Generations of Texans - Happy Birthday!

Today, some 172 years ago, was born a proud, unique and independent nation on the North American continent. Diversity was its trademark. Vastness was its reputation. A door to the western frontiers was opened for the USA making it have a great impact on the entire world. As a nation, it subsequently earned the right when voted into statehood, to fly its flag alongside of the USA flag. There is no other state that has such a profound privilege.

Texas became the state of the cowboy, with prairies having such a huge expanse of sky that the horizon appears to have no end. Texans are Texans if they live here and will pledge allegiance to the flag of Texas. If they do not pledge that allegiance, they are simply visitors. If born in Texas and living outside of Texas, they have not abandoned their state. They will return. Like John Steinbeck said, "A Texan outside of Texas is a foreigner,". Who wants to be a foreigner? We do return to our native place, even if we leave it for work. Yup, we are a different people. We talk difrant; we eat difrant; we luv difrant; we live difrant. We eat Haumburgers, not hamburgers. We proudly deliver our words with a drawl. We eat Barbecue from our ranch heritage. Our state food is called "Mexican Food" but it isn't really Mexican. It is TexMex, derived from ancestral Indians, Tejanos and Anglo Americans. It is a Tejano food, or "Texan" as the name implies (Tejas was the original name of Texas).

What other state defended their country like our Texans did? A lad from South Carolina fought to his death on March 6th at the Alamo to make the Mexicans pay the price for their ethnic cleansing of our state. He killed as many Mexican soldiers as he could to weaken their confidence of eliminating the national pride of Texas. Where would we be without the determination and sacrifice of William B Travis and Stephen F Austin? From that time forward, we Texans have cried "Remember the Alamo". That has great significance to a Texan! The slaughter of 417 Texans (as recorded by the Mexicans) by Santa Ana's troops on March 17th raised the cry for Goliad also. Side-by-side, Tejanos and gringos alike, fought for their rights to live here and determine their own destiny. The Mexicans enraged the Texans at the massacre near Goliad; the Mexicans failed to honor a written agreement of truce by murdering those 417 brave Texans who surrendered to an army six times their size. Col Fannin did not ever manage to join up with Sam Houston as he dies there, but was instrumental in bringing to light a cause and a determination to fight the Mexicans to the bitter end. That generated a fierceness in the troops of Sam Houston that certainly made headlines on April 21st when the Texas yelled out in an attack on Santa Ana at 3:30PM, "Remember La Bahia" and "Remember the Alamo". Vengeance is mine, proclaimed those warriors. They took them in 20 minutes and killed 630 soldiers and captured 700 in the process.

So today we remember our nation now state, and fly our flag proudly. Texans we are. Texans, we stand. We are, not we were.

Remember the Alamo! Now you see why we fly the Lone Star flag. Happy birthday Tejas!!!

Why live in The Woodlands Texas?

Every once in a while we have to ask ourselves, "Why in the world do I live here, instead of some exotic place in the world?". Well, maybe we don't normally ask about exotic places, but at least we do have choices locally.

I have lived here or called this home most of my life. Near the coast and in the forest, The Woodlands is what I call "home". It is north of Houston, not in Houston! I still consider Galveston reasonably close for a day trip. I also have easy access to Freeport and other coastal communities where there are plenty of birds and a number of bird sanctuaries. Although the ocean water is warm in the summer, the seashore provides many neat things to do whether it be fishing, crabbing, boating, sailing, bathing, etc. It is all there, from bike rentals to shopping to about anything you can do on and near the water. That barely touches what I like about this area.

Here I like the weather. Coastal weather is humid, but that is not too much of a reason to say it is horrible in this part of the country, like some people do. Up here some 60+ miles from the coast, the ecology, weather and just about everything totally changes. It is hot at "high noon" but normally mild in the evenings. We go outside in the evenings to enjoy the outdoors even on very hot days. There are some days which we prefer to be inside, especially when we have mosquitoes and high humidity, but we learn to deal with that. In the winter, we can have a week of 70 degree days. That has certainly been the case this year. Even cold days are not very cold, at least in recent years. One year that I recall vividly, we had a rare week of temperatures lower than freezing. You do get rain, wind and coldness when the climate goes south. It can be uncomfortable outside. So there are days we prefer to be inside.

