Odd thangs us Texans do............Fun thread! (Beaumont, Orange: how much, wedding)

[Pipeweld]

Originally Posted by love roses

Pasture parties were also pretty big deals for us.

Oh did that bring back memories! In West Texas when I was in HS it was always the caliche pits, (Deep excavations of caliche used to build oil field and other roads) They where deep enough to hide the fires and the beer. If you did not know where to go you would never find it.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by Pipeweld

Oh did that bring back memories! In West Texas when I was in HS it was always the caliche pits, (Deep excavations of caliche used to build oil field and other roads) They where deep enough to hide the fires and the beer. If you did not know where to go you would never find it.

Now that DOES bring back memories.....!

[Metro Matt]

Its very common to see those "living room" style garages in Beaumont.

I don't see it much in Tyler though...maybe in the smaller surrounding towns its more prevalent.

Southeast Texas tends to be more "redneckish" than anywhere else in Texas in that regard.

[Back2TX]

I saw the garage hang-outs in Lubbock where I grew up. During the summer my parents would sometimes pull out the ping-pong table and set it up for us, but that wasn't permanent... just temporary. I also knew a few guys who had a pool table, some neon beer signs, a small fridge, and a dart board in their garages. My inlaws use theirs to smoke in and have a small "living area" to hang out in, but they are in the very southern part on Oklahoma.

I guess a Texas "oddity" might be that when you are driving down an old country road... people you've never seen before will wave at you as you pass them on the road. Also.... people will pull over onto the shoulder to let you pass. I really missed these things when I was living in KY the past 5 yrs. When we moved back to TX (about 3 months ago) I drove back roads back to Lubbock and those 2 "oddities" happened to me and almost brought tears to my eyes. It feels so good to be back home!!

[NOTAM]

yeah! good one! and i had that same reaction too, when i experienced the cowboy wave again after being displaced for 3 years in Georgia and 1 year in uh..South Texas!!

Originally Posted by Back2TX

I saw the garage hang-outs in Lubbock where I grew up. During the summer my parents would sometimes pull out the ping-pong table and set it up for us, but that wasn't permanent... just temporary. I also knew a few guys who had a pool table, some neon beer signs, a small fridge, and a dart board in their garages. My inlaws use theirs to smoke in and have a small "living area" to hang out in, but they are in the very southern part on Oklahoma.

I guess a Texas "oddity" might be that when you are driving down an old country road... people you've never seen before will wave at you as you pass them on the road. Also.... people will pull over onto the shoulder to let you pass. I really missed these things when I was living in KY the past 5 yrs. When we moved back to TX (about 3 months ago) I drove back roads back to Lubbock and those 2 "oddities" happened to me and almost brought tears to my eyes. It feels so good to be back home!!

[case44]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Front porch sitting, in an earlier day, is very akin, I would venture to say...with a hanging swing (swang, by damn!).

Well, Rebby, I think the only front porch sitting I'll be doing for now is the second floor balcony of my 808-square-foot apartment complex. Now that's odd!!

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by tstone

This sounds rural to me. Like what you experienced in North TX, people generally don't do this here either. Most of the people who do this here usually smoke cigarettes and want to keep the smoke out of their house. The garage then becomes the furnished smoke pen & play room. Or they are 40-something unmarried or divorced men... IME.

Meh...I know a lot of people who have that where I grew up (Texas City). Not really rural, then again, not really urban. Plenty of good ol' boys anyway.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Its very common to see those "living room" style garages in Beaumont.

I don't see it much in Tyler though...maybe in the smaller surrounding towns its more prevalent.

Southeast Texas tends to be more "redneckish" than anywhere else in Texas in that regard.

This part of SE TX most definitely is. I've been working out here going on 5 months now and it's enough for many of us Texans to say it feels like a totally different state. When I first came out here I figured it wouldn't be much different, seeing that I'm just driving across the region. Nope, it's way different, even compared to other semi-rural areas closer to Houston.

[txstate]

I love the late night BBQ Beer hang outs in the garage till about 2 or 3 in the morning with your music on and everybody laughing and having a good time.

[edubya]

I'm always arriving late to these parties...

I just wanted to add that I currently live near Chicago (SW Crook County to be exact--I'll be back next year!!) in a middle to upper-middle class neighborhood, and I see the garage hangout thing quite a bit around here. I about jumped out of my skin the first time I noticed one older gentleman who likes to sit in his garage in a lawn chair and watch the evening traffic go by. One of our friends opens his garage for get-togethers as convenient place to store the food table.

On another note, the OP asked about Texas oddities. I was taught to hold the door for people coming behind, especially ladies. But the custom in Texas sometimes extends into the realm of absurdity as folks will catch your eye halfway across the parking lot and politely hold the door as you make the final 40 steps! I have to laugh as I've done it, too. I guess if you're in the habit of holding the door, you instinctively do so at the sight of another person heading your way. Only a split second later does your brain register that the person is really quite far off. Once you've made eye contact, abandoning your post would be a study in rudeness, so you must wait, haplessly polite!