Mine is a life lived almost entirely in Texas.  As a fourth or fifth generation Texan (depending on how you calculate such matters), I am at least somewhat qualified to speak about this great and perplexing state.  Great in many ways and frequently perplexing in its attitudes and self-absorption.  So why not contribute to that greater confusion with my own perspective of life in a state that saw its beginnings in violent struggle, vainglorious defeat and curious victory.