I'm very fond of Texas, though. I like the overabundance of Ford F-150s on the road. I like the generous cordiality that is so very much a part of the place. And I like that the "In Texas, we like it BIG" joke refers to everything from steaks to anatomical parts. The list goes on. More specifically, however, the Texas landscape can be breathtaking.
Over winter break, we packed ourselves up into an SUV and went down to Big Bend National Park, perched on Texas' southwestern border with Mexico. And this is what we saw:
I felt oddly inspired. It's difficult to feel unhappy or deeply burdened in a place that exited long before me and will continue to be here, unchanged, long after. Encounters with nature on a grand scale always leave me with a diminished sense of self-importance.
On this glorious camping trip, I also:
1) slept in a tent in below-freezing weather. My god I haven't gone to sleep whimpering and full of tears since I was sixteen, when my life was powered by teenage angst.
2) called 911 because we were followed by an aggressive man, who kept up an utterly unnecessary commentary on his ability to "kick ass" as he tailed us in his truck. A breathtakingly frightful span of time later, we lost him. I was gratified to note that he had a California license plate. Not Texan, then.
3) drove for hours and hours on a road that doesn't end. Kerouac, you crazy drug fiend, I get you.
2 comments:
I agree Nancy. The landscape here in Texas is just breathtaking. I especially love the sky here! I didn't realize until recently how much pride I had for the Houston Rockets. I get so excited with their games, that it scared me earlier this month. Did you know Take is a Dallas Cowboys fan?
My parents are huge fans of the Rockets, but mainly because of Yao Ming. Otherwise, they're Mavericks all the way.
And yeah, I knew about Take and his thing for the Cowboys. Mostly because when we shared e-mail addresses in Kyoto, his was something like "xocowboy@something.com". Haha
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