Publisher's Letter
Remember when cruising State Line was the thing, making the turn arounds at Taco Bell and the Goodwill parking lots? We had music playing and our windows rolled down, cruising up and down the road to fill our summer nights. Obviously, these were the good ole days when gas prices did not stop you in your tracks. These are some great memories from my teenage years. It is how we met up with people.
We did not have cell phones, so, back then, you just had to guess where the crowd may be, but nine times out of ten, cruising State Line was a sure bet. Being from Queen City, we thought it was cool to hang out in the big city of Texarkana and I put many miles on my Pontiac Firebird cruising up and down State Line with all the other “cool” kids. I even had a ridiculous neon license plate holder over my personalized license plate. A word to the wise, these things might indeed make you think you are cool, but they also make you noticeable and cause you to stand out, so you better always be on your best behavior. Thinking back, I cringe about some things we did. What was I thinking?
I can tell you I wasn’t concerned about much other than which mixed CD I would burn and how to make my AOL profile cute. Speaking of AOL, do you remember what your AOL screen name was and the sound you heard while waiting on the connection? (Mine was CaSsiBuG, by the way.) We were also the generation who learned how to make all the emojis before emojis existed. I know some of you remember. (<3 & :) & ;/) It is fun to think back on those nights and many other stories I won’t share here, but I know a few people who will giggle as they read this.
These days, if you catch me cruising down State Line, it is probably in daylight hours on my way to Zapata’s to eat with my family, with my windows rolled up, and the AC blaring instead of my music. I jokingly say that the older I get, I have to turn down the music to see better. As a mom, my favorite thing to do in the summer is spend time with my family on the water and doing anything outside. You will probably catch us at Lake DeGray if we are not on the golf course with our kiddos. I love both and the slower pace of life and no make-up activities that seem to define these summer months. It is nice to step away from the hustle and bustle. While my summertime activities may look different at this stage of life, this is still the season of making lifelong memories. Let’s get out there and make some great ones.
