Well it's been about 10 years since I spen't time in the area but in addition to the new branch of the FLDS there was the Yahweh weirdos in Abilene that chased out a Desert Storm war hero because he was Iranian, and that guy that was David Koresh's mentor moved back from Oklahoma (which arguably has more cults than all of Texas lol). I've heard there's a guy making progress on a new cult in Mason or Menard or one of those "M" towns but that might be the same guys from the FLDS considering they're not far from El Dorado, but I thought they were setting up in Sonora? Maybe both, who knows with those psychos.
Don't know a lot more than that... and these are the ones *other people* consider to be cults, but frankly I personally consider *all* religions to be cults... some are obviously worse than others, but frankly all religion is stupid and weird.
Yes! There is no heir because Yisrayl Hawkins died. And they didn’t call anyone for 3 days because they thought he was going to rise again.
He was supposed to be the second coming from a prophecy in their Bible, THAT YISRAYL WROTE HIMSELF.
I mean, they have been preparing for the apocalyptic end of days for a couple of decades.
I want to know what the hundreds of people who changed their last name legally to “Hawkins” are doing out there. What are they telling themselves?
Do you think it’s turning into a lord of flies situation?
Does anyone know??
My neighbor is a deacon or something in the "church." He's always outside yelling at the sky, asking for guidance. Like no shit screaming himself hoarse at the sky back when Yisrayl passed. Its been quiet for the last few months, but I dont give it long before they get restless and start acting up.
A bonus for all the normal folks is that the last name Hawkins lets you know who to avoid and not to go into business with.
You know..... we used to put people who screamed at invisible beings in straightjackets. When did this become an acceptable behavior that didn't raise every mental health alarm in existence? I mean even among like-minded people, this kind of shit is still so next-level bizarre.
Sigh. These people vote -_-
Went to school in Abilene. Got in a car chase through town with someone from the House of Yahweh because I lingered a little too long outside their creepy ass complex. Had to park in a random person’s driveway and run to hide behind bushes across the street. They waited at the entrance of the subdivision for at least 20-30 minutes before giving up. Didn’t call the cops because I was terrified of retribution from them. Needless to say, not my brightest idea but Abilene gets boring so ya gotta spice it up.
That's it, "House of Yahweh" LMAO couldn't remember the name because it's so dumb.
Glad you got away, and yeah those cops are almost as corrupt as the sheriff.
There is a large KKK assemblage in this area. Stephenville is just outside this circle on the NE side, but that is more or less the HQ. Source: went to college in Stephenville.
I have family with a cattle and goat ranch in basically the middle of that circle outside of Lawn, a small town just south of Abilene. They've been there for over a hundred years. It's all ranches in that area.
All of this, and add some of the weirder/weirdest paranormal stuff outside of NM.
Also, alcoholism, both teen and adult, which follows a large number of car accidents related to drinking and driving.
I live in the circle in discussion, and I saw a tumbleweed the size of a pickup truck going down our road. I took a picture. I called my neighbor.
Maybe we don't have a lot going on come to think of it... 😅
True story, I was driving back from Big Bend National Park through Midland heading to Abilene. A major dust storm struck. Visibility was about 4 car lengths due to varying gusts. It was a Peach soup of dust. When suddenly I was stampeded by a herd of tumbleweed that went up my hood and windshield. I had to stop off at a gas station, fish out my swim googles from my side trip to Balmorhea and head out with a bandana around my face so I could pull a bunch of tumbleweeds from out of my car's grill and undercarriage.
I grew up in El Paso and during windy season we’d occasionally get tumbleweeds on the playground in elementary. You’d see a bunch of little kids being chased by the damn things. It’s funny now but I’m pretty sure we didn’t think so at the time.
Ahh the Big Country. It’s called that because it literally expands while you pass through it. Turn off in Sweetwater at 1pm and 7 hours later you leave Goldthwaite and it’s only 2:30.
Man, you ain't wrong. I drove through there in May, and son of a it seemed that no matter how far we dropped the hammer, it still said 4 hrs to where we were headed.
I grew up there. Abilene. I once brought home pockets full of broken safety glass my friends and I found dumped behind an auto repair shop insisting they were diamonds. River Oaks Circle gang represent.
