Texans
Monday, February 14, 2005 by Mel
I spent most of my weekend at this gynormous arts and crafts/antiques/home show. For a mere $5, I got to walk through six fairground buildings full of stuff. A lot of it was great, and I could have blown my whole paycheck there, but I often wonder about the sanity of some people who frequent these kinds of events. I mean, who in the world really needs an apron for a dish soap bottle? I am not making this up—it is possible that you’ve never seen a tiny gingham apron with lace trim made to fit your dish soap bottle, but I tell you now that they do exist, and I guess someone out there is buying them. Those people are probably the same ones who will pay good money for a river rat puppet.
Vendors from all over the county come to these shows, and I noticed that a lot of them were from Texas. The friend who accompanied me on Saturday is a Texas transplant, and she observed that the nicest people at the show were the ones from Texas. (I didn’t get close enough to the aprons to see if they had also traveled north, but that would be one small way to balance out the Texas greatness.)
I know that the Texas/Oklahoma rivalry is a touchy subject among those of us in this part of the country. But before you leap to conclusions about what I might say, I must warn you that a) A lot of my favorite people are from Texas, and b) Although I have lived in Oklahoma for most of my life, I am actually a Texan by birth. This being said, I will not blindly bash all things Texan, and I dread those conversations in which Texans and Okies try to proclaim their greatness to each other, whether in college sports, driving abilities, or pure aesthetic qualities of their respective states.
Let’s face it—Texas is great. I haven’t actually been there in a while, but what I remember was pretty cool. It’s BIG, they have real sports teams, and they have Six Flags (all qualities I remember from childhood summer vacations). What does Oklahoma have? Only two major cities (and I have never liked Tulsa), no big pro sports teams, and a lot less space. Although Oklahoma is not the barren wasteland that people try to make it out to be (that’s why we have Kansas), I don’t think our southern neighbor is that bad, either.
And really, is it fair for us to snub people because of their home states? Sure, they may have acquired bizarre accents, strange tastes in music, or a penchant for wild game, but they cannot be blamed for their parents’ residential choices. You might as well exclude me because I’m a brunette. Oh, and while at the craft show, I bought three antique croquette balls. If you’re going to dislike me for anything, you can dislike me for that.
Vendors from all over the county come to these shows, and I noticed that a lot of them were from Texas. The friend who accompanied me on Saturday is a Texas transplant, and she observed that the nicest people at the show were the ones from Texas. (I didn’t get close enough to the aprons to see if they had also traveled north, but that would be one small way to balance out the Texas greatness.)
I know that the Texas/Oklahoma rivalry is a touchy subject among those of us in this part of the country. But before you leap to conclusions about what I might say, I must warn you that a) A lot of my favorite people are from Texas, and b) Although I have lived in Oklahoma for most of my life, I am actually a Texan by birth. This being said, I will not blindly bash all things Texan, and I dread those conversations in which Texans and Okies try to proclaim their greatness to each other, whether in college sports, driving abilities, or pure aesthetic qualities of their respective states.
Let’s face it—Texas is great. I haven’t actually been there in a while, but what I remember was pretty cool. It’s BIG, they have real sports teams, and they have Six Flags (all qualities I remember from childhood summer vacations). What does Oklahoma have? Only two major cities (and I have never liked Tulsa), no big pro sports teams, and a lot less space. Although Oklahoma is not the barren wasteland that people try to make it out to be (that’s why we have Kansas), I don’t think our southern neighbor is that bad, either.
And really, is it fair for us to snub people because of their home states? Sure, they may have acquired bizarre accents, strange tastes in music, or a penchant for wild game, but they cannot be blamed for their parents’ residential choices. You might as well exclude me because I’m a brunette. Oh, and while at the craft show, I bought three antique croquette balls. If you’re going to dislike me for anything, you can dislike me for that.
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