Gimme Indie Texas!

My family has been in and around Texas [Old Mexico] since the 1750's, around the time my ancestor Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera y Garza [yes, that's just one person] founded the town of Laredo on the Texas side of the Rio Grande River. I have lived in Texas all of my life, residing in South Texas, West Texas, the Panhandle, and now Central Texas. Along the way, I seem to have developed a hodge-podge accent that many people may not readily identify as or associate with "Texan." Not only do I not have a Texas drawl, I don't wear cowboy boots, either. But I do drive a pickup. And I do love football. I should emphasize: I am incapable of not loving football. But other than that, are there any tell tale signs that I'm a Texan?

Yes--it's the Texas independent spirit. But, what is that? It's our culture, our heritage: a love of food, drink, and music; a disciplined but profound love of liberty--the love of “earthly delights” balanced by the “fear of God.” These characteristics may not be unique to our state. But everything is bigger in Texas! Our culture, our love of liberty, and our independent spirit are amplified by the legacy of our Texan ancestors—the sons and daughters of the people who fought for independence from England and Spain, who later fought for independence from Mexico.

March 2nd is Texas Independence Day, an official state holiday--an optional holiday for all state agency employees. Some folks [e.g. my wife] think it's silly that state employees [e.g. me] may opt take a free day off from work for Texas Independence Day. I think it's silly that it's not a mandatory state holiday. We should all take time out of our busy lives to celebrate the independent spirit of Texas and to reflect upon how we got here and project where we are going.

I kinda like this example set forth by our Tejano forefathers who migrated far from the center of a Mexican dictatorship to settle in Texas:

"Tejanos fashioned an ethic of self-reliance, wresting their living from a ranching culture, improvising ways to survive in the wilderness expanse, and devising specific political responses to local needs despite directives from the royal government." -Handbook of Texas Online [emphasis mine]

It's all there: personal responsibility and local control. There's something to think about for folks on both sides of the left-right political spectrum.

While I did not opt to take the holiday off this year, "Mrs. Coda" and I paid a visit to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, this weekend. And, in the tradition of Texas' German and Czech ancestors, we will be making another batch of homebrew, today. Although it will be a...umm...Belgian style ale. But its the art of brewing-- and the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness it represents--that really counts.