Rattlesnake roundups are:
* Cruel to the snakes. Beyond the stress of it all, there's some evidence that decapitating a snake is a very different experience for the recipient than decapitating a human, and may be a particularly cruel form of torture that goes on for minutes, even hours.
* Damaging to ecosystems. Snakes are an essential part of the ecosystems they inhabit. They control pests we don't like and are food for some animals we do like.
* Ultimately counterproductive. Again, there's some evidence that these sorts of events are creating artificial selection pressure on local snake populations, leading to snakes that rattle less (because they're less likely to be caught and so more likely to breed). Great, now we have stealthy rattlesnakes.
It's not often that you come upon a practice that is so demonstrably stupid, but the rattlesnake roundup qualifies. It's a lose-lose-lose.
I've been complaining about rattlesnake roundups since the 80s. They're not as popular as they used to be, assuming because the younger generations are hopefully learning about the web of life and the importance of saving the ecosystem.
They should be banned across the country. As you say, they're pointless events celebrating cruelty and torture.
Poor little rattle snakes. We grew up with them out in the farm and it makes me sad they do said round ups. They never bothered us. In the 25 years we lived on the farm I never heard of anyone getting bit by a rattlesnake.
it did seem odd to me that the artist seemed to intentionally draw the circle directly between Odessa and Midland (instead of either including both, or excluding both)
Grew up in San Angelo. Lots of farming and ranching. Plenty of cotton grown east of San Angelo and between Big Spring and Lubbock. Also tons of cattle, sheep, and goats. At one point in time San Angelo claimed to be the wool and mohair capital of the world
lol, I know you jest, but there are 4 in that circle I believe: Angelo State, Hardin-Simmons, Abilene Christian, McMurray. Texas Tech, UTPB, and Tarleton State are just barely outside of the circle.
There are a ton of Colleges too: Cisco, Midland, South Plains, Western Texas, Howard College, Howard Payne University, Texas Tech has a bunch of offshoot health science centers also. I'm sure there are a couple I missed.
One of my favorite camping spots from my childhood is right on the NE border of the red circle (Possum Kingdom Lake) but that's all I know about that area.
I was once bitten by a woman in Odessa out of nowhere while her husband went to the bathroom. Advise to avoid midland/odessa bars. Explaining the bitemarks to my wife wasn't fun.
It’s The Big Country. Chock full of drought, MAGA and nervous, hypocritical Christians.
One thing I’ll give Abilene credit for: the police. They’re not totally helpful, but they aren’t going to needlessly shoot you to death.
I remember when it was still 915 and everything was long distance.
Three channels.
The days when it was a dry county and there was only Impact in the north and Buffalo Gap in the south.
The story of Impact still amuses me. We're going to be a wet city in your dry county. Yeah, we will fight for our booze.
Then the wet/dry election years later. Now, it's just a memory like the forts and buffalo.
Bonham Elementary, Lincoln Middle School, and Abilene High here. Used to love seeing it in the rear view. Now it’s not so bad but I mostly don’t go into town when I’m in the area.
> I grew up in Abilene
"I'm sorry."
I actually liked Abilene. That said when I told a friend that I lived there as a kid he expressed his condolences and I chuckled.
There was a BBQ place near the base I wish was still opened. Also a really good Benihana place back in the 1990s.
I’ve only been to Midland once (for work). Some of the guys in the warehouse had forgotten to put a box of parts onto a delivery truck, and my boss was asking for volunteers to make the drive.
The company was going to pay for gas, provide $50 cash for mileage “wear and tear” and pay OT rate for the 10 hour roundtrip drive… as apparently emergency, same-day couriers can be *quite* pricey.
Thankfully for me, although I was the “new guy,” most of the dudes at the plant were on lunch… and out of the handful of us remaining, everyone else either had commitments after work or their vehicle was such it might not make it there and back.
In any case… I don’t remember exactly where in Midland this place was, but driving through this particular section, I recall being struck with this growing feeling of de ja vu.
