Well, it looks like racism is alive and well in at least parts of Far South Lancaster; so is excessive drinking

I was doing some Saturday work today.

This is the second annual “Go Texan” weekend for Far South Lancaster and
Far South Dallas County. In essence, it’s a booster-type kickoff for getting ready for the Houston Livestock Show. Lil Miss Texan, chili and other fixins cook-off, etc.

Well, I went out Saturday morning, hoping to get a picture of the junior posse and of people starting to cook, of whom there were plenty.

Shot at a couple of spots that had good light angles, etc.

At the second, a team of three Grimes County Jail trustys left, having just finished "policing" that particular part of the cooking area. One of the three was black.

After I got done with my pix, and approached to ask for names, the guys there offered me some of their food, a 40-quart dutch oven full of breakfast burrito food. When asked if I were hungry, I said yes to that and a cup of cowboy coffee. That was from the one older generation guy on this cooking team (which identified itself as being from Far South Lancaster), who also said he recognized me from my picture in the paper.

I said no to a beer with the polite refusal line that it was “too early for me.” (Another guy either didn’t hear my polite “no,” or else thought that I wasn’t covering all forms of alcohol when I said no to beer; five minutes later, he asked if I wanted some vodka.)

Then, a couple of minutes later, the guy who had offered me a beer said:

We need about 10 or 15 more ni-- (and yes, he sounded it out) to help us finish eating this.

Holy shit. I looked around; nobody else in the group seemed embarrassed in general, let alone embarrassed that their local newspaper editor had heard that.

No, I know that one incident does not necessarily establish the character of a fair-sized chunk of a town or county. However, the casualness of the whole incident does give the theory or analysis extra credence.

It was like he was talking about the fricking weather. And this is a decade AFTER the Byrd murder in Jasper.

I'm sorry, anybody who encourages me to enjoy lower East Texas, but the hell with that.