Texas, My Texas : Musings of the Rambling Boy

by Taylor, Lonn

• ISBN13: 9780875654348
• ISBN10: 0875654347
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-03-23
• Publisher: Texas A & M Univ Pr

Summary

In a collection of essays about Texas gathered from his West Texas newspaper column, Lonn Taylor traverses the very best of Texas geography, Texas history, and Texas personalities. In a state so famous for its pride, Taylor manages to write a very honest, witty, and wise book about Texas past and Texas present. Texas, My Texas: Musings of the Rambling Boyis a story of legacies, of men and women, times, and places that have made this state what it is today. From a history of Taylor's hometown, Fort Davis, to stories about the first man wounded in the Texas Revolution, (who was an African American), to accounts of outlaw Sam Bass and an explanation of Hill Country Christmases, Taylor has searched every corner of the state for untold histories.Taylor's background as a former curator at the Smithsonian National Museum becomes apparent in his attention to detail: Roosevelt's Rough Riders, artists, architects, criminals, the founder of Neiman Marcus, and the famous horned frog "Old Rip" all make appearances as quintessential Texans. Lonn Taylor's unique narrative voice is personal. As he points out in the foreword, it is the stories of Texans themselves, of their grit and eccentricities, that have "brought the past into the present . . . the two seem to me to be bound together by stories." Peoplereal Texansare the focus of the essays, making Texas, My Texasa rite of passage for anyone who claims Texan heritage. There are just a few things every good Texan "knows," like the fact that it is illegal to pick bluebonnets along the highway, or that the Menger Hotel bar is modeled after the one in the House of Lords in London. Taylor points out with his usual wit that it is not, in fact, illegal to pick any of the six varieties of bluebonnets that grow throughout our state, and that few Texans would know that the bar is modeled after the one in the House of Lords, as few Texans are Lords. These are just a few examples of Taylor's knowledge of Texas and his passion for its citizens.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. XI
Introduction	p. XIII
Texas Past
Fort Davis: Plaza or Square?	p. 3
Los Ciboleros in the Panhandle	p. 7
The Paynes, Black Seminole Cowboys	p. 10
"An Unfortunate Admixture of African Blood"	p. 13
Heat, Dust, and Boredom	p. 16
The Epic of Henry O. Flipper	p. 20
Charlie Siringo and the Pinkertons	p. 24
Noah Smithwick, Blacksmith and Memoirist	p. 27
Teddy Roosevelt in Texas	p. 30
The Liar's Skill	p. 34
Sam Bass Was Born in Indiana	p. 38
Muy Grande Rifles	p. 42
The Texas Signers	p. 46
The Villain of San Jacinto	p. 50
Ferdinand Lindheimer, Frontier Journalist	p. 54
Real Cowboys Don't Have Time to Sing	p. 58
Roy W. Aldrich, the Erudite Ranger	p. 62
Wigfall Van Sickle, the Sage of Alpine	p. 65
The Mexican Revolution in Texas	p. 68
How Leighton Knipe Left His Mark on Marfa	p. 71
The Dead Man's Springs	p. 74
Jack Hoxie and Hollywood in Fort Davis	p. 78
Stanley Marcus, Civilized Texan	p. 82
Texas Family
Family Sagas	p. 87
My Grandmother Taylor	p. 90
Uncle Will	p. 94
Aunt Bessie	p. 98
My Dead Grandfather	p. 102
Texas Present
Fort Worth Bars	p. 109
Beatniks on Camp Bowie Boulevard	p. 112
Willow Way	p. 116
Joe Frantz, Raconteur	p. 119
The San Antonio River Walk	p. 122
Texas-German Christmases	p. 125
Bill Dodson, Candelillero	p. 128
Luis Jiménez, Artist in Fiberglass	p. 131
Desert Rain	p. 134
Forty-Two	p. 137
King William Street	p. 140
Tigie Lancaster's Mules	p. 144
The Seven Timmermann Sisters	p. 147
Czechs and Polkas	p. 151
Fayette County Fourth of July	p. 155
Billy D. Peiser, El Indio	p. 159
The Paisano	p. 162
Rube Evans and Polo	p. 166
Bear Cages and Santafees	p. 170
Two Jumps and Old Folks	p. 174
Horny Toads	p. 178
They Didn't Take Paper Money During the Revolution	p. 182
"Texas, Our Texas" and Other State Symbols	p. 186
Too Many Bluebonnets	p. 190
Our Town	p. 194
About the Author	p. 199
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