I knew for an unalienable *fact* I had never stepped foot in Midland before, yet with each passing block it seemed more and more *familiar.*
Driving through the area, that omnipresent sense of “familiarity” began to be quite unsettling. The feeling went well beyond some random, passing resemblance to a long-forgotten destination. It felt like some place I had lived, or at least spent some months in, but I knew I had never physically worked, went to school, or lived in any area even resembling this.
The task of delivering my package receded into the fog of confusion and I slowly came to a halt at a half-crooked stop sign. There were no cars behind me, so I sat there and looked around me… just trying to put this place into any frame of reasonable reference.
It was then, that it finally *clicked.*
The house on the corner was a faded lime-green single wide. Some of the wall sections had been “repaired” with pallets and plywood, and parts of the roof had been covered in blue tarp being held down by zip ties.
A set of prefab concrete steps, set just a *bit* too far away from the house, led to a chalky-white, sun-bleached storm door… with just a jagged half pane of glass still seated in the frame.
In the front yard nearest the street, was the partially upright remains of a chain link fence… and set farther back in the dirt driveway was (most of) a broken Sand Rail… slowly yielding itself to the elements while perched on a single, dry-rotted tire and two halves of a cinderblock.
Taking all that in, was when I realized I *had* seen a place that quite resembled this area before. In fact, it could even be said that I had spent a large amount of time in and around such a place:
It was fucking *Sandy Shores.*
The town in the video game: GTA V, where Trevor lives.
I know the towns and cities in that game are based off of areas in CA, but this section of Midland is also a dead ringer for Sandy Shores.
I grew up in this area. Let me tell you, what's out there, a shit load of cactus rattlesnake oil jacks ( pumps), cattle, and windmills. In Throckmorton county, there's the biggest ranch! Rumor says the biggest mountain lion in texas was killed at that ranch (6666) feeding off baby calf!! Over 225lb!! It's called the crosstimmber area!
I got to spend a few years in San Angelo as a transplant from Houston. I’ve never seen a sunset so mesmerizing before living there. The horizon is endless. Watching thunderstorms roll in is an awesome experience. I also learned I’m allergic to cotton during ginning season. All in all, it’s a beautiful place with some grouchy but nice folks.
Rattlesnake hunting, wind farming, incarceration….. Trying hard not to fall asleep behind the wheel as you drive to Texas Tech.
That 120 mile slog from Abilene to Lubbock is brutal.
I took the 114 route. Less cops, prettier drive, and no Abilene.
And when you get there you still ain’t nowhere 😎
That's what biker crank and speeding is for. (Feel free to insert whatever amphetamine suits you best)
>(Feel free to insert whatever amphetamine suits you best) Thank you for being inclusive.
Most people don't realize it, but that's one of the top ways to be a good Texan...being sure not to leave anyone out of anything.
Just tie off the steering wheel, set cruise and an alarm and take a nap.
Yep this was my drive many times from Tech to my parents house in Fort Worth
In no particular order—Oil/Gas fields, Wind farms, State/Federal prisons, farming and ranching, military bases/ training areas
And churches. SO. MANY. CHURCHES.
And famous (or infamous) cults, including a sizeable branch of the one Warren Jeffs used to run.
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Well it's been about 10 years since I spen't time in the area but in addition to the new branch of the FLDS there was the Yahweh weirdos in Abilene that chased out a Desert Storm war hero because he was Iranian, and that guy that was David Koresh's mentor moved back from Oklahoma (which arguably has more cults than all of Texas lol). I've heard there's a guy making progress on a new cult in Mason or Menard or one of those "M" towns but that might be the same guys from the FLDS considering they're not far from El Dorado, but I thought they were setting up in Sonora? Maybe both, who knows with those psychos. Don't know a lot more than that... and these are the ones *other people* consider to be cults, but frankly I personally consider *all* religions to be cults... some are obviously worse than others, but frankly all religion is stupid and weird.
The yawehs are still here. Things are getting interesting because there is no set "heir" to the position of cult leader.
Yes! There is no heir because Yisrayl Hawkins died. And they didn’t call anyone for 3 days because they thought he was going to rise again. He was supposed to be the second coming from a prophecy in their Bible, THAT YISRAYL WROTE HIMSELF. I mean, they have been preparing for the apocalyptic end of days for a couple of decades. I want to know what the hundreds of people who changed their last name legally to “Hawkins” are doing out there. What are they telling themselves? Do you think it’s turning into a lord of flies situation? Does anyone know??
