Deep in the South

By: Samantha S. Daviss

There is only one place I was meant to live and that is the South, nay Texas. I have lived in all the major cities of Texas, but I have also lived outside of Texas, like Louisiana and Minnesota, and a short time abroad. But Texas has been and will always be my home.

There is just something about the people here, the wide open space, and the comradery found in Texas. Whether you are in a big city or a small town, there is a pride that exudes from living in Texas. But with that pride comes some pretty funny antics, which we as Texans wouldn’t even think about twice.

Like for example, I picked my oldest son up the other day from school and in the back of my car (unloaded, safe, and in a locked carrying case of course) was his 20-guage shotgun to go dove hunting with that afternoon. No there aren’t too many states where the mom is picking the kids up from school with a shotgun in the back of her car.

Or this week at school is homecoming week and one of the fun dress-up days Camouflage Day. Are we staring to see a theme here in this state? I think so. And there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t see a pickup truck driving down the road pulling a trailer with at least 2 if not 3 Rangers or 4-wheelers.

And I am pretty sure that it has become a passed state law that every fisherman, boater, hunter, worker, or just a guy in a pickup truck has to have a Yeti cooler with them at all times. Hunting, outdoors, and beer are a requirement to live within the state lines of Texas. Just like football, hunting is a season all in itself. It doesn’t matter what the game is, if it flies it dies, if it runs it falls…regardless it doesn’t have a chance.

Another part of living in Texas is not to be shocked when you are driving down the road and see a herd of longhorns or even cattle loose on the road wandering around. It is all in a day of being a Texan.

But recently one of my most favorite and funniest things I have ever seen had to do with road kill. We all know what road kill is…it’s the poor animals that didn’t have a chance trying to cross the road or highway at one point in time or another. My job takes me out on some back roads in the surrounding counties, so I see a lot of things that shock me. They shouldn’t, but I still get taken back sometimes, and this was my favorite.

I was driving down a decent highway that had just been freshly painted with new lines, and I noticed an irregularity in the paint at one point. At second glance I noticed that the highway workers had painted a fresh line right over the top of some road kill that had been left on the side of the road. I don’t know why this struck me as so hilarious, but it did. Because only in the state of Texas can you find freshly painted and adorned road kill and it is ok.

So with the odd comes the funny. You can’t explain Texas to an outsider, and an outsider certainly can’t understand some of the habits of the Lone Star State, but I wouldn’t trade my life here for anything.