"being Texan"
 

"Being Texan" - by Bum Phillips

Dear Friends,
Last year, I wrote a small piece about what it means to me to be a
Texan. My friends know it means about damned near everything. Anyway,
this fella' asked me to reprint what I'd wrote and I didn't have it. So
I set out to think about rewriting something. I considered writing about
all the great things I love about Texas. There are way too many things
to list. I can't even begin to do it justice. Lemme' let you in on my
short list.

It starts with The Window at Big Bend, which in and of itself is proof
of God. It goes to Lake Sam Rayburn where my Granddad taught me more
about life than fishin', and enough about fishin' to last a lifetime. I
can talk about Tyler, and Longview, and Odessa and Cisco, and Abilene
and Poteet and every place in between. Every little part of Texas feels
special. Every person who ever flew over the Lone Star thinks of Bandera
or Victoria or Manor or wherever they call "home" as the best little
part of the best state.

So I got to thinking about it, and here's what I really want to say.
Last year, I talked about all the great places and great heroes who make
Texas what it is. I talked about Willie and Waylon and Michael Dell and
Michael DeBakey and my Dad and LBJ and Denton Cooley. I talked about
everybody that came to mind. It took me sitting here tonight reading
this stack of emails and thinkin' about where I've been and what I've
done since the last time I wrote on this occasion to remind me what it
is about Texas that is really great.

You see, this last month or so I finally went to Europe for the first
time. I hadn't ever been, and didn't too much want to. But you know all
my damned friends are always talking about "the time they went to
Europe." So, I finally went. It was a hell of a trip to be sure. All
they did when they saw me was say the same thing, before they'd ever met
me. "Hey cowboy, we love Texas." I guess the hat tipped 'em off. But let
me tell you what, they all came up with a smile on their faces. You know
why? They knew for damned sure that I was gonna' be nice to 'em. They
knew it 'cause they knew I was from Texas. They knew something that
hadn't even hit me. They knew Texans, even though they'd never met one.

That's when it occurred to me. Do you know what is great about Texas?

Do you know why when my friend Beverly and I were trekking across
country to see 15 baseball games we got sick and had to come home after
8? Do you know why every time I cross the border I say, "Lord, please
don't let me die in ______"?

Do you know why children in Japan can look at a picture of the great
State and know exactly what it is about the same time they can tell a
rhombus from a trapezoid? I can tell you that right quick. You. The same
spirit that made 186 men cross that line in the sand in San Antonio
damned near 165 years ago is still in you today. Why else would my
friend send me William Barrett Travis' plea for help in an email just a
week ago, or why would Charles Stenciled ask me to reprint a Texas
Independence column from a year ago?

What would make my friend Elizabeth say, "I don't know if I can marry a
man who doesn't love Texas like I do?" Why in the hell are 1,000 people
coming to my house this weekend to celebrate a holiday for what used to
be a nation that is now a state? Because the spirit that made that
nation is the spirit that burned in every person who founded this great
place we call Texas, and they passed it on through blood or sweat to
every one of us.

You see, that spirit that made Texas what it is, is alive in all of us,
even if we can't stand next to a cannon to prove it, and it's our
responsibility to keep that fire burning. Every person who ever put a
"Native Texan" or an "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I
could" sticker on his car understands. Anyone who ever hung a map of
Texas on their wall or flew a Lone Star flag on their porch knows what I
mean.

My Dad's buddy Bill has an old saying. He says that some people were
forged of a hotter fire. Well, that's what it is to be Texan. To be
forged of a hotter fire.

To know that part of Colorado was Texas. That part of New Mexico was
Texas. That part of Oklahoma was Texas. Yep. Talk all you want. Part of
what you got was what we gave you. To look at a picture of Idaho or
Istanbul and say, "what the Hell is that?" when you know that anyone in
Idaho or Istanbul who sees a picture of Texas knows damned good and well
what it is. It isn't the shape, it isn't the state, it's the state of
mind. You're what makes Texas.

The fact that you would take 15 minutes out of your day to read this,
because that's what Texas means to you, that's what makes Texas what it
is. The fact that when you see the guy in front of you litter you honk
and think, "Sonofa*****. Littering on MY highway."

