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I moved to Dallas-Fort Worth from the D.C.-metro area, and, honestly, didn't notice that much cultural difference. I lived in the middle-class suburbs there and here. Middle-class suburbs pretty much have their own culture, which is fairly uniform across the country.
The only major cultural difference I've observed here is the large emphasis on sports. Not just football, but sports in general. When I meet someone new here in Texas, and they know I have kids, almost the very first thing they ask me is, "What sports do your kids play?" My kids don't play sports, so it's a bit awkward. When my elementary school daughter came home her first week of school with autographed trading cards of the high school football players (which were apparently signed by the players and disbursed in school during school hours), I had to laugh. Neither my husband nor I watch any spectator sports. This was not considered particularly abnormal in the D.C.-metro area. It is cause for raised eyebrows here. But I'll get used to it eventually, I guess.
Oh, and one other cultural difference - Texans are way friendlier. I had more conversations with strangers in the first 10 days after I moved here than I had in the ten years I lived in the D.C.-metro area.
Nevertheless, my premise—that the Texas mythos or feeling or whatever it is called is diluted and gradually diminishing as the state gets more newbies who are NOT like you—remains valid.
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Much of what you wrote actually makes my point.
Really? Based on the "rep" feedback I've received, others wouldn't agree with you. But hey, YOUR posts prove that a lot simply depends on personal perspectives and attitudes.
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Your listing of so-called uniquely Texas musicians includes mostly Nashville singers. BJ Thomas, LeAnn Rimes, Kenny Rogers? Good grief.
Nashville singers? Nashville is full of TEXAS singers! And let's just go with the few you picked from the lot - how can you say that they don't each have a unique style? Is it a "uniquely Texas" style? Who could say? The state is so huge and so diverse that there is no ONE "Texas style." I specifically mentioned the individual artists that I did to showcase just how diverse styles emanating from Texas are.
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The Texas radio station I listen to regularly, KFWR 95.9 The Ranch (thankfully, it streams on the internet so I can hear it up here in Missouri) wouldn't play many on your list.The Ranch plays mostly Texas Red Dirt Music, but even that station plays indie artists from Kentucky, Oklahoma, Washington state. I can't by listening tell which are Texas artists and which are from Washington state, so I think I'm right when I say Texas music is really Americana.
What makes some of it uniquely Texan music is that a lot of songs are about Texas. Pat Green, Cory Morrow, the two Robisons and the like make a good living traveling around that huge state singing about Texas to Texans.
But there are lots of other musicians in the East, the South, the Midwest who are not all that famous who write high-quality songs that would fit in the same genre as the so-called Texas music. It's all Americana.
I am beginning to realize what our breakdown in communication is - you are clinging to some "Texas images" that are stereotypical. There's a LOT more to Texas music, and Texas culture, than what you seem to think is "Texan."
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A little more research would find that your listing of dance halls is dwindling: Saving Texas Dance Halls, One Two-Step At A Time : NPR .
Texas dance halls are truly uniquely Texan; places that whole families would go to. But they are about half the number they used to be. My wife grew up going to Texas dance halls from her childhood, but almost all the places she went to are now closed, some are bulldozed. Your adopted state is now a place like any other, with night clubs and bars. It is sad that the Texas dance hall is disappearing.
Thanks, but I know that the number of dance halls are dwindling, along with the number of drive in movie theaters, little towns that feel like Mayberry, pay phones, and vinyl records. Time changes ALL things, including Texas, and of course we lose some nostalgic places in the process.
Once again, the breakdown in communication is clear. You seem to think that change fundamentally CHANGES the spirit that makes Texas unique. From my perspective as a transplant who's lived in Texas for over twenty years, I see the changes and I still see Texas slathered all over those changes.
Let me give you an example of how I see change. I used to live in Germany, twenty five years ago. A couple of years ago, we went back to Aschaffenburg, Germany to visit - and the military installation is closed. The town center looks different. They've torn down the military housing I used to live in. There are more immigrants there from Eastern Europe and Balkans. So from my perspective, the town had changed drastically. But it was still DISTINCTLY German and over the course of several days, I rediscovered so much of that beauty and "style" that had lingered in my memory. I rediscovered Germany - and though it has changed in many ways, and is now part of the EU and has new money, new people, etc. it is still Germany to the very core.
Every place changes. I went to London and couldn't find a trace of Jack the Ripper's London. But it's still English to it's very core. And they just unearthed Richard III - I am sure he'd think that London and England have changed drastically! Would he think his old stomping grounds were "still England?" I don't know what he'd think, but of course they still are.
