Tex-A-Tude!
Why Texans Are the Way They Are
By
Tweed
Scott
Copyright © 2012 by Author
Smashwords
Edition
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Table of Contents
Chapter
1: Landing in Texas
Chapter
2: The Journey Begins
Chapter
3: Connecting the Dots
Chapter
4: The First Trait
Chapter
5: A Tough Place to Be
Chapter
6: Source of the Attitude
Chapter
7: Texas Schools
Chapter
8: Texas Family Heritage
Chapter
9: The Alamo
Chapter
10: Texas Pride
Tex-A-Tude!
Why
Texans Are the Way They Are…
Where All That Attitude Comes
From
My first taste of Texas came as a cultural shock. I had never been any place that was THAT flat, that stayed THAT hot for SO long in my life. Let’s just say Texas made a big impression on me from the ‘git go.’ It quickly became obvious to me this was going to take some adjusting. Let me back up and give you a bit of background to justify that statement.
I have to come clean with you right up front. I was not born in Texas. Hey! Wait a minute. Before you reach for the rope, let me ask you a question. Did you get to choose where YOU were born? No, I didn’t think so either. No one gets to make that decision. Mom makes that one for you but you damn sure get to choose where you live. Just let me say, I am HOME.
You see, I was raised in Laconia, New Hampshire about 30 miles from where they made the movie, “On Golden Pond.” Right smack dab in the middle of New Hampshire. I tell you that so you can understand my young frame of mind and point of reference. The Vietnam War was really cranking up in 1966. I joined the Navy to see the world and went to boot camp the morning after graduating from Laconia High School. Within the next 6 months or so I found myself stationed a couple of miles outside of beautiful downtown…Kingsville, Texas. Can you say culture shock? Honestly, I had never been any place that was that flat that stayed that hot for that long in my life. This was true culture shock. This was like no place I had ever been. I had a sense I had traveled back in place and time…say about 30 years. For me, I knew I was in a different world.
It took me a couple of weeks to build up the courage to go into town by myself and rub elbows with the locals. I spent a good deal of time observing and listening; taking in all the local color & ambiance. Now understand, I was just barely 18 years old at the time. I was smart enough to know Texas was not about Cowboys & Indians or the wild, wild, west anymore but I do admit to having one gross misconception. I actually believed that not everyone in Texas owned an oil well but the ones that did surely all drove white Cadillac convertibles with longhorns mounted on the grill. Yes, I actually believed that.
Other than that, I don’t know what I expected, but to my surprise, I found Texans to be friendly, warm and welcoming. There was a certain aura about them. I was intrigued by the way they carried themselves. There was a swagger to their step and presence. I also figured out something else that I still marvel at to this day. I’ll share that with you in a moment, but I must tell you it wasn’t very long before I determined a ‘real’ cowboy drove a pickup with a chrome trailer hitch and his jean’s back pocket had a worn round circle outlining his choice of chewin’ tobacco.
Within a couple of months of landing in Kingsville, I learned something fundamental about the Texan character. I found if you wanted to get something done just tell a Texan that it can’t happen and then get the hell out of the way because some action is about to take place. Granted, it may not be particularly well thought out at that moment (particularly if there’s alcohol involved), BUT some action is about to take place. It became obvious to me that Texans are people of action. They may do some seemingly stupid things at times but there is a fearless quality about them. Nothing seemed to get in their way of getting what they wanted. Thinking about it now, I’m sure the last words of many a Texan over the years included, “Hold my beer and watch this!”
One of the first things I learned about Texas and Texans was there was something different about the people. To a large degree, these were characters with character. They were an amusing, colorful, strong-willed and determined people. I was instantly drawn to that.
Let’s hit the fast forward button several years. By now, I’ve married a native Texan. The running joke in the family has been once you marry a native Texan girl, your life is essentially OVER! Reason being, you are not going anywhere. I figure a man only has input on one major decision after that and that is, “‘Dear, ‘zactly’ where would you like to pour that slab?” You are going to spend the rest of your life in Texas. I’ve often said I felt that I had two options…assimilate or die. If you’ve read my book, Texas In Her Own Words, you are already familiar with the story. If you haven’t heard the story, I’ll just give you the Cliff Notes version here.