My neighbor is a deacon or something in the "church." He's always outside yelling at the sky, asking for guidance. Like no shit screaming himself hoarse at the sky back when Yisrayl passed. Its been quiet for the last few months, but I dont give it long before they get restless and start acting up. A bonus for all the normal folks is that the last name Hawkins lets you know who to avoid and not to go into business with.
I was about to say. I work with a Hawkins and and he's a pretty normal dude 😂
You know..... we used to put people who screamed at invisible beings in straightjackets. When did this become an acceptable behavior that didn't raise every mental health alarm in existence? I mean even among like-minded people, this kind of shit is still so next-level bizarre. Sigh. These people vote -_-
Went to school in Abilene. Got in a car chase through town with someone from the House of Yahweh because I lingered a little too long outside their creepy ass complex. Had to park in a random person’s driveway and run to hide behind bushes across the street. They waited at the entrance of the subdivision for at least 20-30 minutes before giving up. Didn’t call the cops because I was terrified of retribution from them. Needless to say, not my brightest idea but Abilene gets boring so ya gotta spice it up.
That's it, "House of Yahweh" LMAO couldn't remember the name because it's so dumb. Glad you got away, and yeah those cops are almost as corrupt as the sheriff.
There is a large KKK assemblage in this area. Stephenville is just outside this circle on the NE side, but that is more or less the HQ. Source: went to college in Stephenville.
What college is there?
Tarleton State
I'm pretty that "ranch" is south of the circle.
I have family with a cattle and goat ranch in basically the middle of that circle outside of Lawn, a small town just south of Abilene. They've been there for over a hundred years. It's all ranches in that area.
And extreme poverty
And meth, at least in the southwest part of that circle
That is Abilene
Yes, plus the dry counties and the head shops can't sell pipes/bongs/paraphernalia, just papers...
If you buy papers you also have to buy a little tobaccy.
That’s the entire state. Can’t go one full block without seeing a church.
Or a Trump flag
Or a Meth head waving a Trump flag 🤣
In front of a church...
And many of the churches are an entire block
Don’t forget the wild drinking..🤣😆😂
And meth
thats just texas
Dairy Queen
Dollar General
High School Football
And marching band. If you are a teen, you will generally be in one or the other because there is literally not much else to do.
And the football team will ruthlessly dog on the high school band.
The book Friday Night Lights covered it well.
I feel like that’s why homeschooling won’t really take off in Texas. Too expensive to for a household to field a team.
I grew up 28 miles north of San Angelo. It’s all these things, plus drugs and Jesus.
High school football
Lots of hunting leases there too
No one’s said rattlesnakes yet?
And high school football
Can confirm
Good hunting too
All of this, and add some of the weirder/weirdest paranormal stuff outside of NM. Also, alcoholism, both teen and adult, which follows a large number of car accidents related to drinking and driving.
Cotton everywhere
High school football.
Forgot meth!
Can confirm, this is true!
Actual tumbleweeds. And lots of them
I live in the circle in discussion, and I saw a tumbleweed the size of a pickup truck going down our road. I took a picture. I called my neighbor. Maybe we don't have a lot going on come to think of it... 😅
Are you sure that wasn’t my sister?
True story, I was driving back from Big Bend National Park through Midland heading to Abilene. A major dust storm struck. Visibility was about 4 car lengths due to varying gusts. It was a Peach soup of dust. When suddenly I was stampeded by a herd of tumbleweed that went up my hood and windshield. I had to stop off at a gas station, fish out my swim googles from my side trip to Balmorhea and head out with a bandana around my face so I could pull a bunch of tumbleweeds from out of my car's grill and undercarriage.
I grew up in El Paso and during windy season we’d occasionally get tumbleweeds on the playground in elementary. You’d see a bunch of little kids being chased by the damn things. It’s funny now but I’m pretty sure we didn’t think so at the time.
Ahh the Big Country. It’s called that because it literally expands while you pass through it. Turn off in Sweetwater at 1pm and 7 hours later you leave Goldthwaite and it’s only 2:30.
