The women in Texas are special. They put up with a lot from us. And I expect our range of feelings and attitudes varies, just like in any state or country. Lyle Lovett's attempt to reach a wider audience can be balanced by songs like one (I think it's by a guy named Steve Fromholz) about the prettiest sight in Texas being the south end of a north-bound U-haul on I-35.

When in TX, avoid the large cities unless you need the reassuring presence of McDonald's and the national pizza chains. Small towns are nice...256? counties (I used to have them memorized), and each county seat has a unique courthouse. Nice hundred year old architecture mostly.

We have most of our serial killers locked up...except for those we were able to trade to Washington DC for petroleum exemptions...so you can probably leave those guns at home.

And if you want to visit a border town, I wouldn't recommend Laredo or Matamoros (sorry). A nice drive is west from San Antonio through Uvalde, etc...on to Del Rio. Ciudad Acuna has always been my favorite border town...just across the river...not too big. Beautiful drive too. Check out Garner Park and the spring-fed Frio and Nueces Rivers. Nice, nice country. And once you're in that area, Big Bend National Park might interest you. Kind of rugged, but if want the 'western experience' that's the area you should seek out.

But I'd rather hear about Arizona and Austria, too.