When was the last time you went to a person's house in New York and you
saw a big map of New York on their wall? That was never. When did you
ever drive through Oklahoma and see their flag waving on four businesses
in a row? Can you even tell me what the flag in Louisiana looks like? I
damned sure can't.

But I bet my ass you can't drive 20 minutes from your house and not see
a business that has a big Texas flag as part of its logo. If you haven't
done business with someone called All Tex something or Lone Star
somebody or other, or Texas such and such, you hadn't lived here for too
long.

When you ask a man from New York what he is, he'll say a stockbroker, or
an accountant, or an ad exec. When you ask a woman from California what
she is, she'll tell you her last name or her major. He'll either of 'em
might say "I'm a republican," or they might be a democrat. When you ask
a Texan what they are, before they say, "I'm a Methodist," or "I'm a
lawyer," or "I'm a Smith," they tell you they're a Texan. I got nothin'
against all those other places, and Lord knows they've probably got some
fine folks, but in your gut you know it just like I do, Texas is just a
little different.

So tomorrow when you drive down the road and you see a person broken
down on the side of the road, stop and help. When you are in a bar in
California, buy a Californian a drink and tell him it's for Texas
Independence Day. Remind the person in the cube next to you that he
wouldn't be here enjoying this if it weren't for Sam Houston, and if he
or she doesn't know the story, tell them.

When William Barrett Travis wrote in 1836 that he would never surrender
and he would have Victory or Death, what he was really saying was that
he and his men were forged of a hotter fire. They weren't your average
everyday men.

Well, that is what it means to be a Texan. It meant it then, and that's
why it means it today. It means just what all those people north of the
Red River accuse us of thinking it means. It means there's no mountain
that we can't climb. It means that we can swim the Gulf in the winter.
It means that Earl Campbell ran harder and Houston is bigger and Dallas
is richer and Alpine is hotter and Stevie Ray was smoother and God
vacations in Texas.

It means that come Hell or high water, when the chips are down and the
Good Lord is watching, we're Texans by damned, and just like in 1836,
that counts for something. So for today at least, when your chance comes
around, go out and prove it. It's true because we believe it's true. If
you are sitting wondering what the Hell I'm talking about, this ain't
for you.

But if the first thing you are going to do when the Good Lord calls your
number is find the men who sat in that tiny mission in San Antonio and
shake their hands, then you're the reason I wrote this tonight, and this
is for you. So until next time you hear from me, God Bless and Happy
Texas Independence Day.

May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies
and quick to make friends. But rich or poor, quick or slow, may you know
nothing but happiness from this day forward.


:D :D :D

WOW!

another 7th gen TEXAN
 

Fred,
Now I've got a lump in my throat, it occurs when I visit or think about the Alamo, Goliad, San Jacinto Bayou, or at a favorite place near my home, Washington-on-the-Brazos, where it was sealed in writing for assurance of the bloodshed.
Texans understand it, Bum said it well.
grumpy

"God Blessed Texas"

Grumpy,
It is good to know of another Texan with a long heritage in this great state.
You are living close to a special place to me too,Washington-on-the-Brazos.

There is a man buried there in the State Park, on a knoll,that has quite a history.


John William Smith 11/4/1792 - 1/12/1845 52 years old

10/2/1835 He was in the first battle in the fight for independence."The Affair at Gonzales"

10/27/1835 He was in "The Battle at Conception" with Bowie & Fanin.

12/5-10/1835 He was in "The Storming of Bexar".
Santa Anna's brother-in-law General Cos had control of San Antonio de Bexar
with 1,100 troops.The Texian Army had 300.After 5 days of intense street
fighting General Cos was captured in The Alamo.He & his surviving troops
were allowed to live & leave Texas on the promise they would never return.

2/23/1836 Col. Travis sent John and Dr. Sutherland out to scout.They spotted Santa
Anna's army.After they informed the garrison,Col. Travis sent them out with
the 1st message to Gonzales for help.

3/1/1836 John Smith returned with 32 men.

3/4/1836 Left friday night with Col. Travis' last message & the last letters of many of
the defenders.Took the message to "The Convention" 200 miles away.

