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.
