My First Tale from the West Texas Dust

Howdy to ya'll! It's nice to be back in the game after a long absence from the journalistic profession. I've had a desire for a long time to vent my frustrations on the world at large and give appropriate opinions and comments in a format that resembles a continuous op-ed column in your local newspaper. I've had the privilege of working with a couple of media-related enterprises within my short span of about 30 years on this earth within the general vicinity of where I live--but I never thought that an opportunity like this would come. Until now. Whoever invented the Internet and the "information superhighway" is definitely owed a massive, unrepayable debt of gratitude from this poor boy.

I might as well get right to the point--why would I decide to let you, the reader, read whatever soliloquies I might offer on the Lone Star State in the first place? What rationale do I have in putting my writing talents to use for this organization called Suite 101? Simple. The more you read about us, the more you'll find that Texas has a special character that the whole world is more or less acquainted with by now. (We were the only state in the Union, after all, that actually decided to become our own nation before we had the bright idea to join the U.S.) But whether it be the current state of high school football or the aftermath of the Oprah trial in Amarillo or prison ministry in our state jails or the influence of teachers of Jewish customs on Texas evangelicals, you will find that Texas is a state where myths can be both reaffirmed and also broken and shattered before your eyes--and things might not always be what they seem. History? We have all kinds. Religion? It's happening here. A diverse range of political thought? Don't sweat it--we got what you need right here. Sense of belonging? Most of all, that is what you'll find. It seems that once you're a Texan, you'll always stay one whether or not you like it (and if you're a Yankee, you will be eventually be forced to assimilate to our cultural standards anyway to become a transplated one).

When I thought about a topic category to write, I had trouble deciding just which one I could do since I have so many interests. But then the brainstorm hit me. Why limit myself on just one topic? I can do so many things with Texas alone that maybe running out of topics to write on would be the least of my problems. So therefore, brave reader, my advice is this--expect the unexpected. You may find special interviews with special people on some interesting topic or read about my own grousing about certain current events (whether inside Texas or without) from the "enlightened" perspective of a young man who used to live three blocks from a cotton gin (who was, by the way, allergic to gin smoke and absolutely detested the start of ginning season). You may find hints of Linda Ellerbee or stories like Bob Phillips and Charles Kuralt or commentaries like Rush might say on his radio show. Even if at first there seems to be at first some sort of duplication with another Suite 101 category, don't let first impressions fool you. I know for sure that there will something different about each piece that I write about that you can at least take something from and maybe uplift your spirits a bit as you go on your life's journey.

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