3/6/1836 John arrived at The Convention at 9 a.m. sunday. The same day that Samuel
Maverick arrived to sign "The Declaration of Independence".
He left with 25 more volunteers.

3/8/1836 They reached the outskirts of Bexar.
2 days after the Alamo fell.

4/21/1836 He was in "The Battle of San Jacinto"


He was the first Mayor of San Antonio,during the Republic of Texas.
Served 3 terms.

9/11/1842 Mexico invaded Texas/San Antonio.

9/17/1842 He was in "The Battle of San Antonio". Still Mayor.

9/1843 Was elected Republic of Texas Senator representing Bexar County.
Served in the 7th,8th and 9th.The last regular Congress of The Republic.

He also held 11 different commissions under Presidents Houston and Lamar.

John W. Smith died 1/12/1845 at Washington-on-the-Brazos at 52 years old.
The entire Congress attended his funeral on 1/13/1845.

The reason he means so much to me is because he is my Great Great Great Grandfather on my mother's side.

http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/smithjohnwilliam.htm



I hope this isn't too boring.

Fred, guess you never meet an 8th generation Californian, must be talking about all those carpetbaggers we have:3DSMILE:

My Mothers family had a little piece of Texas for a while

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/.../FF/hrf20.html

Operated that mill even in the Depression, at a loss, because it was the right thing to do, still hold 250k acres of producing mineral rights.:)

Texas today, reminds me of the society we once had here in California and other Western States.

We ran Longhorns on our California Ranch in the 1850's only steer that could survive the dry conditions, beautiful Pacific Ocean but very little fresh water and feed. They call it the Malibu, nowadays populated by surf rot and hollyweirds.

God Bless Texas

Fred,

I'm a transplanted Texan, but a Texan none the less. I was born in Abilene, raised in west Texas until I was 18 ( the formable years). I now reside on the hillside of a sleepy little community that sets at the base of the Sierras. This piece of dirt we now call home, reminds me a lot of Texas... same bugs, same dirt, same varmits, same warm people. Most of my family is passed on now, I have a son who just returned from Iraq, the Texas blood runs proud wherever I lay my hat. Last thing, I had an Uncle who gave his life for the sake of freedom, he died in an old chaple in San Antonio in 1836... Colonel William Ward was his name and his blood continues to run in my son and I. Remember The Alamo!

:MECOOL: Chris-
slithering

Fred,

Great piece and I enjoyed reading it. Now for a question about what I saw on CNN yesterday evening. Is it actually true that Huston, in order to keep their school attendance records looking good has stated that pupils do not have to pass classes such as English and other regular classes in order to be advanced to the next higher grade? If this is so, then you must have some infiltrartion from the California mob.
If it is so, why even have them bother to show up. Just have them come in at the end of the year and give them their diplomas or whatever.

Ron :confused:

Chris,

William B. Ward - (1806 - 1836)
Born in Ireland.Came to Texas by way of New Orleans.

When the Mexican army appeared on February 23, 1836, however, Ward was seen manning the artillery position at the Alamo's main gate, calm and sober, while the rest of the garrison retreated into the Alamo. Ward died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Daughters of the American Revolution, The Alamo Heroes and Their Revolutionary Ancestors (San Antonio, 1976). Reuben M. Potter, "The Fall of the Alamo," Magazine of American History, January 1878; rpt., Hillsdale, New Jersey: Otterden, 1977).


Truely a man of courage.

Proxey Texan
 

Well being a yankee from New Jersey, I married a gal from Austin, Texas. Our son was born in Houston. So that makes me a Texan by proxey. :3DSMILE:

Sorry Ed. You are just a replica Texan.

Ron :LOL:

Don't be too hard on Ed, now.
He's here and as long as he says "ya'll" and "ain't", we'll let him stay

Matt,

But can he eat real Texas chili? I did once and am still having stomach problems from it. :LOL: :3DSMILE:

Ron :MECOOL:

Fred-Great stuff--keep it coming!

Ron-Chili in the Lone Star State is a whole 'nother thread.

BTW Fred-My wife's people claim a Former President of Texas
Last name is Skiles.I don't much more than that about him.

Fred,

Thanks for the kind words...

