12411578246201437642517430

THE BANDERA PROPHET
  • Home
  • News
    • Features
    • Lifestyles
    • Kids Corner
    • Letters To The Editor
  • Sports
  • Community
  • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Effectively Elena Season 1
  • Election
  • Church & Worship
  • Classifieds
    • Public Notices
  • Business Page
  • Contact

Piano Lessons

Try something new
830-688-1622
Picture

June 18, 2019

Growing Up In Bandera

By Glenn Clark

Very few things have gone unchanged throughout my growing up years here in the south central Texas hills. The language terminology changes can sometimes be drastic. You do know that thongs are no longer worn on your feet, right? A cell used to be a small room with bars in the local hooscow. Now it is associated with phones and communication towers. I believe it is still used the same way in biology class lingo so that is a survivor.
I have a shirt that is one of my favorites. It is covered with a design including images of those old cars with the wood exterior trim we saw in surfer movies back in the 60s at the Bantex theater. They were called a woody. I don't recall any of those cars appearing here in Bandera back in the day. I always get the strangest looks from the younger generation now when I refer to it as my "woody shirt.” Not sure what that's about.
It's still proper to use the term "cool" exactly like I did back in my school days. Not sure how that one has escaped renovation for over 50 years.
I wish the local meaning of dude was still around. It no longer seems to fit in with our Cowboy Capital of the World image. I still visualize a untanned city slicker in shorts, tennis shoes and a non traditional hat riding a horse. Had I ever addressed my dad with "Hey dude" I would have grown up with a terrible permanent limp.
Do you think the youngsters of today know what it means to be the tall hog at the trough? Or how about walking in tall cotton? Do you think the rain will hurt the rhubarb? I didn't know until recently that the proper response to that is, "Not if it's in the can.”
We used to have gulley washers and frog stranglers. Now we simply have severe thunderstorms. Either way I see it still has the same effect on many of the local residents. I'll see you at the river as we gather to watch it rise. My thoughts are always the same. I pray everyone is safe and I hope it fills the lake.
I still recall the answer given by my English teacher Winnie Hicks each time I hear someone ask, "Where's it at?" "Between the a and the t" was her response. I guarantee you that no one got away with that one. She wondered often if I was paying attention. Now she knows.
As we continue to make our way through the Growing Up In Bandera experience let's try to use terms that are reflective of the friendly town image we wish to portray. Instead of saying hi try a big "howdy" with a smile. It's the right thing to do and it adds value to our community.

#182    2019
The Bandera Prophet is grounded on the premise that relevant news delivery is ever-evolving. Founded by newspaper veterans, the Prophet delivers up-to-date information by writers and photographers who combined have 50-plus years of experience in the field and newsroom. Always free to readers, the Prophet is published on multiple platforms, and shared within the online community to more than 150,000 people. No paywalls and no paid subscriptions make news and feature stories immediately available with one click of a button or one swipe on a keypad. 
​
All content copyright property of The Bandera Prophet 
  • Home
  • News
    • Features
    • Lifestyles
    • Kids Corner
    • Letters To The Editor
  • Sports
  • Community
  • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Effectively Elena Season 1
  • Election
  • Church & Worship
  • Classifieds
    • Public Notices
  • Business Page
  • Contact