MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2024 - TEXAS 1

 MONDAY APRIL 29, 2024 

TEXAS EDITION

WEIRD TEXAS FACTS:

HERE ARE SOME WEIRD FACTS ABOUT TEXAS:

• The word "Texas" comes from the Caddo word for "friends".

• The state capitol building in Austin is taller than the U.S. Capitol.

• Texas has its own power grid that doesn't cross state lines and can be managed independently.

• The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history occurred in Texas in 1900, when a Category 4 Hurricane hit Galveston, killing more than 8,000 people.

• The frozen margarita machine was invented in Dallas.

• A site near Amarillo, Texas, holds more than 40% of the helium used annually in the US.

• It is illegal to milk someone else's cow.

• Vietnamese is Texas's third most spoken language, after English and Spanish.

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SO, HOW BIG IS TEXAS?

From El Paso to Texarkana, Texas - 812  miles

From El Paso to Los Angeles - 802 miles

It is shorter to go to Los Angeles from El Paso (and pass through New Mexico and Arizona) than it is to go to a city in the same state (Texas)

The highest point in Texas is Guadalupe Peak - northeast of El Peso. (I’ve been there and done some hiking, but not to the top)

Big Bend National Park is over seven hours driving from Austin and is a huge National Park (I’ve been there - very isolated)

Texas is the largest producer of cotton in the United States, accounting for about 40% of the country's cotton production. In 2023, Texas produced over $969 million worth of cotton.

State bird: The northern mockingbird, adopted in 1927

State flower: The bluebonnet, adopted in 1901

State tree: The pecan tree, adopted in 1919

State dog breed: The Blue Lacy

State insect: The monarch butterfly

State fish: The Guadalupe bass

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Okay, so we have to sing:

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS:

The stars at night
Are big and bright
Deep in the heart of Texas
The prairie sky Is wide and high
Deep in the heart of Texas

The sage in bloom
Is like perfume
Deep in the heart of Texas
Reminds me of The one I love
Deep in the heart of Texas

The coyotes wail
Along the trail
Deep in the heart of Texas
The rabbits rush Around the brush
Deep in the heart of Texas

(There are other verses)

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WRAP - UP

Tomorrow, we will finish off this Texas-sized salute (did you think we could do a Texas Salute in ONE DAY?)

Wednesday in the First of May - and it is May Day!!!  '

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

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Karen Anne White, (c), April 29, 2024