I just spent three days in the Texas Panhandle (Amarillo/Canyon) for a friend’s Celebration of Life. I moved to Canyon in August 2001 to start a Master’s degree and stayed for eight years, working on a career as a lifetime student…

I have now lived in Nebraska for over four years, and don’t get back to Texas often. But this weekend I remembered things unique to Texas that I had forgotten about or placed in the back of my mind.

My top 10 list of things I once knew about Texas:
1. Sweet tea and/or Dr. Pepper are the unofficial state drinks.
2. Texas pride is everywhere; whether it is the state flag, huge lone star decor, the text of “Texas”, or any combination of those three things.
3. Big hair, bright make-up, and big jewelry are normal and expected!
4. The wind blows… A LOT! Not an exaggeration, last night we received weather warnings of a terrible dust storm (it was sandblast quality).
5. Access roads are awesome! I had never been introduced to these until I moved to Texas, but since they run parallel to Interstates it makes them great for local travel and exercise opportunities.
6. Texans can dance! I don’t mean twerking, I am talking about swing, two-step, etc.
7. Smoking is still allowed in most cities and in most bars…
8. Steak is common and fairly inexpensive. On most menus this weekend it was just $2-3 more than a chicken entree!
9. There are not many trees or windbreaks; which is nice for the views that extend for miles.
10. Honey, sweetie, and ma’am are common terms of acknowdgement/respect.

While Texans have larger than life personalities, they are also fun, generous, and caring people.

What are things you once may have known about Texas but forgot over the years?