It’s usually one of those events you plan your whole year around.
The annual meeting of the Texas State Historical Association is serious business. There are scholars from across the state – meeting and greeting, lecturing and informing, sharing the tidbits of information that serious students of Texas history crave.
There will be classes, full of eager students of all ages. Classes that, perhaps, would not be of general interest.
But to history nerds and people who love the state of Texas, it will be like heaven!
My friend Lucy Fagan called me just last week. The meeting will take place in less than two weeks, and she wanted to know if I would be interested in attending. Seriously? Of course I would! I am busy these days working on my next book, which will be all about what transpired in Texas during the days of its birth as an independent country. There is no way I could possibly pass up the opportunity to learn more from some of the greatest historical minds found in that state!
And so, the planning started. Our reservations are made. All that’s left to do now is to patiently wait for the time of our departure to get here. We have great plans, Lucy and I. We will utilize the drive time there to learn more about each other, and the return trip will be used to discuss what we learned while in attendance.
“Going to Texas” was a phrase often used in the United States during the early part of the 1800’s. It signified a state of mind – a desire for a new life with boundless opportunities. It echoed throughout the small villages, towns and cities, and through the farmlands and forests in every state of the union. And now, I can understand the tug of those three words. I, like many before me, will leave this note – Going to Texas! I’ll catch up with you when I get back!