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That you include the shopping districts of the big cities as uniquely Texan is laughable. Shopping is not uniquely Texan, although as a large and wealthy state, Texas probably does have a lot more retail than the rest of us.
I didn't say retail shops are uniquely Texan. But shopping in Dallas (which I did mention) IS a uniquely "Dallas" experience. I don't know how much time you've spent shopping there, but I've spent days and days of my life shopping in Dallas and can easily see the difference between a day of shopping there and a day of shopping in, say, Norfolk VA.
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Also, Dallas is the epitome of pretentiousness, a trait you claim is not Texan. Houston and Austin are about as bad, so in that regard, they're no different than any other big city.
Dallas is unique in many ways - as is any big metro area. As for Houston and Austin being "pretentious" - I'd just have to say that in my many, many forays into each area, I haven't noticed that at all. But each huge Texas city has it's own unique flavor - Dallas included.
Of course any large metro area is going to share some similarities to other large metros in other states. This in no way dilutes the attributes that make them each unique - or Texan in flavor.
Once again - it's a matter of perspective. You're focusing on the things that make Texas "like" other states, and Texas cities "like" other cities. Of course there are similarities -after all, Texas IS a pretty big part of the United States. We're no longer "our own nation" and haven't been for a very long time.
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Small-town Texans are indeed friendly and will help out a neighbor or a newcomer. The same can be said for small-town Missourians, and probably small-towners and country folks every where.
Well, sure - but Texas friendliness has a distinctly "Texan" attitude to it, as I've expounded upon several times on this thread and others, so I won't go back into it. Texas is historically a southern state as well, and of course the southern states are famous for their friendliness.
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Kathryn, the whole Texas "feeling" is based on an understanding of, an appreciation for and respect for the state's history. Texas is a state that pays attention to its history, as the number of highway markers indicates.
I'm sorry, but every state I've lived in (and every country - and that's a lot of places) put a lot of emphasis on their own history - this is a trait that is DEFINITELY not uniquely Texan. Every place has it's own unique history and culture. I think it's odd that you seem to think that "the WHOLE Texas feeling" is based simply on an understanding and appreciation of and respect for the state's history. Sure, that's part of it, but that's definitely not what it's all based on. Maybe for you, but it's certainly not the case for everyone. "The Texas feeling" is based just as much on what's happening HERE AND NOW - IN TEXAS - as the history of Texas.
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You seem to be a newbie who has embraced that history to such an extent that you now consider yourself a Texan. Perhaps the native Texans accept you, perhaps not. They're kind people, though, so I'm sure they accept you as, at the very least, a good neighbor.
LOL if you want to call someone who's been here over twenty years a "newbie" I guess that's your call, but I can't think of a single Texan who considers me a "newbie."
Also, just for the record, though I consider Texas history to be full of interesting tidbits - I spent seven years of my childhood (and several more years of my adulthood) living in the Chesapeake Bay area. I consider that particular history even more fascinating than the history of Texas.
I say that to point out that you've got me all wrong. It's not the history of Texas that intrigues me - it's the HERE AND NOW that grabs me.
I assure you that "the native Texans" accept and embrace me - and consider me as Texan as they are. My professional career alone in this state attests to that. But even more so, when people meet me, they just assume I'm a native Texan - I have, after all, that Texas twang and the easy going grace of a native Texan (and native southerner). But that doesn't even matter - they accepted me as a Texan as soon as I fell in love with my new state.
I guess what I'm saying is that some people have a very narrow definition of what they consider to be "Texas" or "Texan." Texas is a huge, diverse place with a history that stretches back thousands of years, not just 150 years or so. It's a lot more than dance halls, Texas Red Dirt music, and the Alamo.
Kathryn would you really say that despite the changes texas still remains Texan overall? The appeal is the lack of pretentiousness, the friendliness, and the lack of a rat race environment. Would you say that's still there?
Kathryn would you really say that despite the changes texas still remains Texan overall? The appeal is the lack of pretentiousness, the friendliness, and the lack of a rat race environment. Would you say that's still there?
Kathryn would you really say that despite the changes texas still remains Texan overall? The appeal is the lack of pretentiousness, the friendliness, and the lack of a rat race environment. Would you say that's still there?
Absolutely, from where I stand. But I don't live in Dallas.
I don't see Houston or Austin or San Antonio or any of the other metro areas (outside of Dallas) as being pretentious at all though. You can go to business meetings with CEOs and business owners in Houston or San Antonio, for instance, and they're likely to be wearing Wranglers and a Carhart shirt - or maybe, MAYBE a George Strait shirt...with steel toed boots on.