We love these piney woods north of the big city. Just recently, I went to observe our Bald Eagles in a short sleeve shirt early one morning. Two days earlier, I went to watch migrating birds. Yesterday, I went to watch some deer in the evening. Our kids like to watch and play with the ducks on the pond. We have one of the best concert pavilions in the nation right here in The Woodlands, and we are making it bigger and better. There is simply no end to what we have available for recreation and dining.

Sometimes, we like to go to the big city. One member of my family likes to go to a Discotheque there sometimes. There is plenty of nightlife in Houston. We all like to go to the zoo or planetarium or museum in Herman Park. We like to go to an opera or a ballet or a concert. For bargain hunting, we sometimes go to the city. One of the best medical facilities in the world is found in the medical district of Houston.

I consider the Houston area to be the best place to live in the country, but of course it depends on what you really want. I want it all and believe I have it. I fish right here and have three big lakes nearby - Conroe, Livingston and Houston for skiing and water sports. I have a lake right here - Lake Woodlands for kayaking, canoeing, sail boating and fishing. Really, I cannot imagine anywhere on earth as good as it is here, and I have lived, worked and visited diverse places all over the world and the USA. We like to think of ourselves as a secret. I do not like to "sell" our secret place. I am afraid too many people will find it.

But then again, we don't have hardly any snow, nor do we have mountains. Remember that when you think about living here. It is a good reason not to come.

Car Watch Program : prevent auto theft and burglary - Living Advice in The Woodlands Texas

This program is actually a Texas program. It is sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation. The Sheriff department and other law enforcement agencies here cannot stop an automobile without due cause unless the owner provides those agencies with permission to stop the vehicle without cause. This particular provision of state law is to help law enforcement officials catch auto thieves. The Texas Auto Burglary & Theft Prevention Authority registers vehicles through a process known as H.E.A.T. to enable law enforcement officers to suspect the vehicle is stolen between the hours of 1AM and 5AM if the car is on the road during those hours. So if you do not regularly use your vehicle between those hours and wish your car to be more visible as a possible theft, you would use this service. 1-800-CAR-WATCH or register online at H.E.A.T. This process also enables cars to fall under suspicion at the Texas Mexico border, so don't be surprised if they stop you at the border and ask additional questions or proof of ownership if the related decal is displayed on your vehicle. That is a good thing to help protect your property! A quote from the the state website: "A car is stolen in Texas every five and a half minutes. More vehicles are stolen between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. than any other time." Montgomery County participates in state wide efforts to identify and catch car thieves. It is called the Montgomery County Auto Theft Task Force. There has been a big drop in reported stolen vehicles for Texas since 2001, indicating the program is working. Also, Texas has a 74% recovery rate for stolen vehicles compared to 63% nationally. Some cars are more prone to be stolen that others. Lately, the Acura has been one of the more desired vehicles by thieves. ALso to understand that as many as 25% of 4-wheel vehicles on the road in Mexico are stolen. Mexico allows vehicles to cross into their country without being checked. Almost every vehicle that has been stolen is identified as being stolen after crossing using border surveillance equipment by the law enforcement agencies. But that does not mean the car is recoverable. Leaving your keys in your car is a class "C" misdemeanor. You can be fined up to $500 for doing so. Insurance will not pay you for damages to your car if the keys are in it. It is also a felony to operate a car without the owners permission. Keep that in mind when you borrow someone else's car. The old saying, "three strikes and you are out" applies to this. Three felonies and you lose your privileges. A related program is sponsored by this state agency - HLT, or HIDE LOCK TAKE. This program particularly pertains to The Woodlands residents. This program requests that residents help law enforcement officials by hiding your things in the car, locking your the doors to your car, and taking your keys out of the car when you leave it. Burglaries are a constant threat and an auto0moible parked in a driveway of a home is a target for mischief and theft when these precautions are ignored. Other related advice is to not park too close to the auto in front of you. Think "I need space to get out if confronted by a thief or threatened by suspicious persons nearby." Give yourself the option to leave in a bug hurry if you need to do so. While we are at this, the Sheriff's department recommends that people in this county use steering wheel locks. They are a deterrent to thieves.

• Web Link to Texas Auto Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority
• H.E.A.T. Web link