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Still
cherishing the memory that from 1836 to
1845 it was an independent nation in its
own right, TEXAS stands out as
distinct from the rest of the United
States. While its sheer size – eight
hundred miles from east to west and nearly
a thousand from top to bottom – gives it a
great geographical diversity, its shared
history, culture and ideology bind it
firmly together. Independence is key to
the Texan mentality, from the overriding
distrust of government – any government –
to the absence of unionized labor. As the
old anti-litter campaign put it, “Don’t
mess with Texas.”
Preconceived ideas about what exactly is
“Texan” are soon shattered. It’s actually
one of the most eclectic and cosmopolitan
states in the Union and each of the major
tourist destinations has its own distinct
character. Hispanic San Antonio,
for example, with its Mexican population
and historic importance, has a laid-back
feel absent from the big-city neurosis of
Houston or Dallas, while
trendy Austin revels in a lively
music scene and intellectualism found
nowhere else in the state.
Regional
differences are vast. The swampy, forested
east is more like Louisiana than
the pretty Hill Country or the
agricultural plains of the Panhandle,
and the tropical Gulf Coast has
little in common with the mountainous
deserts of the west. Changes in
climate are equally dramatic: snow is
common on the Panhandle, whereas the
humidity of Houston, in particular, is
only made bearable by nonstop high-power
air conditioning.
One
thing shared by the whole of Texas is the
constant boasting – everything has to be
bigger and better than anywhere else. Such
chauvinism is tempered both by a delight
in self-parody and by the state’s melting
pot of cultures. The much-cited Texan
friendliness is not imaginary; to be
unwelcoming would simply be unpatriotic.
Texas is, after all, named for a Native
American word meaning friend, tejas,
and a visit here, especially to the
Panhandle or the Hill Country, is not for
those who want to be alone.
Click here to go to Texas State
web site. |
