Deep in the Heart

So, as most of you know by now, we have moved to the great big glorious state of Texas! Now I am not a world traveler by any stretch of the imagination, but I do feel like I've seen a good part of our fair country and I must say that Texas is unlike any place I have been before. It's unlike the west, it's unlike the east, it's unlike the north and it's unlike the southern states I've been to... it has a feel to it that is entirely its own. It is simply Texas. I get the feeling all y'all Texans really like that, too. So, for those of you who haven't spent much time in this enormous place, I've compiled some observations that we've made so far. Having been here a whopping total of thirteen days, it's definitely not complete, but it's what I've noticed so far... So here we go!

Driving
People here drive the speed limit! Bryce made sure he told me that. And that may or may not be indicative of my driving style. It is rather amazing, though. When the speed limit sign says 65, people drive anywhere between 60 and 67 miles an hour. I'd never heard of such a thing.

There are these things called access roads here. They are one-way, run parallel to the freeway and, as far as I can tell, they never stop - just go and go and go. It's handy when there is traffic on the freeway and you can just hop off onto the nearest access road. It is not handy when you want to go in the opposite direction of the access road, but instead have to drive and drive on the access road until you can flip around (usually at the next freeway off-ramp) and retrace your steps back to where you were...then continue on to your appointed destination.

Did you know there was more than one way to hang a stop light? Here in Texas, they hang them sideways! So instead of the red light being on top and the green on bottom, the red light is on the far left and the green light is on the far right. Who knew? When I asked about it the conversation went something like this:
Lisa: Why do they hang the stoplights sideways here?
Texan: The question is not why do we hang them sideways, but rather, why doesn't the rest of the country hang them sideways, too?
Lisa: (at a loss for words)Which brings me to my next bullet on the list - Texas Pride
In college we always kind-of joked about the students from Texas. They were always very friendly and you could see them a mile away... and not b/c their hair/belt buckle was big, but b/c they typically had a Texas flag the size of the state hanging from their apartment/dorm window. I never knew anyone from another state who hung their home state's flag in their apartment, but those Texans... it was surprising if you met one who didn't! These people take their state seriously. However things are done in Texas is clearly (according to a Texan) how things should be done everywhere! Texas is the best place on earth, they say! The stop light conversation is a classic example.

Another classic example is the local grocery store -- HEB. That's not Heb, mind you, it is H-E-B. For the life of me I could not figure out what HEB stood for and a few days ago, a friend enlightened me... HEB stands for "Here Everything's Better." I cracked up when I found out. It is so consistent with this Texas love I'm surrounded with that suddenly I'm no longer surprised there aren't more grocery store chains. I mean, if Texas has found its store, who would shop anywhere else??

And then there are the stars. Oh, the stars!! Not famous people, just those geometric shapes like the sparkly ones in the sky. The Texas star is EVERYWHERE here! I do kinda like this one - it gives the decor of otherwise typically bland things (ie. freeways, sidewalks, curbs, etc.) a little punch of pizazz. It is amazing where you will find stars - from front doors and address number tiles to kitchen and dining room floors and bumper stickers and fences and billboards and and... you name it. My favorite is the stars in the freeway decor.

The stars are all colors, but mostly they are ORANGE. Orange, orange orange. I've never seen a place so bathed in orange. People wear orange clothes, they buy orange cars, they have their sidewalk curbs painted orange, they put on orange accessories, their pets wear orange... it's remarkable. And this orange outfitting is not limited to casual, mundane tasks. They wear it to sporting events (of course), they wear it to travel (half of the people on my last flight from TX were wearing orange), they wear it shopping, they wear it out on the town. Any occasion you can think of is a good reason to wear orange. And all because they love Texas so much - particularly UT. That's University of Texas, not Utah. Talk about school/state spirit.
Weather
I have discovered why girls from Texas have big hair. It isn't b/c they want big hair, necessarily, but b/c they have no choice. With humidity like this in October, I can only imagine what it is like in July. And combine that humidity with any kind of slight wave or curl and you get... BIG HAIR. Real big. Like, I'm still trying to figure out how to keep mine within 12 inches of my head. So there you go. Mystery solved.And that's about all I have time for, folks. I keep thinking I'll come back to this and finish it later, but I'm facing the fact that if I don't just publish it now... I may never do it. In summary, we are learning to navigate this new place and everyone is doing jest fine.

Ok, one last thing about Texas speak... I have no idea where Sophie picked it up, but she has started saying "sir" and "ma'am." It is hilarious! She started this I think the day after we arrived and just started saying "Yes sir!" in response to questions of all kinds.

Sophie, it's time for dinner!
Yes sir!

Sophie, can you get your pajamas, please?
Yes sir!

Sophie, it's time for a bath!
Yes, sir!

Hilarious. It sounds so southern that it makes me laugh. We talked about saying sir when talking to a boy and ma'am when talking to a girl, so she added ma'am to her repertoire, but sir is still her favorite by far. It made me wonder if maybe the Texas speech just happens involuntarily upon arrival. And so, all y'all, have a great day! audios.

ps - in general cost of living here is pretty inexpensive. But, can someone please tell me why milk here costs DOUBLE what it cost in Utah?? I mean, there are cows everywhere I look out here... I understand Texans are serious about their meat, but can't we set aside a few of them cows for milking to bring the cost of milk down??? Pretty please? Graham crackers here are also really expensive. Random, but true. And sad for the good ole graham crackers and milk snack.