The Sweet Smell of Victory, Texas heads to the left Coast

The Rockets advance to the next round of the NBA Playoffs and I am loving it. This is an awesome welcoming gift as we return back to Houston. My family and I just arrived in April and to see the Rockets win and advance to the next round is just too amazing. They were not expected to go beyond the first game, but that’s what happens when you are depending on the expectations of others to carry you through. Just like Texas, always doing the unexpected. I first lived in Houston from 1983 to 1989 and it has always been the city that I have loved. After moving from Houston in 1989, we moved to El Paso, another great city. Then after finishing my degree at UTEP, go miners, we moved to the Seattle area. Well it’s nothing like Texas in the Northwest. All of its glistening bodies of waters, majestic Mountain ranges, and outdoor beauty could not replace the love I received in Texas. As a sports fan, I would cheer for the Sonics only when they did not play the Rockets.

There was a time when I never thought we would move back to the south, but I guess I was just destined to be a Texan. But as the Rockets head to the left coast to play the Los Angeles Lakers, I thought about the stalk difference these two states represent about the ideologies of America. The conservative Texans meet the liberal Californians. Well not so fast, California just defeated same-sex marriage, and Ms. California in no way appeared as a poster child for liberalism. Could it be that California is seeing the cost of liberalism and its destructive policies, of political correctness, high taxes, catastrophic real estate conditions, a deteriorating public school system and continuous problems with crimes caused by illegal immigrants? These two powerhouses may become more and more alike as Californians rid themselves of liberalism.

Hollywood and San Francisco are the two strongholds of liberalism in the state and it appears that their influence is becoming more and more disdained as the citizens of California become more and more politically engaged. I am hoping that a Rocket’s win in California would also mean a win for conservatism in the state as the Staple Center gets a whiff of Texas independence at its finest. It’s what makes Texas so different than any other state. To me, Texas reminds me of what America use to be like, when Americans embraced a love for God, for family and for country. When we appreciated and held proud the joys of being a free and independent people. I know that Texas is not a liberal free state, although I really wish that it was, but the one thing that I love about being here is that I am free to love being a Christian. When I visit different places there is Christian music playing, the people talk openly about God. I was at the bank today, getting some business done and there was this man joking about it being the end of the world. I asked him if he was prepared if it was the end. He replied, “I got Jesus, and that’s all I need”. Yes, music to my ears.

When we went to transfer our vehicle information from Washington to Texas there was a clerk that had a banner relating to prayer. She displayed it proudly where everyone can see it and you know what, I did not hear anyone standing in the extremely long line say one thing about it. Even the television commercials have businesses proudly hailing their Christian faith. It’s just amazing. I look forward to seeing the fans of Texas leave some of their American pride in California, as they take them to the hoop. I am looking for a seven game series with the Lakers where Houston will upset Coby and his highly overrated teammates and go on to win the NBA Championship title. More than that I am looking to the day that California learns from Texas and once again become a state that represents the good principles of the nation that it represents. I credit this to the political leadership of the state, for as the leadership goes, there also goes the character of those they lead. Just as the Rockets overcame a challenge they were not expect to overcome, California can do the same. Go Rockets. NBA 2009 Champions.