How to get along with Texans (idea)

Exqueeze me? Unless a node saying how to get along with the natives of every state and country in the world is added, what's the point? You get along with texans the same way you get along with anybody. By being a decent and civil human being Nothing more, nothing less. Texans are people too.

And then there's this assumption that all of Texas has the same culture, too. Nuhuh, my friends, just like any other large bit of land, it's different strokes for different folks. Some of us may talk, walk (or swagger as the case may be) big, but some of us are quiet, softspoken, and more prone to trip over our own feel than swagger. And I do say "us" because i'm a texan, born and bred, for nearly 20 years. But seriously, if you're in Houston, a commerce and technology capital, it acts just like any other large city in the 'states, and most people joke that it's not even really "texas". If you're in Dallas or Austin, which by and large embrace their cowboy heritage to the point of forcing it into culture, you run into yet another crowd of people. Good old San An is a quieter city, steeped in its own history and blood and memories. Then there's the hillcountry. Or the coast with its influx of college students running amok on spring break. Some texans are damn proud of it, native or not. Some natives wish they'd been born anywhere but there. Some folks live there only because that's where their job, or the military, sent them. And then again there are huge pockets of almost any ethnic group you can imagine in various places around the state with their own internal, non-"texan" cultures. The simple answer to "texas culture" is that there IS no texas culture. Only groups of people, all different save the flag on their license plates and the area codes of their phones.

Greet strangers in whatever way you naturally greet strangers, greet friends however you greet friends. Throw "rules" out the window, be yourself. And please take a word of advice, a six pack in the fridge and a bag of pork rinds does not a good host make. A good host is someone who provides a friendly environment and good company, no matter if it's a ritzy downtown gala or watermelon and lemonade in the backyard. Just be human. Generalizations get none of us anywhere.