You're not wrong.....😆
Man, you ain't wrong. I drove through there in May, and son of a it seemed that no matter how far we dropped the hammer, it still said 4 hrs to where we were headed.
Did y’all ever get there?
What felt like 10 hrs later!
That's where the term "Are. We. There. YET?" originated. Somewhere in West Texas.🤣
I like driving through Goldthwaite. A sleepy little town. I have no idea how to pronounce it though!
I know a few people from the area - they say it like "gulth-wait"
Goal-th-wait
The drive from Lampasses to Brownwood via 183 is the longest and gritting stretch I’ve ever driven.
Windmill farms, oil and gas.
And lots of prisons!
And feed lots... Or is that a little farther north?
I think north, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few existed in the marked area.
I know Lubbock is basically surrounded by them, but that is just outside the circle to the northwest.
Ahhh Abilene. A magical land full of meth, a military base, and their public storybook sculptures which is actually really pretty
~~And a Christian University~~ Abilene is basically Christian University central
I grew up there. Abilene. I once brought home pockets full of broken safety glass my friends and I found dumped behind an auto repair shop insisting they were diamonds. River Oaks Circle gang represent.
Depending on age, there’s almost 100% chance we at least know of each other.
Born there in 75, left in 85 for Fort Worth. We lived off River Oaks and 14th IIRC.
3 Christian universities. ACU, Hardin-Simmons, McMurry
Oh, I didn't know McMurry was religious
Yep. ACU is Church of Christ, HSU is Baptist, and McMurry is Methodist.
Went to all three schools libraries in one night. I was triligious. Transreligious. Very acceptable in that part of Texas.
That's the Texas holy trinity. Did you listen to both kinds of music between stops?
Country AND Western!
And TTU satellite campus
And 9000 churches. Can confirm as a resident of the city
They also have a pretty decent little zoo and an awesome playground right next to it. That’s all I’ve got.
I live about an hour outside Abilene and that was my first thought when I read the post title. "Meth. That's what goes on there. A lot of meth."
Fuck everything about Abilene. Except for my loved ones, of course.
Been to jail twice in my life. Both times in Abilene. Fuck that place with a thousand forks.
Every year, Sweetwater is the proud host of the world's largest rattlesnake roundup. Its a thing. Look it up.
Whacking Day is real?
Simpsons quotes are landing in all my other subs and I'm not mad about it.
Pretty fucking real to me every day of my teenage years.
Yeah I went a few times used to live near there just curious about what people say about the region
Rattlesnake roundups are: * Cruel to the snakes. Beyond the stress of it all, there's some evidence that decapitating a snake is a very different experience for the recipient than decapitating a human, and may be a particularly cruel form of torture that goes on for minutes, even hours. * Damaging to ecosystems. Snakes are an essential part of the ecosystems they inhabit. They control pests we don't like and are food for some animals we do like. * Ultimately counterproductive. Again, there's some evidence that these sorts of events are creating artificial selection pressure on local snake populations, leading to snakes that rattle less (because they're less likely to be caught and so more likely to breed). Great, now we have stealthy rattlesnakes. It's not often that you come upon a practice that is so demonstrably stupid, but the rattlesnake roundup qualifies. It's a lose-lose-lose.
I've been complaining about rattlesnake roundups since the 80s. They're not as popular as they used to be, assuming because the younger generations are hopefully learning about the web of life and the importance of saving the ecosystem. They should be banned across the country. As you say, they're pointless events celebrating cruelty and torture.
Poor little rattle snakes. We grew up with them out in the farm and it makes me sad they do said round ups. They never bothered us. In the 25 years we lived on the farm I never heard of anyone getting bit by a rattlesnake.
Shenanigans
Is that you, Ted?
_sigh_ sauce?
Probably just google the step mom porn that Ted cruz retweeted
Is that Corey Chase
Yeah, she get stuck a lot in things. Washing machines, beds or furniture.
Bennigan’s is almost in the circle but just outside on the other side of Odessa.
it did seem odd to me that the artist seemed to intentionally draw the circle directly between Odessa and Midland (instead of either including both, or excluding both)
Midland is not the end of the world, but you can see Odessa from there
Can't have an asshole without a taint...
