Quirky Statue in Paris, Texas After mentioning Paris, Texas recently in the post A to Z Texas: E is for Eiffel Tower I’m bringing up that little burg again because it’s home to a quirky statue known locally as the, “Jesus in cowboy boots.” This statue is actually the 20 foot tall grave marker honoring a man named Willet Babcock, who died in 1888. While impressive, it would hardly be the quirky tourist attraction that it has become were it not for the unusual footwear worn by the cross-bearing figure it depicts; instead of the bare feet or sandals one…
Tag: A to Z challenge
Texan Accents Vary I love how accents and slang vary throughout the USA, so, for me, that aspect of moving to Texas has been a real treat. Of course, since Texas is such a big place, there is no one official Texan accent. Think for a moment of how different Tommie Lee Jones, Billy Bob Thornton and H. Ross Perot sound from one another even though they are all Texan natives. (And what’s with their three-piece names? Maybe that’s a Texan thing. I will have to look into that. Ooh – Lyndon B. Johnson, there’s another!) My Favorite Texas Idioms…
Weird Tasting Water Has Healing Properties In the 1880’s, Judge James Alvis Lynch and his wife, Armenia, moved to north Texas and dug a well. At first, the couple was afraid to drink from it because the water tasted odd. After seeing that their livestock thrived, however, the pair began drinking from the well, too. That’s when things got interesting. Prior to drinking from their new well, James had a stomach issue and Armenia suffered from rheumatism. After drinking from it, the couple’s health conditions promptly cleared up. In fact, their whole family – which included nine children – seemed…
German Culture is Part of Texas For some reason, when people speak of immigrants to the USA, New York’s Ellis Island gets all the press. We tend to overlook the fact that the port of Galveston in Texas brought many newcomers to our country, as well. Starting in the 1830’s, for instance, tens of thousands of Germans came to Texas. Although their cultural influence extends across the state, most of them settled in the Hill Country (near Austin), creating towns such as Fredricksburg, Boerne (pronounced, “bernie”) and New Braunfels. While the German flag never flew over Texas, its language and…
In Texas, Every Day is Flag Day Technically, Flag Day is June 14th, but it’s easy to get the impression that Flag Day is every day here in the state of Texas. The Dallas – Fort Worth region is quite breezy, which makes it easy to express your pride for state and country with proudly waving flags. Texas State Flag: A Popular Urban Legend Since moving here, I’ve heard over and over that, “Texas is the only state in the USA allowed to fly its flag at the same height as the US flag.” This, it turns out, is an…
A to Z Texas: D is for Dinosaurs While many American states have official fossils, only eight – including Texas – have an official state dinosaur. (For those interested, here’s a full list 8 Official State Dinosaurs) The Lone Star State’s official dino is called Pauluxysaurus Jonesi and looks like a huge brontosaurus. Biggest Dinosaur Ever Just as you might expect, this being Texas, our state dinosaur isn’t just big, it is – arguably – the biggest creature ever to walk the earth! Dinosaur Tracks in Glen Rose, Texas What’s great about the Texas state dinosaur is that you don’t…