God Bless Texas Have you ever looked at a map of the world? Look at Texas for just for a second. That picture - with the Panhandle, Gulf Coast, Red River and the Rio Grande - is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It’s Texas. 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’re shown a picture of any other state? You might get it maybe after a second or two, but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you? In every man, woman and child on this planet, lives a person who wishes, just once, he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride off in a pickup. There’s a little bit of Texas in everyone. Texas is the Alamo. Texas is 183 men standing in a church, facing thousands of Mexican nationals, fighting for freedom. Those 183 men had a 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, James Bowie and Davy Crockett. Do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes. John Wayne produced the movie, paying for much of it out of his own pocket. That’s the Spirit of Texas. Texas is Sam Houston capturing Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana at San Jacinto. Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett and Sam Houston National Forests. Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend. Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in its Hill Country. Texas is floating down Hill Country rivers on a hot summer day. Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of its Gulf Coast. Beaches you can drive on and enjoy memorable bonfires with close friends. Texas is that warm feeling you get when someone asks where you’re from. Texas is the shiny skyscrapers of Houston and Dallas. Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork. Texas is Mexican foods like nowhere else - not even Mexico. Texas is chicken fried steak and world famous Bar-B-Q. Texas is the land of more guns than people. Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, the ballpark in Arlington and the Astrodome - guess now the Reliant Stadium. Texas is larger-than-life legends like Michael DeBakey, Denton Cooley, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Gene Autry, Audie Murphy, Tommy Lee Jones, Waylon Jennings, Farrah Fawcet, Janis Joplin, Sandra Bullock, Kris Kristofferson, Dale Evans, Tom Landry, Eva Longoria, Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Sam Rayburn, Howard Hughes, George HW Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson, George W. Bush, Molly Irvins, Ann Richards and let’s not forget George Strait, the Big Bopper, Tex Ritter, George Jones, Clay Walker, Mark Chestnut, and Clint Black - to name ONLY a few. Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments, EDS and Compaq, Whataburger, Southwest Airlines, Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin Aerospace - home of the F-16 jet fighter and the JSF Fighter, Valero. Texas is NASA. Texas is huge herds of cattle, beautiful horses and miles of crops. Texas is home to the world famous King Ranch. Texas is home to the most amazing sunsets of gold over an empty field. Texas is skies blackened with doves and fields full of deer. Texas is a place where towns and cities shutdown for local high school footballs game on Friday nights, for the Cowboys on Monday Night Football and for the NIOSA River Parade in San Antonio. To drive across Texas is to drive one-third the way across the United States. Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, modern cities and small towns. If it isn’t already in Texas, you probably don’t need it. No one does anything bigger or better than it’s done in Texas. By Federal law, Texas is the only state in the Union that can fly its flag at the same height as the United States Flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland, California or Maine, and your state flag can only be raised to 17 feet. You fly the Stars and Stripes in front of Klein Oak High or anyplace else at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. Do you know why? Because Texas is the only state that was a Republic before it became a state. Also, being a Texan is as high as being an American down here. Our Capitol in Austin is the only one in the country that is taller than the Capitol in Washington , DC. And, we can divide our state into five states at any time. We can also become a republic again at any time Texas voters choose. We included these options as part of the deal when we came onboard. Happy Independence Day .God bless Texas!
Posted on: Sun, 02 Mar 2014 23:31:18 +0000
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