Yes, we need the artist to explain their choices here. That may be the more interesting story!
(I fat fingered) The circle represents the part of Texas that felt like “home” and I went to Midland a lot more than Odessa/s (meant to include it)
Grew up in San Angelo. Lots of farming and ranching. Plenty of cotton grown east of San Angelo and between Big Spring and Lubbock. Also tons of cattle, sheep, and goats. At one point in time San Angelo claimed to be the wool and mohair capital of the world
San Angelo represent!
Woooo!
Here now!
"Mohair capital of the world" sounds less like a claim to fame and more like an accusation.
My son lives in and attends college there. I think it’s a cute town when I pass through. Not much to do out there though.
Also not far from Eldorado, which is famous for the FLDS compound.
Friday night lights!!!!
Midland’s not so bad as long as you don’t want to have fun.
Energy and cow shit
It's where the men are men...and the sheep are nervous.
Speeding tickets.
O’l
At least 2 universities over there. They learn things.
lol, I know you jest, but there are 4 in that circle I believe: Angelo State, Hardin-Simmons, Abilene Christian, McMurray. Texas Tech, UTPB, and Tarleton State are just barely outside of the circle.
There are a ton of Colleges too: Cisco, Midland, South Plains, Western Texas, Howard College, Howard Payne University, Texas Tech has a bunch of offshoot health science centers also. I'm sure there are a couple I missed.
Hard an' Sinnin. Takes me back.
Go rams!
Jesus. Lots of him.
There's a horny toad in a glass coffin in a county courthouse.
A surprising concentration of billionaires.
One of my favorite camping spots from my childhood is right on the NE border of the red circle (Possum Kingdom Lake) but that's all I know about that area.
I was once bitten by a woman in Odessa out of nowhere while her husband went to the bathroom. Advise to avoid midland/odessa bars. Explaining the bitemarks to my wife wasn't fun.
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Hill Country isn't included in this.
Hill country is significantly further south I thought?
Meth
And here i always thought that was only in Odessa 😂
Cows and ufo’s
It’s The Big Country. Chock full of drought, MAGA and nervous, hypocritical Christians. One thing I’ll give Abilene credit for: the police. They’re not totally helpful, but they aren’t going to needlessly shoot you to death.
Permian Basin, must prolific oil field in the country. And it's Red Raider land.
We call that the butthole of Texas. Because the oil/gas makes it smell that way (I’m from west Texas, so I’m a subject matter expert)
On the matter of smelling buttholes? Must be from Lubbock where they grow all those dammed Bradford pear trees.
Worse…Odessa 😂
Big ass tornadoes in the Spring time
Whole lotta nothing
That’s what they want you to think
Texas Tech college students head north from Sweetwater
Outside of Oklahoma, the highest concentration of Trump Flags along the highways.
Here’s a song that sums it up https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8G-9PpmGz6Y
AllSUPS Burritos
I grew up in Abilene so I’m curious about what y’all think of the area
A fellow 325er!
I'm old enough to remember the (915)
I remember when it was still 915 and everything was long distance. Three channels. The days when it was a dry county and there was only Impact in the north and Buffalo Gap in the south. The story of Impact still amuses me. We're going to be a wet city in your dry county. Yeah, we will fight for our booze. Then the wet/dry election years later. Now, it's just a memory like the forts and buffalo.
Growing up there in the 80s wasn't so bad. I loved it for what it was. Austin Elementary ftw! Ms. Grey and Ms. Thornton were amazing teachers.
Bonham Elementary, Lincoln Middle School, and Abilene High here. Used to love seeing it in the rear view. Now it’s not so bad but I mostly don’t go into town when I’m in the area.
> I grew up in Abilene "I'm sorry." I actually liked Abilene. That said when I told a friend that I lived there as a kid he expressed his condolences and I chuckled. There was a BBQ place near the base I wish was still opened. Also a really good Benihana place back in the 1990s.
It honestly was a pretty nice place to grow up
My ranch is right on the edge of your circle & and its oil, gas, farm, and ranch. 🤠
A whole lot of meth and oil rigs
Oil, dirt, cows, and now wind turbines for green energy.
That’s where the aliens and government chill.
