I’ve been a citizen of the Republic of Texas for 26 years. You’ve given me a degree, 4 children, a divorce, a marriage, three houses, and a career. I’ve lived in two of your great cities, two of the greatest cities in the country, and you helped me believe in… well, everything. Love after loss, new beginnings after total failure, friendship after abandonment, art and poetry after emptiness, and myself after loneliness. Texas, you are the best of this country and at times the worst. You are cities I want to stay in forever, and towns I flee before sunset. You are dirty pebble beaches and oil fields, cool swimming ponds and playgrounds built over highways. 828 miles, shoulder to shoulder, El Paso to Beaumont and 686 miles tip to tail, from Amarillo to Laredo. These are mere numbers on a map until they are bloody eyes and aching shoulders in a car full of screaming children. You are thin beer, fatty barbecue, and the most misguided love in profession sports. You have been my soul for over half my life. You’ve given me one of your daughters, and I’ve given you three of mine. Thank you for it all. I’ve loved these days. Hook ’em.