Chris-
slithering

Ed,

You will always be a Texan to us. NOw we just need to get you a bumper sticker that say's

"I wasn't born a Texan, But I got here as fast as I could"

Matt

Fred,

I want to thank you for your post.
Being a Texas boy from Denton
but living up here in Ma. after a
job transfer. I'm closer to home
today then I've been in a while..

terlinqua chili
 

can't we all have a "carroll shelby terlinqua chili" cookoff next MARCH in Austin??

yum yum!:D
kristen

Matt,
I wasn't able to find much on the family trees of Burnet,Houston,Lamar and Jones.

I found one Skiles that I have copied below.I did notice that there were/are a few that are writers and historians.

MARCELINA, TEXAS. Marcelina, one mile south of the site of present Falls City in Karnes County, was platted in 1857 by James Rumsey Skiles, owner of 1,500 acres of land adjoining the south bank of the San Antonio River. He named the townsite after nearby Marcelina Creek. The site was in a bend of the river, where the headquarters of Rancho de la Mora, belonging to the San Antonio de Valero Mission,qv had been located in the eighteenth century. It was hoped that traffic between San Antonio and Goliad would be diverted to the new community. Skiles built a mansion, with adjoining quarters for his slaves, on a hill overlooking the valley; he also built a gristmill on the river at a place commonly called Skiles Falls. But the Civil Warqv intervened, the slaves were freed, and the town withered before it grew. The gristmill continued to be used until the turn of the century. A post office operated as Skiles from 1887 to 1893, when it was moved and changed in name to Falls City. In 1990 the ruins of the Skiles mansion and gristmill were still visible.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Robert H. Thonhoff, History of Karnes County (M.A. thesis, Southwest Texas State College, 1963).


RANCHO DE LA MORA. Rancho de la Mora ("mulberry"), on the west bank of the San Antonio River at a site between Indian Crossing near Hobson and Conquista Crossing west of Falls City in what is now Karnes County, was an eighteenth-century ranch that belonged to San Antonio de Valero Mission. Some sources claim that the ranch first belonged to San Francisco de la Espada Mission. A report of 1762 indicated that it had a stone house and a stone chapel to accommodate the cowboys, shepherds, and possibly the families who lived on the site. The ranchhouse, measuring twenty-four varas (sixty-seven feet) long, had three rooms with an arched portal. The chapel was eleven varas (thirty feet) long. It had an altar, a large stone cross, and two sets of vestments. An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 cattle grazed the pastures of La Mora in 1772. In 1779 Fray Juan Agustín de Morfiqv reported that twenty-six persons resided at the Rancho de la Mora. The same year it provided 180 cattle to the herd of 970 delivered to the Spanish forces of Gen. Bernardo de Gálvez,qv who had just started a campaign against the British in Louisiana during the American Revolution. In 1780 the ranch was reported to have 1,422 head of stock, of which 410 were branded. In 1781 a roundup report showed La Mora with 820 head and 256 branded. In 1782 the ranch was reported to have 633 head of stock and 473 branded. After San Antonio de Valero Mission was secularized in 1793, ranching operations declined. Sometime later Juan José Maria Erasmo Seguínqv acquired much of the land that had formerly belonged to Rancho de la Mora and was granted in 1834 a Mexican title for five leagues of land. Historical and archeological evidence indicates that the ranch headquarters was probably situated near the site of present Skiles Falls on the south bank of the San Antonio River near its confluence with Mora Creek; however, by 1993 its site had not been archeologically confirmed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Jack Jackson, Los Mesteños: Spanish Ranching in Texas, 1721-1821 (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1986). Robert H. Thonhoff, The Texas Connection with the American Revolution (Burnet, Texas: Eakin Press, 1981). Robert S. Weddle and Robert H. Thonhoff, Drama and Conflict: The Texas Saga of 1776 (Austin: Madrona, 1976).

Robert

When I think of Texas It reminds me of the story about two Texans standing on the George Washington bridge taking a wizz.
One Texan says "man that water's cold" the other one replies "yeah and deep too"!

Art,
That incident on the bridge with my Dad & GrandDad sure has made the rounds.:3DSMILE: