by Beks
I’ve never thanked a particular state before – and I don’t plan on doing it again – but I thought I’d take a moment to thank the state of Texas.
I’m not intentionally selling out my state, or better yet, my half of the state, but southern California isn’t known for its kindness. When people talk about ‘southern hospitality’, we understand they don’t mean us. Sure, there are some really kind folks here…
but we’ve got NOTHING on Texas.
My brother was shipped to Texas to fight the wildfires for three weeks. There were times they ran out of water and food in their rig. The folks in Texas? Purchased and cooked food, supplied water, and even asked if the guys wanted to sit in their air-conditioned cars for a while. The local farmers and some of the elderly women would sit, sometimes until 2 in the morning, at the base camp until every firefighter returned to make sure they arrived safely and had food to eat. By day two, the friendly folks noticed some of the firefighters smoked and chewed tobacco. That night, a large table was filled with cigarettes of all kinds and chewing tobacco – no small expense! At times, homeowners would drive out to the fire area to bring sandwiches to the firefighters on the line. They brought cold water, words of encouragement, and offered directions if any were needed.
My brother raved about the generosity from Texans. He couldn’t believe that people who had much, and people who had very little, offered all they had.
So thank you to the kind folks in Texas who taught the California kids a thing or two about generosity.
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
What a lovely story! Glad to hear of the generosity of others especially during these times. Brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes 🙂
*sigh* We almost moved to TX a few years back, and this story illustrates just one of the reasons why. I thoroughly enjoy all the time I get to spend there. Their economy is always in better shape than ours, too. Thanks for sharing the story!
I’ve never been there, but the Texans I’ve met in other places are the friendliest, sweetest people I have ever encountered.
That was an awesome story. I have a bunch of relatives in Texas and I could see them doing exactly the same thing. Go Texas!
I’m from Texas and I live in S. California for the last 4 years. I can’t agree more! I miss that community support. Just curious, in what part of Texas was he? It’s amazing how Texas is so big but you’ll find that same sentiment resonating through the state.
My momma is from Texas, my daddy from Louisiana (where I was born and now live) and I was raised in Arkansas. I love the South for the very reason you have just written about. There are nice people all over the country, but there sure seems to be a lot of them in the South. Hope I never have to live anywhere else. Though I do like to visit.
Hope your brother is safely home. That is a mighty hard job he has and I am sure those Texans really appreciated his hard work to save their land and homes.
If any of you are the praying kind, pray for us to get some rain around here. It sure would help.
As a life-long Texan, I was very happy and proud to read this post! I guess I just figured this happened everywhere but I guess not. Come on down anytime!!!
We here in Texas are so very thankful for all the firefighters who came to help us! Please give him our thanks – and thank you for this nice post!
Blessings!
Woo Hoo! Go Texas! I’m from Houston, now we’re sending you Rick Perry LOL
HS
You’ll find that not only in Texas, but many midwest states as well.
I am also grateful to you Texans! Thanks so much for taking such good care of my son. Being raised here in S. CA, he was overwhelmed with your generosity, your incredible food, and your tenacious spirit for making sure that each one on his team were well cared for. My son has also been used to base camps being set up here in CA, but there is no such thing in Texas….. there’s no need! All of you were far better than any base camp could be. THANK YOU! Lovingly, from one grateful mom
Well you know what they say about Texas… “Everything’s bigger in Texas”! Apparently they have huge hearts as well! Loved reading this post! 🙂
As a Texan, thank you to your brother for helping us out. The drought has been devastating to our land. We did get a little rain yesterday! Yea!
As the wife, thank you for treating my husband with such love and generosity! He loves what he does and it was so nice to know that he was so well cared for while being away from home. It was truly an assignment he will never forget! Thank you!
I lived in Oklahoma City for many years, and the same standards apply there. It’s a good thing, too, because with the kind of weather we had you never knew when you might be the one who needs help.
Tiffany – I’m not sure which part he was in. He did move around quite a bit over the 3 weeks though and it was the same in every area he went.
I got tingles reading this. I’m from Texas (duh, look at my blog site) and I love this great state. I haven’t lived here forever but this state will always be “home”. Way to go Texas!!!
What a very good article! This puts a smile on my face 🙂 Its always good to hear that fellow americans are helping each other out. The courageous fire fighers, and the US military deserve the best!
I am a new reader and like what i see. I am hooked already 🙂
I am from Texas, and my best friend actually dispatches firefighters in Texas. She and I were discussing this and actually were surprised that this was considered nice. I can honestly say we would never have considered NOT bringing food, supplies, etc to firefighters. Texans, at least from East Texas, would feel rude to not take care of the people helping us. So thanks for the shout out! I often forget that this type of hospitality is not a nationwide occurrence.