| No one seems ever to have thought of Texas as an average place; people never have neutral feelings about it. Its history is sprinkled with characterizations like "the dark abode of barbarism and vice," "an Elysium of rogues," and "a rendezvous of rascals for all the continent." One discouraged homesteader complained that from his wilderness home it was ''250 miles to the nearest Post Office, 100 miles to wood, 20 miles to water, and 6 inches to hell." An admittedly mythical young emigrant said in her prayers, "Goodbye, God. This is the last chance I get to talk to you. We're moving to Texas." On the other hand, Texas has been "the most charming spot on earth," "an Eldorado of hope," and "a dream or youthful vision realized." |
| I don't have statistics to back it up, but I would bet with complete confidence that no other state can prompt as many vivid images in the minds of people from the other forty-nine states as Texas can. There simply isn't another state with a reputation on the scale of this one. Only California can even hope to compete with Texas, and so many of its connotations are of mere eccentricity or self-absorptionsurfers, hot tubs, Beverly Hills, gurusalthough one must grant them the redwoods, Yosemite, and Napa Valley. But no state is as familiar to those who live beyond its borders as Texas, and I suspect that this is true not just in this country, but around the globe. Not all the images are necessarily flattering: The windbag oilman with longhorns mounted on the hood of his Cadillac is not our best ambassador. But cowboys, Indians, Rangers, outlaws, gushers, missions, ghost towns, six-guns, mustangs, ten-gallon hats, guitars, the Lone Star, and that graceful arch above the Alamoall these icons have combined in the American |
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