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| Guadalupe County Road |
Two things strike me about Texas. First, the Texans we've met have been incredibly friendly and talkative.:"How Y'all today; Merry Christmas; Where Y'all from?" We've done a fair bit of traveling, and generally people remain a bit reserved unless there is an opportunity, but almost everyone we've met in Texas has stretched his or her hand out to make contact. It's been fun. The second thing is that Texans are very loyal to Texas. The motto: "Don't mess with Texas" is very real. It's not the right word (or sentiment because the Texans I've met are patriotic Americans), but Texans seem almost Nationalistic about their state. The only other state I've been in where the citizens feel like they're a special part of something is Vermont. Vermonters are rabid about being Vermonters. I find the passion refreshing, but I must admit I don't feel any special passion about being a Washingtonian. I just am. I recently read an article about the writer, Flannery O'Connor in Newsweek. Recently, they've found her prayer journal. One of her prayers struck me: "Please Lord, make me want you." Texans and Vermonters don't have to pray for passion. They are part of their states. It's a kind of passion I find intriguing, but I've never experienced it. I do know this. In this part of Texas, they bleed burnt orange. Maybe someday I will experience that kind of zeal. And maybe someday it will be warm in the south. The weather continues to be cool winter like (But not freezing, so there art thou happy, Romeo). Today, it is raining and just a little over fifty. Judy and I rode this morning out to Marion, a little town ten miles away. Our round trip was twenty; it sprinkled on us a little, but we were dressed warmly and the Texas country side made it worth it. Plus, we beat the actual rain. Just south of New Braunfels, the land is a mixture of tilled farmland, ranch land, suburban housing projects, older, well lived in places, some single wides, some well tended brick homes, and some very big spreads. The Texas Hill country rolls and winds, the roads are passably maintained, and no dogs chased us (What could be better?). We came back to disturbing National news with the latest school shooting and the attempted bomb threat in Kansas. I have a hard time getting my head around these things because everyone I meet out here on the road is much like me: they're chasing the dream despite their economic status. It saddens me to think there are people who have lost hope to such a degree that they have to take others with them while making their statement. One of the reasons I wanted to experience this adventure is that I want to witness my own reality. I don't want it to be virtual. I don't want it to be part of a twenty-four hour news cycle. I don't want to be told what to think all day. I'm perfectly capable of making my own judgments. I want to touch it, feel it, and breathe it for myself. I believe people are well intended. I believe in the American dream. I'm leaving proof. Nonetheless, I feel powerless to affect the hopeless, but I will continue to a witness for possibility. To those I meet, I will say, Life is good, especially today.
Some tilled farmland still exists among the housing developments and the ranches.
Look at that Bunny: too tough to care!
How 'bout this weather?
Even the small ranches have these huge gates announcing themselves.
Much of the country side is filled with live oaks of various ages.
Some of it is well tended grassland.
Most of the hill country is speckled with half circled oaks reaching their limbs to the earth.
This is a look at Texas via snail mail: American box, Neutral Green box, Mexican box, and Texas box, all living together on the same road. Ain't America great!
Weather? What weather?
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