Without a doubt, Texas County is a unique and wonderful chunk of real estate in the south-central Missouri Ozarks.
It’s a place where the past and present coexist, where right and wrong receive due recognition and where a significant percentage of people still have respect for longstanding morals and values.
It’s a place where:
A Mercedes Benz isn’t a status symbol, but a nice pickup truck is (whether it’s a Ford, Chevy or Dodge).
People enjoy going to the river – and so do dogs.
Everything and everyone must take deer hunting season into account.
Twice a year, there is about as much color in the forest as in most boxes of crayons.
Lots of people claim to dislike Walmart, but almost everyone shops there.
It’s not uncommon to catch big fish in small ponds.
It’s not uncommon to run across a very firm handshake.
You can often drive for more than 20 minutes and see fewer than five other vehicles on the road.
Most people aren’t swayed by the efforts of an agenda-driven mainstream media.
It’s possible to witness temperatures above 100 and well below zero in the same year.
The high temperature can be 75 one day, 52 the following day and 73 the next.
A lot of people enjoy hard work and are proud of what they do.
You can still find people who recall when the one-room schoolhouse got electricity, and the phone line was installed along their dirt road.
It’s usually OK to pay later if you forgot your wallet.
Many kids learn to operate large farm implements several years before they’re old enough to drive a car.
There could never be too much ammo.
Most people are friendly and cordial to newcomers but would just as soon have them leave their former ways behind and join in, rather than strive to “help things change for the better.”
Nobody cares how you “did it out west.”
What’s written in the Bible matters.
Demolition derbies almost always attract large crowds.
It’s not uncommon to get into a 20-minute conversation with a neighbor when you ask to borrow an egg or a half-cup of sugar.
A summertime fair highlighted by kids and livestock is the biggest annual event.
Guns are purchased for specific reasons, like shootin’ varmints or harvesting deer.
Whether the home team is good or not, high school football is a pretty big deal.
Many people are unfamiliar with the actors who win Emmy Awards each year, but they can name most of the characters on The Andy Griffith Show.
Many people are unfamiliar with the artists who win Grammy Awards each year, but they listen to the “classic country” radio station on a regular basis and can sing along with many of the songs.
Extremely good beer is brewed locally.
“Plant-based meat” will forever take a back seat to the real thing.
If someone says they’re “fixin’” to do something, there isn’t necessarily anything broken.
People consider themselves fortunate to be residents when they look at the state of the world and consider the alternatives (including me).