See ya, June.

There are 24 minutes left in June.

June has been good to me this year -- it brought news of a new job, a much-needed homecoming, pools, Kerbey Lane, Father's Day. There were five days of DC with Mom, and wicker furniture and Container Store runs. It brought Saturday mornings with the Deans and long walks with Laurel and a new cubicle and a new schedule and new/old friends. June made me think, June made me laugh, June made me cry and June made me remember who I am.

Based on recent posting trends, it's clear that a (large, enormous) part of who I am (and thus part of what I've been remembering) revolves around Texas. Because of this, my Aggie roommate and I trotted down Constitution on Sunday afternoon to 'see our people' at the Folklife Festival. There were so many things to write about, I almost grabbed a napkin from the Texas Rib Stand to make notes.

In order of discovery:

1/4 of a watermelon sold as a 'slice' for $3 - LJ's face was dwarfed by it. Amazing.

The Dancehall - The 9 minutes we spent in this tent could probably provide enough material (and certainly enough characters) for my first novel -- It was cool inside, so the crowds were loving the folding chairs and rickety metal fans. A band was playing two-stepping tunes from the front, and it didn't take long to see that the people who braved the dancefloor didn't feel like they were braving anything. They were awesome, and they knew they were awesome. My favorite couples were:

5) Thirty-year-old dad in Keens dancing with his toddler in arms; totally in their own world.
4) Jack Sprat couple look-alikes, she with whitish-gray pigtails, a full-length denim skirt, tennis shoes and, if my memory serves me, a fanny pack. Estimated age: 72.
3) Lesbian hiking duo. They were GOOD.
2) Presenters, who apparently do this for the whole festival. This group included a cute brunette in a blue sundress and a gray-haired guy with chops whose screen-print t-shirt was so sweaty after the first dance that he took a break to exchange it for an alternate screen-print t-shirt.
1) Asian 60-year-old lady with short, red dyed hair, in long skirt, velvet, sunglasses and metallic gold lace-ups. Her partner was completely bald, in jorts and black knee socks and tennies. If I could effectively capture his expression while spinning his little lady across the dance floor, I'd no doubt win a Pulitzer. Think exaggerated movement...

The Texas Taqueria - They said they came from Dallas, and unfortunately (especially compared to some awesome nachos Corie and I had the night before) my fajitas tasted like they'd been shipped from Dallas. Last week.

The Texas Noodle House - This was the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Noodles are perhaps the most uncharacteristic food of any Texas demographic, and yet, of three Texas food choices, one was Vietnamese noodles? I'm still reeling.

Polish Texan Cooking Demo - Also weird, the chef kept talking about how 'all over San Antonio when you order breakfast tacos you'll hear a type of taco called a Taco Polaco' with Polish sausage. I've been around the block as far as breakfast tacos go, but never have I ever heard the term Taco Polaco. At this point, I started to wonder if they hired actors from NOVA to pose as various types of would-be Texans.

The unbelievably tan beer-gut guy - He was almost undoubtedly from Port Aransas, originally. He was warm, you can't blame him for hanging out half-clothed on the Mall.

There was so much more too. I wish I'd gone through with that writing on the napkin thing.

Who knows where July and I are heading, but I'm along for the ride, as long as I don't have to stop at the Texas Noodle House.

Dear Texas, I miss you.

Maybe I should apologize for being so brazenly Texan in my last post, but I don't really feel bad yet. This deep Texas pride thing is relatively new for me, so I guess I feel entitled to my turn. Maybe I'll start to feel guilty if I start randomly sending out "You know you're from Texas if..." forwards or blabbering too frequently about Chuy's Special Enchiladas, but I doubt it.

I love Texas.
And I miss it.

Luckily, the Smithsonian is acknowledging Texas' supremacy this week at the Folklife Festival on the Mall. As of yesterday, three exhibits (and by exhibit I mean large constructions and huge compounds of tents) were set up: Bhutan, NASA and Texas. Sorry, Colorado. Looks like a tent of Crocs and wheatgrass wasn't going to do the trick. Sorry, Washington. Coffee is an all-over-the-world thing now. But Texas, on the other hand --

WE GET TEN DAYS OF MALL REAL ESTATE.


The end.

Dear Texas, I love you.

I don't know if forgotten is the right word.
I hadn't forgotten, exactly.
But I wasn't actively in the process of remembering.

Somewhere along the line, the soy lattes and the month of February and the markets and the hubbub and the pretty parks and the house/job search and the new friends and the justice seekers had distracted me from my first and primary role in life.

I started to remember when I got on the plane, but it was all over when I hit the ground at SA International Airport. Four hours after leaving Dulles, with a quick stop in Midway (Chicago is totally on the way to TX), I was back, and I remembered instantly, and all thought of becoming a permanent DC yuppie fled my mind.

I remembered why I love being a Texan.

a) It is hot and sunny
b) Texas t-storms are the best in the world
c) People are nice
d) Parking is done in lots
e) Europeans think everyone in the country is like you
f) Pretty much everyone in the country wishes they were like you
g) Texas turnarounds shame traffic circles
h) Our flag is so awesome people make it into running shorts
i) Cherry vodka sour - $2.50
j) Austin is in it
k) Central-freaking-Market
l) There is no need for HOV, because the roads are built big enough
m) People have pools
n) SJ and Roberta rule the roads
o) Whit's Asics own Town Lake
p) Jake owns the state, essentially
q) Two-stepping happens
r) People like the NBA
s) Riverside
t) Billboards are Spanish
u) Almost everything is in Spanish
v) We thought of Whole Foods
w) Our Capitol is bigger than DC's
x) You can get tan in two days
y) We invented a genre of food: TexMex
z) God blessed us

I've kept this list short, of course, because I didn't want the hate comments to be to hot/heavy, but there are millions of reasons why I love Texas and why I've loved being back. It's amazing what a number the sense of homecoming will do on your soul. Texas is like a big quilt to snuggle in and keep me safe and remind me who I am and why I am. Being away makes it just that much sweeter.

So get ready, Washington, DC: I'm coming back for more adventuring, but my roots are dug in the caleche soil. Trying to talk me out of this will be a losing fight.

I will say y'all till the day I die.