How I almost became a Texan
Ijust wasted over an hour of my life, and on top of that it was one of the most stressful hours, I have ever spent. Well, of course, if you live in Dallas and aren’t bedridden, you waste that hour and several more every day. Yes, it was a foray down Central “Expressway” (wow what a bad descriptive name) from around North Park Mall to downtown. No, it wasn’t during rush hour, but maybe was, since rush hour now starts at 6A.M. and ends at some time after 8P.M. that night. If you don’t believe me try a little midday driving, and join in the crowd trying to get around on interior freeways that can’t be expanded any more without major renovations and disruptions. The next day I talked with a commuter who told me 18 months ago it took him 50 minutes for a one way commute and now it’s up to an hour and a half if there isn’t a fender bender on the freeway. I was driving at 3 in the afternoon easing past a 70 MPH speed limit sign chugging along at 15 MPH, and I actually smiled, and then of course trying to exit, which meant, if you were going to turn right after the exit, crossing two packed lanes of bumper to bumper traffic on the access road. I’ve driven in Mexico City, New York, Paris, and Benghazi, Libya so I know you won’t ever find an opening big enough to actually just ease across two lanes of solid traffic, so you just slowly drift into the lanes you want to cross, and when you get a ten inch gap, get your right fender-bumper just ahead of the car in the lane to your right and just slowly ease into the lane, while you give the other car a thumbs up and ignore the middle finger salute.
Now, I know you think, since most older Arkansawyers have a built-in dislike of anything Texas from the old SWC days, you’re sure that’s just Richard trashing Texas, but you would be wrong. Actually, I love a lot of what makes up the State we call Texas. And yes, it is, as their advertising touts,” A whole ‘nother country.”
When I graduated from the University, I headed straight for Houston with a Master’s Degree in Geology, to look for a job. The oil business was in a really bad slump, however, by getting off of the elevator on the wrong floor (that’s a whole ‘nother story) I got a job with Exxon working out of Kingsville, Texas as a production geologist. I went to work every day on the famous King Ranch, evaluating wells being drilled. That put Vertis and me in touch with places such as Hubert’s Danceland and Earnest Tubb and the Texas Truberdores in Ricardo, Texas, the Kings Inn, one of the best restaurants in the world at Rivera Beach and (That’s not just me mouthing off), the King Ranch’s Santa Gertrudis Bull Auctions, trips to Laredo, Brownsville, and of course all of Mexico’s border towns.
We spent the next twelve years in Texas, with a two-year break for a foreign assignment in Benghazi, Libya, and then back to Corpus Christi where we adopted two native Texans, our children, Lara and Ashley. You can tell we were more sophisticated from being worldwide travelers, since we named our kids after movie personalities, in Dr. Zivago and Gone With the Wind.
We made some great friends, enjoyed the Gulf and its fresh seafood right off the boat, were part of a dynamic church, and road out a couple of hurricanes. Celia, the toughest of the bunch, destroyed a third of the houses in Portland, a bedroom community of Corpus where we lived, and we and the other Texans (Yes, I was getting close to becoming a Texan.) worked shoulder to shoulder to rebuild.
A couple of years later, I decided to get into politics by running for state representative against a 20 year incumbent, who was a deacon in our church, and said he had heard Jesus speak audibly to him on a dark road in Karnes County. As you probably know “Jesus” is a very popular name in the Hispanic Community. I never did ask him if Jesus was speaking in Spanish. We were both Democrats, and I was running with anti-corruption coalition against Gus Mutcher, Speaker of the Texas House, who just happened to be married at the time to former Miss America, Donna Axum. My mother was Donna’s chaperone to the Miss America contest. Yes, that made for a tense church situation, and a steely-eyed mother who told me she had prayed that none of her children would ever get into politics.
Wow, after a hectic, six month campaign, over most of three large counties, where I was endorsed by numerous organizations, including all the Latino communities, at midnight on election night, I told my supporters one box was out, but they wouldn’t post their results until the next morning. If we carried the box, I would win. I did but instead of 6 to 1 as I had received in other Hispanic majority towns I only received a 2 to 1 majority. Out of +40,000 votes cast, I lost by 122 votes. However, that experience gave me contacts, insight, and friends that are still one of my most treasured memories.
Yes, Texas, holds a special place for Vertis and I for all the noted reasons, which we will never forget. After that near election win my supporters wanted me to run for a state senate seat that had just come open, but we wanted to build our dream house, and our architect had just finished the plans. It was a 4500 square foot house, and get this, it was to be built on piers out over Corpus Christi Bay. We had brought a lot on the bay a few years back. What was I thinking? Our architect put it out for bids and a few weeks later he came back with the low bid. He was excited. “I have a bid for $225,000. It is a great bid, and I recommend you take it.” Of course, I was about to accept the bid, but then I began to have second thoughts. The night before we were scheduled to either reject or accept the bid, I commented to Vertis, “If we build this house, we’ll never go home. Is that what you want to do?” She hesitated a few minutes, and then she just said, “No.” exactly what had been going through my mind for months.
It was the hardest thing we have ever done, since we left everything we had worked so hard to achieve, dozens of friends, a great church, a working environment that had been unbelievable. All to return home. We have never regretted the move, but we have always loved that special time and all those wonderful people called Texans.
Of course, while we lived in Texas, we took in several Texas vs Arkansas games in Austin, and I sure remember those, …. especially the ones Arkansas won.
Richard H. Mason of El Dorado is a syndicated columnist and author and former president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation and the state Pollution Control & Ecology Commission. He may be reached by email at richard@ gibraltarenergy.com.