It is with sadness that I report that the last of my relatives is leaving the humble city of Tyler Texas. My grandfather and his brother came to Texas because New York wouldn't let the ship of immigrants dock. So he and his brother split with the brother going to Mexico and my grandfather settling in Texas. As a result, I have relatives all over Texas and parts of Mexico, and until recently, that set included Tyler Texas.

Tyler is a relatively small town 100 miles East of Dallas. It is "dry" which means that instead of buying liquor locally, people drive many miles to Mineola, get drunk, and then drive back. Makese sense, huh?

There is a lot about Tyler that is "old South" including the high school whose team and mascot were the "Rebels". The state made them change all of that after protest some years ago. Tyler is also sometimes known as the "Rose Capital of the World" but I think a lot of cities have a stake in that title these days.

So my Aunt Fuffy (her real appelation is Sandra, but as a kid I couldn't grok that she and her husband were both "Sandy", so I called her [of course] Fuffy and the name now enjoys widespread use) and Uncle Sandy are packing up their home after some 60 years in Tyler and moving to San Diego.

That choice of locale is not without coincidence, as we are moving to San Diego also for a short sabbatical next Fall.

I'll miss visiting Tyler -- if you're ever in that neck of the woods (Texas pine country to be exact), it's worth a stop.

Posted by: Chris Hill Festival at September 26, 2002 3:12 PM

Posted by: david at September 26, 2002 10:48 PM

Posted by: Mike Hunt at February 16, 2003 5:19 PM