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01 Jul 20 - 09:42 AM (#4062294) Subject: Texas, warts and all From: keberoxu Texas is taking it on the chin lately. The government and the special-interest people have not treated Texas citizens as they deserve, and it is convenient for Americans in other areas to look down on Texas now, while we all cope with the coronavirus pandemic. In fact Texas has an awful lot of people, and greater diversity, than the stereotype allows; I was only there briefly, years ago, but I've never forgotten it. I remember friendliness and hospitality and directness of manner. I remember those darned 10-gallon cowboy hats. And the place continues to intrigue and interest me from afar. On a different BS thread, I was reminded, in a discussion about summer, of one of the diverse pieces of Texas history. Here's an article about the Hill Country (particularly Gillespie County), the German-American farmers, and Sunday houses. |
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01 Jul 20 - 05:40 PM (#4062340) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: keberoxu Another thing that I appreciate about Texas is the Joan Katz Cancer Resource Center for Tarrant County, in Fort Worth. It has been around for roughly ten years. It started with the focus on women diagnosed with breast cancer; and there is a strong commitment to the non-medical services provided in order to "navigate" through resources for cancer treatment. I'm looking for a decent online article about this, and when I find one, I'll link to it. |
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01 Jul 20 - 05:56 PM (#4062343) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: keberoxu This article is a good introduction to the Joan Katz Cancer Resource Center, which was formerly known as the Joan Katz Breast Center. The article says this center is 100-per-cent donor-funded. Another thing I appreciate about Texas. |
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01 Jul 20 - 07:06 PM (#4062363) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: robomatic There might not ALWAYS be a 'Texas'. Isn't it possible it may become 'Tejas'? |
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02 Jul 20 - 02:05 AM (#4062418) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: Mr Red Didn't it once? |
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04 Jul 20 - 03:44 PM (#4062815) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: Mrrzy There wasn't always a Texas... |
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04 Jul 20 - 03:48 PM (#4062817) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: Stilly River Sage Six Flags Over Texas: Spain, France, Republic of Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States of America, and the US. You have a lot to work with there. |
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04 Jul 20 - 08:29 PM (#4062866) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: Bill D I have very mixed impressions about Texas... as is to be expected with such a large state. My wife's sister lived in Austin and we had a nice visit there... and went to the Kerrville Festival where folks were very friendly. I also visited the Dallas & Ft. Worth zoos with a zoo keeper I knew from Kansas... very different sorts of zoos. In graduate school in Kansas, I met a guy who had transferred from Texas A&M and his stories of the cut-throat competition for positions made me shudder. My impression is that 'most' folks there are very friendly...IF your politics agrees with them. I really doubt I could live there without running afoul of my neighbors.......... I suppose it just depends on exactly where. In my 40+ years since moving east, stories about Texas that scare me are maybe 75% compared to good stuff. |
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07 Jul 20 - 03:55 PM (#4063266) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: keberoxu . . . and then there is the history of the Texas Railroad Commission, if I have the name right. When the petroleum industry took off, it was the Railroad Commission which became a regulatory force for the price of petroleum, and in controlling the industry in Texas, this commission ended up power of a multi-national dimension at one time. |
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07 Jul 20 - 04:08 PM (#4063270) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: gillymor I spent 6 years in the San Antonio area as a contractor and construction manager and I loved the area and lots of the folks I met. I saw a lot of great musicians in Austin and New Braunsfels (Gruene Hall) including Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds when Jimmy Vaughan was still with them, Hollywood Fats, Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett, and Peter Rowan with Flaco Jimenez at the Pioneer Grill near Blanco. Did some fishing in the Brazos and at Mustang Island and in the lakes around SA. It was a lovely place but too damn hot and dry for much of the year. |
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07 Jul 20 - 04:13 PM (#4063271) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: gillymor and I forgot the Oriental Gardens and The Riverwalk, 2 of SA's lovilest spots. There was a great Dixieland Jazz band that played at a big nightclub on the Riverwalk, I think it was Jim McCollum's band. |
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07 Jul 20 - 04:51 PM (#4063273) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: Backwoodsman Texas is the only state I’ve been to in the US - I worked for the last 13 years of my working life for the UK Division of a plastics company based in Houston, their HQ was close to the Galleria, and I was there for a week-long conference most years. Had some great fun on those visits, the US crowd were always very hospitable and, once business was over, took us out to some great restaurants (and bars), to Minute Maid Park for baseball games, to the Rodeo, Johnson Space Centre, Kemah, Galveston at different times, and other places whose names I’ve now forgotten. Mostly nice people, provided the subjects of religion and politics were avoided - still in contact with some of them more than ten years later. |
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07 Jul 20 - 08:15 PM (#4063291) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: Donuel There will not be a Texas State Fair this summer. It is closed due to the pandemic. |
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08 Jul 20 - 12:54 AM (#4063303) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: Stilly River Sage That was in the news today, that Big Tex is unemployed, a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you can't read that (this paper has a paywall, but some of their coronavirus news is free) just Google "Texas State Fair cancelled" and you'll see lots of local news sources with photos and videos. It's a big deal every September. And after Big Tex burned down a few years ago they rebuilt and redressed him. . . but that's another story you can Google. |
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09 Jul 20 - 12:17 PM (#4063513) Subject: RE: BS: there will always be a Texas From: Donuel There will be a Texas but fewer Texans due to the Govenor opening the economy at the worst possible time just to please Trump. The govenor has since reversed his decision but it is too late. This is the same Govenor that called out the National Guard to protect against a rumor that UN troops were invading Texas. The rumor was started by Russain bots and was picked up right wing websites. By responding to Idiots the Govenor won that battle but lost the pandemic battle. I don't know how many will suffer as a result of the Govenor but it will not be trivial. |