As I am writing this article, I am looking to the west, and I see a magnificent sunset the Lord painted across the vast Texas sky. Behind me in the east, a full moon is rising, and I can see them both at once. The vast open plains of the Texas Panhandle are always a welcome sight as I come back home from a trip.

My family moved to the great state of Texas in 1825 to the town of Gonzales, 11 years before the first shots were fired in the battle of Gonzales. The first battle in the fight for Texas independence. My great grandfather moved his family to Amarillo in 1924 to be the pastor of the Buchannan Street Baptist Church, and we have been here ever since.

The people who live here in Amarillo, and almost all panhandle residents for that matter, still have that same frontier spirit that our early Texas forefathers had. A spirit of independence. That says we don’t need big government telling us what to do. We will do it on our own. We do things not because they are easy but because they are hard and worth the effort. The people of Amarillo are different. Different in a good way. It’s the people of Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle that really make this place special. We still greet people we’ve never met with a warm smile and hello, and around here that’s normal. We love to give and help others. Amarillo is one of the most generous cities per capita in the nation. 

It is a city where a man like my father can work hard in a gas station and grow that business into a larger business that can be successful for 50 years. I am thankful to the people of this community who support local businesses like ours. We have so many wonderful home-grown businesses. Especially if you love good food.

Amarillo has most any type of local fare and some of the best local eateries in Texas. Coyote Bluff, Scott’s Oyster Bar, El Tejavan, and El Braceros just to name a few. The list is colorful in flavor and in variety. We have a first-class symphony, ballet, and opera and a beautiful concert hall where they perform, a minor league baseball team and a new state of the art stadium where they play ball. We have an outstanding educational system and of course Friday night Texas high school football.

There is a saying around here that if you ever wear out a pair of boots here, you will never leave. I agree. When I had the honor and privilege of serving as mayor of this great city, I was often asked why do I live here. My answer was always the same: I can live anywhere in the world I want to, and I do.