Thoughts on being a Texan

Though I have no concrete data or proof to back up this theory, I am fairly sure that being born and raised in Texas skews your perception of reality just a bit. Here are some examples:

1. I have been trying to decide on my favorite Patriotic song for 2 days now to use in a craft project and the first, and then only, song that pops into my head is "The stars at night, are big and bright *clap clap clap clap* Deep in the heart of Texas!" I suppose by all standards, this is a patriotic song, though I was hoping for something a little more national given our current holiday.

2. The phrase "everything is bigger in Texas"... For all of you "foreigners," this is not true and I am curious who started and perpetuated this false claim.

3. No one thinks it is odd when the forecast for the next 7 days is over 103 degrees.

4. Driving through the country yesterday on the way to a family Independence day celebration, I saw a man on a riding lawn mower wearing shorts and a cowboy hat and did not really think it was unusual.

5. People get very touchy when discussing who has been in Texas longer. I was born and raised here and did not leave Texas's funny shaped border until I was about 13.

6. I have literally been asked before if I rode a horse to school. (For the record, I live in a very metropolitan area, went to school on the 11th floor of a building in downtown and rode in a CAR to school).

7. 90 degrees is considered to be a cold front, and it is not unusual to see someone wearing a coat when it gets down to 70.

8. It takes just as long to get to the beach in south Texas or the "mountains" in west Texas as it does to get to my husband's family in Missouri - two states away.

9. Have you ever heard of a state that discusses Seceding from the union so flippantly? In fact, while google searching to figure out how to spell "secede," I ran across an article entitled "Why Texas Will (Eventually) Secede from the Union." I did not take the time to read it, though I am a bit curious.

10. We are the only state (to my limited knowledge) that is allowed to fly our flag as high as the US flag - that right there will give you a big head, right?

I am proud to claim my heritage as "Texan" and I have to admit at for a very long time I was completely opposed to the idea of ever living somewhere else, but upon examination, I believe that all Texans, especially native Texans, are a bit odd - myself included. My poor daughter has no idea what kind of crazy I have passed down to her :)