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Tyler Texas is My City

September 21st, 2010

One of my favorite quotes is by an anonymous Greek who said, “No man loves his city because it is great, but because it is his.” Similarly G.K. Chesterton once wrote “Men did not love Rome because she was great, she was great because they loved her.” These maxims were recently brought to mind by a conversation I had with a new friend of mine who just re-located to Tyler, from Austin. He was telling me of his love for the city he had just left, and while fond of his new surroundings, he admitted that the transition had been a little difficult. As we spoke I began to contemplate my own relationship with my hometown. What is it that keeps me coming back to Tyler? What are the aspects that despite the sometimes, frustrating inconveniences of relatively small town life, make Tyler, Texas my city? What aspects of our community life make Tylerites unique, and give us character?

When I was growing up, more than anything I wanted out of Tyler. I realize this sentiment is far from unusual for young people in almost any city. At my first opportunity I traveled around fairly extensively. I’d leave, come home, leave again and return. I’d take teaching positions at little private schools here and there, but whether I was in New Orleans or St. Paul, I would eventually feel the pull of my old hometown. So what is it about Tyler? I’m an Anglo- Catholic (meaning conservative Episcopalian), living in a city that is predominately Baptist. I find the smoking ban to be a restrictive fad, the dry county law a nuisance that actually creates more problems than it prevents, and I miss being able to pick up the phone and have nearly any kind of food I want delivered to my front door, when I don’t want to cook. On the other hand, I love local Texas Barbeque, fall football, and raising my son with traditional values, in a politically conservative community.

So in recent years I’m finding that I’m growing out of my youthful notions of what it means to be from Tyler. Instead I’m exploring new ones. I’m finding new things to revel in and love about my city, things like Brady’s Coffee Shop, Bruno’s Pizza, the Purple Pig and Stanley’s Barbeque. My son lives for a weekend visit to the Caldwell Zoo and I’m enjoying the community that happens around a high school football game, or the East Texas Fair. I really enjoy a cool drive to work over the brick streets of the azalea district in the morning, (and no I don’t live there). To those who balk at my thoughts as silly nostalgia, let me say two things. First autumn is the season for nostalgia. And second, go away for a while. If your experience is anything like mine, you’ll be back, and when you return the city will look different to you. Make no mistake Tyler’s shortcomings won’t simply vanish in your absence, but her good points will loom just a little larger. I still get itchy feet now and again. But after a little travel and exploration coming home is never drudgery anymore. There are certainly other cities and places that I love, but I’m realizing more and more that Tyler, while it may not be a “great” city, at least not yet, it is for better or worse, my city.

Football is Back in 2010

August 9th, 2010

One of the surest and most welcome signs that summer is winding down is the reappearance of football. Last night preseason football began with the Hall of Fame game. The Cowboys and the Bengals faced off in what essentially amounted to a scrimmage game on Sunday Night Football. Even though the preseason schedule doesn’t mean much if anything, it was good to see Dallas take the night in a 16- 7 competition. And as a side note I have to hope that all T.O.’s games end in the same fashion. But these early games serve purely as a tide- me- over. The only really important stat in them is the injury report afterward. But it’s good to see helmets being dusted off and fields being chalked in anticipation of the coming season.

            The NFL and the NCAA are not the only ones preparing for the coming fall. Local High Schools, both public and private are preparing for the quickly approaching fall. Football has certainly become a more inclusive sport in recent years, in terms of the opportunities available. When I was growing up in private school, the only sport we really wanted to play was football! But due to the many expenses surrounding the sport, small schools found it necessary to substitute more inexpensive less “dangerous” sports into their athletic programs. As private and parochial schools have grown however, so has the demand for the one fall sport that really matters in East Texas. Nearly every school in Tyler with more than one hundred students has at least a six- man football team, and many have full squads.

            Football and sports in general, is an important component for schools both large and small. We all remember the lessons we were taught in our perspective sports; perseverance, team work, dealing with success, dealing with failure, the lessons go on and on. As Lord Wellington once said, “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.” But Football and all Sports do more for schools than just help to educate the students, (as if that weren’t enough). Athletic programs are the public faces of the schools they represent. They keep the school’s name in the paper and on the evening news. But perhaps more importantly, the event of a Friday night football game, or a Saturday afternoon tailgating party helps to create a sense of community and culture within a school, for families, students and staff. 

            Autumn is a wonderful time of year, leaves change, the weather cools, and Football is everywhere! I for one, plan of relishing every moment of the coming season!