Neverminding

In a week we’ll be headed south for the sanctity capital of America. At least that’s how it will feel when we cross from Oklahoma into Texas until arriving in Dallas and it’s surprisingly normal metropolitan environs. After spending six days there last week, I did notice a few things, though:

1. Stereotypes
   • Christianity
     • HUGE sections in used books stores tempered with a paltry selection of philosophy and a single shelf of atheism.
     • One store even had quite a sizable collection of books solely refuting Evolution and other non-biblical theories of well, everything.
     • First two channels on the hotel TV were: Billy Graham Classics and WETN
   • Disappointing lack of cowboys (to make fun of).
   • No large groups of Constitution-trampling Mexicans running under foot.
   • The “dry” heat really isn’t as bad as East Coast swamp ass heat. You can still walk around and do stuff without dying.
2. Billboards
   • Multiple advertisements for gastric sleeve/bariatric surgery. I guess that’s what you get in the state that invented the “supersize”.
   • Many billboards completely in Spanish. I’m not one of those “Press 2” people, so I think it was really neat and challenging to my seriously lacking Spanish skills..
3. South of I-30
   • Almost every white person gasped when we told them where we chose to rent. It seems that “South of I-30” is the not-so-covert term for “that’s where the non-white people live”.
   • In fact, even the table of cops we asked at a cozy Starbucks in Knox-Henderson (a very, very white neighborhood) told us we were crazy because “they have murders every other week and lots o’blacks!”. Admittedly, the areas around us are dicey, but Parkdale/Lawnview has one of the lowest crime rates in the entire Dallas/Fort Worth petro-complex. I like to refer to it as a diamond in the really-rough.

Overall, I’m excited to explore a lot more. Dallas is one of those cities that offers just as much interesting stuff in the suburbs as it does in the metro area. And there’s always Waco and those whacky Branch Davidians to go see…