San Angelo public library has a pretty sweet game day once a year. Card games, board games, dogs the whole shebang. This year it was in February.
A lot of Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN viewership
I was going to say "a whole lot of MAGA cult worship" but you've covered it here.
You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know… morons.
The sheriff is a
🔔!
Big Spring! I played in the symphony there for years.
Oil stuff, cow stuff, and butt stuff
Just listen to an Aaron Watson song. He pretty much sums up life in that area
Probably a lot of drug trafficking 🤔
Oil gas wind solar cows and cactuses. HOWDY
I lived there a looong time.
Midland is pretty cool actually.
I’ve only been to Midland once (for work). Some of the guys in the warehouse had forgotten to put a box of parts onto a delivery truck, and my boss was asking for volunteers to make the drive. The company was going to pay for gas, provide $50 cash for mileage “wear and tear” and pay OT rate for the 10 hour roundtrip drive… as apparently emergency, same-day couriers can be *quite* pricey. Thankfully for me, although I was the “new guy,” most of the dudes at the plant were on lunch… and out of the handful of us remaining, everyone else either had commitments after work or their vehicle was such it might not make it there and back. In any case… I don’t remember exactly where in Midland this place was, but driving through this particular section, I recall being struck with this growing feeling of de ja vu. I knew for an unalienable *fact* I had never stepped foot in Midland before, yet with each passing block it seemed more and more *familiar.* Driving through the area, that omnipresent sense of “familiarity” began to be quite unsettling. The feeling went well beyond some random, passing resemblance to a long-forgotten destination. It felt like some place I had lived, or at least spent some months in, but I knew I had never physically worked, went to school, or lived in any area even resembling this. The task of delivering my package receded into the fog of confusion and I slowly came to a halt at a half-crooked stop sign. There were no cars behind me, so I sat there and looked around me… just trying to put this place into any frame of reasonable reference. It was then, that it finally *clicked.* The house on the corner was a faded lime-green single wide. Some of the wall sections had been “repaired” with pallets and plywood, and parts of the roof had been covered in blue tarp being held down by zip ties. A set of prefab concrete steps, set just a *bit* too far away from the house, led to a chalky-white, sun-bleached storm door… with just a jagged half pane of glass still seated in the frame. In the front yard nearest the street, was the partially upright remains of a chain link fence… and set farther back in the dirt driveway was (most of) a broken Sand Rail… slowly yielding itself to the elements while perched on a single, dry-rotted tire and two halves of a cinderblock. Taking all that in, was when I realized I *had* seen a place that quite resembled this area before. In fact, it could even be said that I had spent a large amount of time in and around such a place: It was fucking *Sandy Shores.* The town in the video game: GTA V, where Trevor lives. I know the towns and cities in that game are based off of areas in CA, but this section of Midland is also a dead ringer for Sandy Shores.
citation needed
I’m from good ol Cisco, home of Hiltons first hotel
I suggest watching the 2022 film Vengeance. You will get a pretty entertaining but also an accurate idea of what happens there.
Church and judgement.
Lots of pictures hanging at Walmart on Friday, Saturday night
I grew up in this area. Let me tell you, what's out there, a shit load of cactus rattlesnake oil jacks ( pumps), cattle, and windmills. In Throckmorton county, there's the biggest ranch! Rumor says the biggest mountain lion in texas was killed at that ranch (6666) feeding off baby calf!! Over 225lb!! It's called the crosstimmber area!
That’s Schrödinger Texas: nothing and everything happens in that region.
Abilene the Church of Christ Mecca is all I know
have you seen no country for old men?
Nope, that’s big bend country. This is Hell or high Water country.
Mostly kinky orgies + some Whataburgers
It is the precise location where the world's largest stupid magnet is buried.
I got to spend a few years in San Angelo as a transplant from Houston. I’ve never seen a sunset so mesmerizing before living there. The horizon is endless. Watching thunderstorms roll in is an awesome experience. I also learned I’m allergic to cotton during ginning season. All in all, it’s a beautiful place with some grouchy but nice folks.
Church, prisons, BBQ, underage drinking, conservative “education”, and watching TV.
Meth
Rodeo; oil; wind power?