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Southern Pride
Texans have historical connections to many parts of the United States,
and to much of the world. One of the strongest cultural bonds for some
parts of Texas is with the American South.
I grew up in Alvin, a
small agricultural community south of Houston, and in the 1950s and
1960s we still had a very strong sense of our shared past with
Southerners. History was often used to emphasize points our parents
made, and the stories frequently involved Robert E. Lee or "Stonewall"
Jackson.
A story my father told about his service in the Army,
though, made more of an impression on me. In 1956 he was stationed in
West Virginia, a part of the country that had not sided with the
Confederacy. Nonetheless, he and my mother enjoyed getting to know many
of the people there. Mother was pregnant with my younger brother and
when her due date approached, my father went to see the base commander
and requested a short leave in order to take his wife home to Alvin. The
commander readily agreed, but assured my father that the base had
perfectly fine medical facilities. When the young soldier insisted on
taking his wife home to Texas, the base commander asked for a reason. My
father answered: "With all due respect, sir, no son of mine will be born
in a Yankee state."
Apparently, my father's commander didn't
hold the answer against him, because my brother was born in Texas. Such
feelings may seem foolish or even improper now, but they helped me
understand the depth of my father's commitment to his Southern heritage
more than all the stories of generals ever did.
Doug Barnett
Austin, Texas
Published:
November 14,
2005
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