I wasn't particularly offended, but thought you needed to know. OF the fifty states, the fact you chose Texas was quite ironic, I thought. I don't know other states history, but presumably your analogy might have worked with one of those. But, if you are going to make an argument, it helps to have the facts right, :) Anyway, every state has its quirks, ours just happens to be this pride of being a nation first. What you say is true, generally, about being partial to wherever you lived as a youth, but I have noticed an odd propensity among Texans to still promote their citizenship, even if they moved away years ago. (Me included.) When we looked for houses in Ohio a few years ago, we could tell the Texans' houses. Same thing when we came to Missouri. People even put little Texas stickers on their cars or have personalized plates with TX-something on them. When people moved to Texas from other states, they used to comment on this "hang-up of being a Texan". One person I worked with told me nobody puts little Indianas everywhere. Lori Allen Graduate Student, History and Museum Studies University of Missouri - St. Louis "Well behaved women rarely make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Historian ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).