After leaving LaGrange, Texas, my Dad and I were expecting the rain storm predicted to hit the East Texas area. We decided not to take the advice of an old man at the RV park who adamantly told us that we should "just head West instead," so we started our journey and got to the very small town of Richards, Texas just as the rain started to fall. To wait out the intense thunderstorm that ensued, we ventured inside the City Hall Cafe, the only cafe in town. The menus read, "More than 10 people served." Haha. While there, we chatted with a guy named Steve who was so impressed by our journey that he bought our lunch. Not only were we thankful for his generosity and the delicious food, but we felt like it was a miracle we missed the rain. If we had departed five minutes later, we would have been two drenched and sorry-looking cyclists stranded on the side of a farm road.
Prior to this journey, most people in my life (people who are admittedly very liberal) warned me that Texas was a HUGE and horrible state. While I have no intention of creating a life for myself in Dryden, Texas, I have to say, you "misunderestimated" this state! It is huge, but it is filled with some of the nicest people I have met in my life. We have truly enjoyed the scenery along the way as well. One problem that my Dad and I seemed to encounter on a daily basis was that everyone was so chatty. For example, I would go into a grocery store aiming to buy our breakfast of champions food (which should take three minutes) when someone would stop me to ask, "Where you ridin' them bikes from?" After flooring them with my answer, I would emerge from the grocery store half a hour later.
Having been trained in grammar by individuals like Liv Rosin, both Jill and I get a little feisty when things are not communicated properly. I am the first to admit that my grmamar, punctituastio nand speleling/ are not perphect. The grammar of the TXDot mimics they way our President speaks. Popular signs like "Drive clean across Texas" further my opinion. Similarly, the tourism motto is: Texas, it's like a whole other country. That kills me.
After biking through Hope, Arizona, we saw a sign that read: Your now beyond Hope.
I do admit that I felt kind of sad when we crossed the border out of Texas. Pehaps, it was because I was thoroughly disappointed that there wasn't a "Welcome to Louisiana" sign on the border.
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3 comments:
As Lyle Lovett once said, "That's right, you're not from Texas. But Texas wants you anyway." We hope y'all come back and visit some day!
The "drive clean across Texas" partially sponsored by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. So it's not just bad grammer (sic), they want Bubba to tune up his pickup :-)
Wow, I had no idea my students would actually cite me in a blog!
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