The vast majority of Texans are friendly and laid back as far as I can tell. At least most of them that I've met in my twenty plus years in this state.
As far as Dallas goes - it's been a pretentious, big hair and big diamonds sort of place for as long as I've been aware of it's existence. But it's pretentious in a DEFINITELY Texan way.
Kathryn, I think our different perspective is this: What I saw as long-term homogenization you see as embracing new influences. As you are there and I am here, and you are the long-time Texas resident who is accepted as a true Texan by natives while I am an outsider looking in, I will accept your assessment as the more valid one. You are correct in your contention that most of what I know are stereotypes and that the state is far more than the Alamo and Red Dirt Music.
Truly, as I thought about my visit to Texas at the end of last year, I saw how embracing new influences over tradition was beneficial to me. As I mentioned earlier, we went to a traditional Texas barbecue hut where the fare was beef. And as I mentioned, I am Georgia-born and Missouri-raised, so I prefer barbecued pork, but I had to accept barbecued beef. When my brother-in-law heard the story, he made sure that before I left Texas to return to Missouri, I got a Southern pulled pork sandwich. We went to a restaurant in their town; I believe the restaurant is part of a small regional chain with its headquarters in another Southern state. On the front door was a drawing of a big pig, so I knew I would be in luck. Sure enough, they served me a fine pulled pork sandwich.
So, from now on when in Texas this ole boy will look for that regional chain rather than the traditional Texas beef-only joints. It is good and beneficial to me, that Texas is big enough to embrace outside influences, even one as minor as the barbecued pork-pig, so visitors like me can find in Texas what we prefer from back home rather than settle on Texas tradition.
I guess that's the Lyle Lovett attitude rather than the Ray Wylie Hubbard attitude, as referenced with videos in my previous post. I always did like Lyle better, anyway.
You've persuaded me, Kathryn. It's enrichment, not homogeneity.
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Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
I guess what I'm saying is that some people have a very narrow definition of what they consider to be "Texas" or "Texan." Texas is a huge, diverse place with a history that stretches back thousands of years, not just 150 years or so. It's a lot more than dance halls, Texas Red Dirt music, and the Alamo.
Kathryn, I think our different perspective is this: What I saw as long-term homogenization you see as embracing new influences. As you are there and I am here, and you are the long-time Texas resident who is accepted as a true Texan by natives while I am an outsider looking in, I will accept your assessment as the more valid one. You are correct in your contention that most of what I know are stereotypes and that the state is far more than the Alamo and Red Dirt Music.
Truly, as I thought about my visit to Texas at the end of last year, I saw how embracing new influences over tradition was beneficial to me. As I mentioned earlier, we went to a traditional Texas barbecue hut where the fare was beef. And as I mentioned, I am Georgia-born and Missouri-raised, so I prefer barbecued pork, but I had to accept barbecued beef. When my brother-in-law heard the story, he made sure that before I left Texas to return to Missouri, I got a Southern pulled pork sandwich. We went to a restaurant in their town; I believe the restaurant is part of a small regional chain with its headquarters in another Southern state. On the front door was a drawing of a big pig, so I knew I would be in luck. Sure enough, they served me a fine pulled pork sandwich.
So, from now on when in Texas this ole boy will look for that regional chain rather than the traditional Texas beef-only joints. It is good and beneficial to me, that Texas is big enough to embrace outside influences, even one as minor as the barbecued pork-pig, so visitors like me can find in Texas what we prefer from back home rather than settle on Texas tradition.
I guess that's the Lyle Lovett attitude rather than the Ray Wylie Hubbard attitude, as referenced with videos in my previous post. I always did like Lyle better, anyway.
You've persuaded me, Kathryn. It's enrichment, not homogeneity.
I prefer pork too except is the kind I love is the central Texas/Hill Country style German sausage but I also like BBQ pork ribs...
Last edited by Westerntraveler; 05-26-2014 at 06:35 PM..
Send some this way. Stopped pretty much at 35W. Dang.
Lol I'll try. We got another thunderstorm tonight that dumped on us pretty good. Spent the day with family and friends at Lake Nasworthy (which is filled to capacity now) doing some catfishing, threw some pork chops on the grill and relaxing. Later in the evening the cops roll through saying a big storm is headed our way. We packed it up as we saw the lightning in the horizon. As soon as I got home it just poured. At first there was even some hail mixed in. But we got a pretty good soaking before it was all over.
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