Tiny Bubbles.

Hawaiian crooner Don Ho died this weekend, and in NPR’s salute to him, they mentioned that he called Hawaii “his partner.” That’s no veiled reference to his status as a Confirmed Bachelor (Mr. Ho had multiple wives and TEN children!); he just really loved Hawaii, completely and passionately and faithfully.

I know how he feels…some of us are lucky in love; some of us aren't. As one of the Have-Nots in the romance department, I can honestly say that TEXAS is the love of my life.

Reasons to love Texas? Way too numerous to list. (I’m not kidding. Where would you begin? Seriously! Where could you even begin?)

Just trying to think of where to start, my brain is *overwhelmed* with SMELLS and VISIONS and TASTES and MEMORIES--Harold’s, the Alamo, ACU, Nanny’s courtyard on Lake Travis, Yummy’s in Denton, Padre Island, Doggie Splash Day, Cactus Books in San Angelo, canoeing with Bethany on Town Lake, WurstFest, inner tubing (and getting the worst sunburn of my life!) on the Blanco River, Eeyore’s birthday, the O. Henry House (and hearing William Sydney Porter's RECORDED VOICE in the Austin Library), Whataburger, Six Flags (the only real Six Flags, btw, in the *only state* that actually flew those six flags), Luby’s, the creepy slow-action movie in The Modern (which opened to the public on my birthday in 2002), chigger bites, the River Walk, the deer of Lago Vista, Dr. Pepper, bluebonnets…ARGH!…brain overload!!!!!!

If researchers would watch a Texan’s brain scan when she thinks about the state she loves, the screen would be a cephalic kaleidoscope of color and frantic mental activity.

Narrowing down my favorite Texan cities is pretty easy: Abilene, Austin, and Fort Worth. (Fort Worth is one of Texas’ best-kept secrets. I always joke with Karen and Falisha that a person could go from cradle to grave on Camp Bowie & Hulen streets and never miss a thing in life except for the joy of travel.)

The museums of Fort Worth are so cool, and I’ve loved the Omni ever since Linda (college roomie & previously mentioned “Imaginary Friend”) and I *crawled* our way up the stairs to see _Behold Hawaii_ during Spring Break of 1985. These days, I can go up the stairs and find my seat without having to grip the banister or climb the stairs on all fours, but it’s SO disorienting on your first visit. (And we *may* have had a margarita or two before the movie…it was Spring Break, after all.) :-)

P.S. All this being said, when my alarm went off at 4:40 this morning, I was dreaming of Plymouth. Our car was driving down Main Street, getting ready to make the turn up Highland Street, to our house two doors down from the Rounds Hall clock tower...