Polite

Venturing through the shops around the bay area in San Diego, I enjoyed visiting with some of the people. In particular, buying something small often opens up conversations with cashiers and employees of the store. Using certain ice-breaking techniques such as "this is a very nice store" or "how is business these days" or "you can't get this where I live" usually results in a conversation of some kind or another. One of my favorite questions I like to ask is "Where do you think I am from?" One person said Boston and another person said Seattle, but most of them said Texas.

I am a Texan through and through having lived here most of my life. Yes, it's true I was born in California but both parents were from Texas and we moved to Texas soon after my 5th birthday. But it did surprise me that people in San Diego labeled me a Texan so quickly. After all, I do not wear boots or a Cowboy hat and I work hard to avoid a Texas drawl (although I suspect it is still present at times). So after one young lady said "Texas," I asked her how she knew. She said I was polite and friendly!

Okay, guilty and proud of it! I don't mind being labeled a Texan if it is due to these qualities. But the truth is that I am not always polite and friendly. In fact, I wonder if I am more polite outside the state than in my own hometown! That would be rather sad if it were true. But because the young lady in San Diego said I was polite and friendly, I have decided to become what she in fact said, a polite and friendly Texan! Certainly there are worse things to be.

Tomorrow I practice what someone told me I am. I will hold the door for people, allow others to go ahead of me, use correct table manners, avoid interrupting, smile often, and reach out to people around me. It all sounds like a tall order but necessary if I am going to reach my potential as a true Texan!