Texas Chat

jenn asked the questions (she is celebrating her 10th blogiversary, and this is part of that celebration)- I answered - after all, I am currently visiting Texas, so the timing is right y'all:

one. if you could have dinner with any athlete or coach currently playing for or employed by a texas team, whom would you choose?  J.J. Watt

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two. who's your least favorite texan?  Lawrence Russell Brewer (and his accomplices)

three. whose your favorite?  Really?  How am I to choose?  I can't even choose my favorite Texas musician, or favorite Texas actor/actress, or favorite Texas philanthropist.  The very first one that came to mind was Willie Nelson. 

four. who's the most famous texan you've met in person?  Matthew McConaughey - I really just bumped into him and we shared hellos.

five. the flagship hotel in galveston, which had to be torn down due to hurricane damage, was built completely over water. the galveston island historic pleasure pier is now located where the hotel stood. if you could build anything you wanted completely over water, what would it be?  These questions aren't easy, are they?  I'm sure it's been done, but an aquarium built with water underneath.  Seeing the ocean/sea animals in as natural of a habitat as possible would be incredible.

six. galveston has the oldest newspaper in the state, the daily news. if your hometown could have the oldest of anything in the state, what would you want it to be? Oldest diner serving chicken fried steak

seven. the heisman trophy was named for john william heisman, the first full-time coach and athletic director at rice university in houston. if you were to have a trophy named after you, what would candidates need to achieve in order to qualify for the award?  Since I love live music and supporting live music, my award would be presented annually to the attendee for the most live music shows in Texas.

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eight. if a songwriter in texas wanted to write a country song about your life, what might serve as the perfect title for this tune?  "You can take the girl outta Texas but not Texas outta the girl" 

nine. if you could be doing anything at all in texas at this very moment, what would it be?  I'm about to do it.  As I write this, I'm about to go eat at Wings 'n' More in College Station with my brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and nephew.  Can't think of a whole lotta things I'd rather be doing.

ten. what is the single greatest moment in texas history?  Battle of San Jacinto

eleven. mary kay ash of mary kay cosmetics had a twelve-thousand-square-foot, pink mansion in dallas. if you could have a supersized home what twist would you give it to make it uniquely yours?  I'd have a huge, comfy bath tub with a station full of bath soaps, washes, and bubble baths...plus a station with hot tea or wine so I can easily fix my drink of choice.  Oh, and there'd be a music station too with relaxing playlists, and fuzzy blankets on the floor for my kitties to rest on while I'm in the bath.  They like that.

twelve. of all the songs you can think of where the word "texas" or the name of a texas town appears in the song's title (for example, "amarillo by morning"), which one is your overall favorite?  First one to come to mind is ZZ Top's La Grange

thirteen. of the scores of films filmed in whole or part in texas, such as "apollo thirteen," which one is your favorite, and which one is your least favorite?  Again, realllllly difficult for me to choose, but I'd say Urban Cowboy for favorite and The Alamo (2004) for least favorite.

fourteen. texas a&m is recognized as home of the twelfth  man because its students stand throughout the entire football game to show support for the team. what is the best example of texas pride you have ever witnessed?  Any time I see someone in the armed forces serving in another country waving a Texas flag or wearing a Texas flag, my heart swells. 

Photo source:  Marines with 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) hold up the Texas state flag during a remembrance ceremony for San Jacinto Day at the 2nd MAW (Fwd.) headquarters compound on Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, April 21. San Jacinto Day commemorates a battle between the Texas Army and Mexican forces and is considered the turning point for Texas' independence from Mexico, April 21, 1836.

fifteen. texas tapped its first oil gusher in nineteen-one, and the state now produces about five hundred million barrels of crude oil annually. if you had five barrels of oil that you could sell at current market value, what would you buy with the money?  Sad to admit, but I'd pay off debts.

sixteen. to people who don't hail from the lone star state, the texas twang can indeed sound a bit strange, but to your ears which united state's region's people have the oddest sounding accent?  Not sure...maybe Bostonians?

seventeen. what is your biggest pet peeve about texans as a whole?  I LOVE Texas pride.  I don't love Texas arrogance or ignorance or an unwillingness to experience other cultures.

eighteen. if you could have been there to witness any specific moment in texas sports history, what moment would you choose?  Of all the Texas teams that I support, the only one to win a championship that proved them better than all others that year was the Houston Rockets.  So, I'd love to have been at the game that the Rockets won those finals.  (I did attend two MLS Cups when the Houston Dynamo won.)

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nineteen. what is the most disappointing, perhaps downright depressing moment in the history of texas sports?  There's been a lot.  The Astros getting swept by the White Sox in the World Series, that hurt. 

twenty. if you could build a dream house along any lake or river in texas, where would you go build it, and what would your waterfront retreat look like?  A house along the Guadalupe River.  It's where we vacationed when I was a kid, and I've been back several times as an adult.

twenty-one. if you were offered one hundred free acres of land anywhere in texas to use or develop as you wish, where would you want your property to be located and what would you do with it?  Build a camp in the Hill Country for disadvantaged kids

twenty-two. what is the most beautiful geographical feature in the entire state of texas?  Well, I'm stretching with this one, but I can't list some of my favorites about Texas without mentioning bluebonnet season, so I'll say rolling hills in Central Texas with bluebonnets and Texas wildflowers scattered all over.

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twenty-three. what is the most exciting annual event held in texas?  I'll go with South by South West (SXSW) because I love music, and I love Austin.

twenty-four. what is the most overrated tourist attraction in texas?  Prada storefront "artwork" in Marfa

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twenty-five. texas has more miles of highway--over seventy thousand--than any other state in the nation. if you had to do a summer road trip within texas on only one of the highways, which highway would you travel and what would be the main points of interest for you along the way?  I suppose I'd say I-10 because Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso are all on it...but I-10 is not exactly my fave.  I'd rather hit the back roads.  I'd think that would be a much more interesting trip.  "(P)oints of interest"?  The food.  I'd eat at diners, taquerias, even gas stations.

I'm at my dad's and step-mom's now.  I've had little to no time to visit any of your blogs, but I haven't forgotten you.  I will be back to visiting, reading, and commenting after my Texas getaway.