1. Wave at any one who drives, skates, walks or pedals by on a country road or in a neighborhood.
2. If you are a lady let males (any age) get the door for you, they are planning on doing it so you might as well step out of the way. If you are juggling a baby /stroller anyone will rush to get the door. True story- I had Rylan in a stroller & saw this little old hunch-back lady with a cane slowly making her way to a door at a department store so I hurried and passed her so that I could open the door for her. Upon seeing me with the stroller holding the door opened for her she says “Oh, Sorry ma’am, let me get the door for you!”
3. Miss and Mr. for children is a must!! We have had to get used to being called Miss Monica & Mr. Russell by all the children.
4. Yes Ma’am & Yes Sir, thank you Ma’am, thank you Sir. Expect to hear and learn to say it.
5. People will not ask “IF” you are going to the high school football game, they will ask “where are you sitting?” It is assumed you are going.
6. All high schools have indoor football facilities/ practice fields and huge fancy stadiums. The average temperature is 69 degrees. Go figure?! This is really a pic of our local HS facility.
7. Texans go to church. One of the first few questions you might expect to hear upon meeting someone is “Have y’all found a church to go to yet?”
8. All roads are called by at least 3 different things- a name, a ranch road or farm road number, & a highway/interstate number.
9. Every BBQ joint in Texas claims to be “the best BBQ in TX”. We have not been let down yet.
10. Texan fly the state flag the same height as the U.S. flag. True story- I had to buy a new flag and had a hard time finding an American flag because the shelves were covered in TX flags.
11. All Texans regardless of age know their TX state history……a few tidbits for you--The Texas state capital is the only one in the nation that does not face D.C. It faces the Alamo.
12. They pledge allegiance to the TX flag immediately after completing the U.S. pledge of allegiance. True Story- Our second week here we were running the Pine Wood Derby and Russ asked an 8 year old to come lead everyone in the pledge, the kid got up there lead the U.S. pledge and before we could even get a chance to take a breath the whole room was reciting the Texas state pledge. We thought the ward was pulling a prank on us….Russ and I looked around at everyone and started laughing. It was no joke. Don’t mess with TX.
13. Everything is bigger in TEXAS. True story-I visit teach this lady who lives way out on the beautiful country side (40 min from my house). While driving there with my companion we saw all kinds of animals, (I even had to stop for a cow in the middle of the road) on the way home it was pitch dark and a huge rabbit jumped out of the bushes. I have never seen a rabbit so big…I started to try to process what I had just seen and the only thing I could conclude is that it was a ”jackalope” because I had seen wild jack rabbits and what I had just seen was way too big for a jack rabbit. So yes, I asked my VT companion if it was a jackelope. She politely explained they were not real…. and that the wild rabbits here are just huge!!
14. Now for a couple of the fun Texas words or phrases that we have heard:
a. Y’all- use in lieu of: you, all of you, you guys etc.
b. Fixin’- use in lieu of: getting ready to…, going to….etc.
c. Cotton head- really blond hair
There you have it. That is why they say don't mess with Texas.
5 comments:
Okay, this post cracked me up!! Too funny! I loved the lesson on Texas! Thanks for sharing.
What a fun post! I LOVED learning about Texas... and no I don't plan to ever mess with texas. I would actually love to live there cuz i would love to talk in that lovely texas drawl! maybe one day y'all. YEE HAW!
Wow, this was intresting blog. You know what? When I lived in OK for a long long time, people there used the word "fixing" a lot too. That's cool!
I actually have tears in my eyes right now. I miss Texas. I am proud to say I was born and raised in Texas. Loved this post!! All of it is so true! I remember when I moved to AZ a friend asked me why I kept waving at people. I said "because they looked at me?" I was so surprised by her question. I have lost some of those habits you talked about... saying sir and mam, waving etc. If you get brave enough... one time when you are with a bunch of Texans yell "The stars at night are big and bright" and see what happens...
Of course I already knew all that!!! Born and raised, as you know. Texas--like lots of states--has it's very own feel and culture. I'll always have the Texan blood in my veins (and it's made of BBQ sauce!) :)
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