of Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and most of Travis County, ALL of Texas is the best of Texas. I like it out east; my son went to Steven F. Austin in Nac and I loved that drive through Davy Crockett when I went out to see him. We have friends near Tyler and we love it over there. I could name a few other places I’ve visited, like Livingston, etc.
But really, other than the not-so-good places I mentioned, all Texas is the Best Of Texas!
Texas: The America of America
Snowing, almost blizzard conditions, in the Panhandle.
February cold in El Paso.
Blustery 50’s in upper central Texas .
Tornadoes dropping east of Dallas.
Thunderstorms in central Texas.
Almost-summer Hot in Houston and on the Gulf Coast.
Welcome to Texas in April. This screenshot of the Wundermap taken about 15 minutes ago:
Couldn’t agree more! My husband (from Hays County) refers to most of Dallas as “The Land of Plastic Assholes”! Also, while growing up, my husband said Austin was pretty awesome and then the Dell-ionaires and the metro-sexual hipsters took over and now it is SF South. My husband used to front a band on Sixth St back in the day (I married a rock star!). But now we live behind the “Piney Curtain” as Jack Black’s character calls it in the movie “Bernie”.
Reminds me of the movie Happy Texas.
That’s sad to hear about Austin. I haven’t been there in over a decade but loved 6th Street, all the live music and the bars.
Austin is now exactly like San Francisco. If you want to go there for a few days – even a week – and see the Capital, the parks, the river, sample the nightlife, and so on, it is still a great place. You can still catch some incredible bands in Austin. My visit to San Francisco was wonderful and I have a lot of good memories, just as I have a lot of good memories visiting Austin. I highly recommend Austin to everyone.
Just don’t move there. Folks like us prefer Round Rock, Georgetown, even Hutto and Taylor. Or do like some people and live out in the Lake Travis area. You’re still taxed like a Californian, but you aren’t overwhelmed by bums, hippies and freaks.
As a public service to our beautiful Texican brethren (I don’t make anything off of ’em, promise), there is this. My brother lives near Fort Worth, and I got him one. He said it was a YUGE hit at his monthly block party.
Our Man @aaronmiller posted this site some time ago and I was immediately hooked. I’ve been purchasing maps, prints, and books ever since.
The weekly newsletter is well worth it. A dose of history and trivia You won’t get anywhere else. Great, great stuff.
No tribute to Texas would be complete without this classic:
Brother P, I hit “like” for your efforts, but my kids are grown. I’ll not listen to Spongebob ever again. Or Barney. Or Dora. Or Steve from Blue’s Clues. Or…
I hear ya. For two years, I could never get the Barney song out of my head. And do not get me started on Steve.
I kept waiting for Barney to re-discover his predator roots. Alas, I waited in vain…
I must beg to differ with you on putting SpongeBob in the company of Barney, Dora and Blue’s Clues. Those programs operate on one level and one level only. Even at that level Barney and Dora manage to be execrable in their banality. SpongeBob has many layers and, at times, is a sublimely absurd comedy. Maybe not everyone’s bag and surely past it’s heyday but SpongeBob does not belong in that nails-on-chalkboard trio (actually Blues Clues was kind of sweet, I thought. Maybe you would consider inserting Teletubbies in its place). I’m sorry but I could not stand by while the honor of that guileless little Porifera is besmirched.
I agree with you here. Many adults watch Spongebob, and it was the only one I could actually enjoy watching with my daughter. It had a similar premise to Gomer Pyle, USMC: the nice guy, totally guileless, who has no idea when someone is being mean to him and always responds with kindness.
Let me clarify: the requirement to watch Spongebob has sunsetted. I bear him and Patrick no ill will, and wish them–and even Squidworth–all the best. But I ain’t tunin’ in no mo’.
And I’m sure there doesn’t exist a person who’d try to make you.
We got ’em right heyah in good ol’ South Carolina. These critters are all over . . .
Another favorite wildflower, Mexican Hat:
http://radionb.com/knbt
If you like what you heard, and want to hear a little more of it, go over to and stream KNBT New Braunfels TX.
@ronin, apropos of nothing, I think you might have the most awesome avatar ever, there.
@BossMongo, yours is not so bad either, thanks.
Native Austinite here (I live in Wilco, thank God).
I kinda miss the old hippies. They seemed to be more authentic than all the hipsters/Yankees running around town these days.
Bernie is one of the best movies about Texas in a long time. Everyone should see it!
I miss Leslie!
Who is Leslie?
Leslie was our Local Character. He ran for mayor of Austin several times. He was a fixture downtown, where he’d ride his bike or walk around in a thong and high heels or maybe a tutu. There were Leslie dolls and Leslie refrigerator magnets. He died a few years ago.
Just so wrong. ;)
Just be grateful I didn’t post any of his thong pictures.
My young son asked me one day if an armadillo every made it across the highway. Moved here in 1972 and had to leave once but got to return soon afterwards. Never say never anymore but if I leave, hope it will be feet first.