3. What are some methods you use to keep a little bit of Texas with you wherever you go?

And so I continue to answer Atypical's interview questions out of order.

This question caused me to laugh. We all know I've been suffering from a wave of Texas Spring Fever. One of the things I did was order a Texas Travel Guide. I was looking through it today. It started reminding me of things ... things it never intended.

There is something uniquely different about Texas and it's in the people. We don't understand how independent we are.

We've been told we're un-accepting of people different from us but that's a huge lie that we tend to let people believe -- mainly because we're independent and don't need a stamp of approval. We're actually very friendly and outgoing and people from the North tend to thaw out after they move down there.

In Texas, if you express a hope or dream strongly, people seem to automatically believe you are capable of accomplishing it and they automatically start directing you to people in their network who can probably help. Some call it the "good ol' boy" system but the women share their resources as well. Lately, the ranks are merging and the men and women are sharing their networks.

And Texans tend to be the types that believe in right and wrong ... which contributes to our independent ways.

These are the parts of Texas that are always with me because they are always in me. It makes it difficult for new areas of the country to assimilate me. It made Oregon impossible for me to enjoy. Kansas is difficult for me to understand. New Yorkers are actually a lot more like Texans than they know -- well at least the one's out away from NYC are. Possibly this is because not so many generations ago Texas was populated by people from the east coast. Even families that hailed from Tennessee were only a generation or maybe two away from the Virginia area.

Because of the lifestyle changes Billy and I chose and that were sometimes chosen for us, much of what is Texas is in my laptop (ok well now in my desktop) because dragging Things around the countryside in small vehicles and later in boxes and then even in backpacks ... is a PAIN. But it is amazing what can be cherished in pixels. I have photos of people, places, and things. I have emails and saved chats. And then, Lord, what the Internet holds for me of Texas is most amazing.

I would have to say that one of the most defining things about me ... that is Texas with me ... is that I cannot seem to leave an area without saying, "Whelll ... Ya'll have fun. See ya later." (That is a three syllable "well.") I Say This to Complete Strangers that I have Not made any arrangement with that would even hint at a hope of seeing them later. Now, that confuses the daylights outta people. But it's Texan.

The other thing I do is claim to be "A Texan living on the southern fringes of Upstate New York and loving it." For some reason people are usually amazed to find out that I, as a Texan, love living here. "Upstate New York" cannot be clearly defined by New York natives. It confuses me that everyone in the populace here has a differing idea of where Upstate begins and ends. Then, I was shocked to find out that the New York court system considers me to be living in Upstate while another government body considers me to be living in a portion of the "New York City metropolitan area" ... which is just as wrong as saying I'm upstate. The Federal Courts consider me to be part of the Southern District But if I claim to be from Southern New York, then there's whole 'nuther region that would object. Then my husband stated trying to tell me that we live in the Hudson Valley ... Uh NO! We do not live near the "canyon" that the Hudson River flows through. I don't care that a portion of our county does. We do not. We actually live on the edge of The Great Swamp. But, if I say that, then people think I live in New Jersey. I'm just sooo much better off saying I live in New York, near Danbury Connecticut.

So my revenge is in the ironies of my statement of who I am, where I live, and how I feel about it. If I'm going to be confused, everyone else can be confused, too.

Ok so I started out to put together just a small sampling of how I keep Texas with me digitally. Well, I had to include a bit of this and a bit of that and, well, it was just wrong not to show you the people ... because the spit-fire and mischievousness shows up in their eyes ... along with the "Hey! There you are!" attitude ... As usual ... it got way out of hand. There's about 255 images. They are small so they display quickly. I know for a fact that I will not leave this album up in it's entirety -- definitely a "limited time" offer.

You have options:
1) View the slide show and set the display to about 2 seconds. OR
2) View the thumbnails and pick and choose. But if you can't tell why the image is in the group ... you should click on it.

Texas to Me

Family, Friends,
Fireworks, Flowers, Dogs, Lakes, Land,
Starbucks, Moon, and Sun.