Nowhere But Texas

The alert reader will have deduced that I am not a Texas native. I love Texas, but I'm not originally from here. I occasionally find the state baffling and entertaining because of this. People who live elsewhere probably think the tourism slogan the state uses, "It's like a whole other country", is typical hyperbole. Trust me when I say it's truer than you know. I've spent the majority of my adult life here (off and on), and they are not lying to you in the slightest.

Anyhow, we went to the Pasadena Rodeo on Saturday night. One of our friends had VIP passes to a contestant's BBQ Cook-Off tent because his company sponsored the team. VIP passes mean free BBQ and free booze. It's a hard thing to pass up. So we went and ate and drank and talked and made fun of the rest of the people there, because that's what we do here at YPS: we mock. At some point late in the evening, one of those quintessentially Texas moments occurred. The DJ played David Allen Coe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name". For some reason I don't fully understand, everyone who lives in Texas long enough will eventually learn all the words to this song. The corollary is that most people will also sing along in any public place where alcohol is being consumed. So there we are, drinking beer and eating barbecue at the cook-off at the rodeo, singing David Allen Coe with the rest of the drunks. It doesn't get more Texas than that. The whole moment was made even funnier by two of the people we went with, who are not at all Texas natives and haven't lived here nearly long enough. They looked at us and the rest of the crowd like we had all lost our damned minds. It was one of those moments that make me remember why I enjoy living here so much.