Previous page, Letters August to October, 2000

Sunday, July 30, 2000
Subject: A TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL
Our semi-professional theatre is about to present Horton Foote's A TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL. We wonder if such towns as Harrison, Cotton, Bountiful exist..or ever existed? The play begins in Houston in the early l950s and ends up in "Bountiful." - Sterling

Mr. Sterling, In answer to your question, There is not and never was a Bountiful, Texas. Neither was there a Harrison (although there is a Harrison County) or a Cotton (although there is a Cotton Center up in Hale County). Horton Foote resides in Wharton and since it is his hometown, most of his writings about Texas are a composite of Wharton, it's environs and neighboring towns. It's a device frequently used to avoid embarrassment, bad blood and lawsuits. Once in a great while someone will use a real name, but they're usually from out of state and have no stake here. The recent movie Happy, Texas comes to mind. Hope this was some help. Thanks for reading TE. - Editor

Saturday, July 29, 2000
Subject: The meaning of TEXAS
.... I was curious, do you by chance know what Texas means? I know the word is obviously Spanish..... Kinda one of those useless knowledge things you are interested in. Thanks again. Sincerely, Robby

Robby, I'm glad you like our magazine. It's full of interesting but useless knowledge. You might just be one of those curious people. The way I heard it, there are two versions of the name Texas. One is from the Spanish word for "roof." Since Texas when it was part of Mexico was on top of the map, it was referred to as the "roof " of Mexico. The modern spelling of roof is something like Techo, but there was a "J" in it somewhere along the line and it more closely resembled Tejas which was the spelling of the region on Spanish maps. The second is that it was an Caddo Indian word for friend "Taysha". This is the word the Spanish were greeted with when they met the Indians and it was attributed to the land where the Indians lived. This is why Texas is called "The Friendship State" or The Friendly State. Who knows? Here's something to think about - There is one word that is known in every country, in every language and no one knows where it came from. It also begins with a "T."
Taxi.... - Editor

Tuesday, July 25, 2000
Subject : Here's a riddle for your readers
If it takes a hen and a half, a day and a half to lay an egg and a half; how long would it take a one-legged fire ant to kick all the seeds out of a medium sized Pecos cantaloupe? Warm (what else in Texas in July?) regards, Yours truly
(aka Rick Vanderpool)

Saturday, July 22, 2000
Subject : "Texas" Restaurants everywhere
In all of my travels with the USAF I've found restaurants claiming to be "Texan" and they usually turn out to be a disappointment. In Ohio they've got them and I could never get used to walking into their establishments and the waiter greeting me with a yankee accent. I just had a delicious chicken fried steak back home in Kingsville and to date the very best Mexican food I've ever eaten was at the stockyards in Alice. Be proud and stand tall, have you ever noticed that you can go other places and see "Texas" restaurants but when was the last time you saw an "Ohio" food restaurant in Texas. Chad

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Tuesday, July 18, 2000
Subject : Hale Center Murals
Are you familiar with the beautiful murals that have sprung up painted by some of the more talented "artists" or local citizens in Hale Center, Hale Co., TX. They had a web site but can't seem to locate it. Please help me find it. Thanks. Hyde (former Cotton Center and Hale Center native.)

Webmaster's note : See Hale Center

Monday, July 17, 2000
Subject : Best laugh-out-loud site
How do you do it? This is the best laugh-out-loud site I read! I am sure all my co-workers think I am reading a joke book or the comics. You always have the freshest, quirky, light-hearted look at everything. - The gruntled state employee, Joan K.

Webmaster's note : See Gruntled

Monday, July 17, 2000
Subject : Native Texan and West Texas Snakes
Just found your site. I Like it. As a native Texan, I like reading anything Texas. I'm sure yall have a terrible job having to go explore and learn all about our beloved country. I added your link to my web page. Thanks, Jason P. http://www.sbint.net/jason

Friday, July 14, 2000
Subject : Fiedler on the Reef
What if Arthur F. and the Boston Pops had played all the most explosive tunes in his repertoire on the former a-bomb test site, Bikini Atoll? Would they have dubbed the performance Fiedler on the Reef? And since he never did, has someone noted, for posterity that he played no Bikini Atoll? - Rick Vanderpool

Sunday, July 09, 2000
Subject : Smiley, Texas
I do enjoy reading you web... Why isn't something in it about my home town, Smiley? It once had a big billboard touting it as the "Broiler Capital of the World". I believe that was due to over 3 million chickens shipped from there during WW II.... Royce B

Sunday, July 09, 2000
Subject : We may only be half as funny as we think we are, but we're still twice as funny as your brother-in-law.
Actually, my brother-in-law is a pretty funny guy, but I really enjoyed your site and humor, too. Thanks. - Rebecca S

Tuesday, July 04, 2000
Subject : 2. Mexico is part of North America.
Well, that's true, but they still call us U.S. folks "Norteamericanos". Matter of fact, I had a pleasant young college student in Mexico City give me a good lecture about the problem of the Norteamericano influence on their culture. - Aussie M

Tuesday, July 04, 2000
Subject : cool site
I enjoyed the hell out of your whole site. I'm trying to think of the best way to say "Go look at this cool site" to my readers at Houston.About.Com. I found you via a Google search for some small town thing - can't recall now. The Double Hanging in Bellville tempted me to go off on a highly enjoyable tangent.
- Aussie M

Monday, July 03, 2000
Subject : Sheriff Fenton
The feature on Sheriff Fenton is great! ...We've been sending this site to everyone! Everyone thinks it's wonderful! ... - Lisa Fenton

July 02, 2000
Located in North East Texas, Naples is a small town offering a unique festival. The Watermelon Festival and Rodeo is an annual event that occurs during the last weekend of July. The rodeo runs from Thursday night through Saturday night with a large street dance after the rodeo on Saturday. The Watermelon Festival begins with a "fun run" early on Saturday but really kicks off with a 10:00am parade. Napels hosts arts and craft vendors, barbeque and holds fun contests for all ages. It is a FAMILY EVENT. The best part of the Watermelon Festival is at 1:00pm... FREE ICE COLD WATERMELON IS SERVED TO THE PUBLIC !!! There is plent of watermelon because we haul in a refrigerated semi-trailer full. Hope to see you there !! - K Rushing

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