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Ok..I'll start this..
I am in Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley. Does anyone in this group know how many miles away it is to El Paso from here? I seem to recall that a few years after we moved here and took a trip up north, someone somewhere asked if we knew a certain person they had met who lives in El Paso...
I can't remember my reply, but I wonder if the look on my face made them realize what a silly question that was.
Do you think any of these people have ever compared the distance scale on the individual state road maps in their RandMcNally atlas?
An example: One inch represents about 11 miles on the Ohio page..one inch represents at least 31 miles on the Texas page, plus it takes twice as many pages to display it all.

Good question, Meadow. I haven't heard this one in awhile, but more than once I have been asked if all the men in Texas wore cowboy hats and boots...

Some people also make thoughtless comments that are not worded in a question also...such as..."I have been in Texas and I didn't like it there"...and so I would ask them what part of Texas they had been in, assuming on my part that they had only crossed over the state line at some place near Laredo or something like that...and then their response was usally that they had only gone through their military basic training in Texas.....so I would then inform that if that was all of Texas they had experienced then they had not really seen Texas.

That is a funny one about the hat and boots....
After the TV show Dallas was on all those years, it seemed like some people assumed all Texans were rich wheeler-dealers like JR and his kind.
Someone once also asked me if I had been to the South Fork Ranch where Dallas was filmed. I supposed that might be a reasonable question to ask me if I lived within 100 miles of Dallas...but where I live is not even on the same page in the road atlas as Dallas.

There is one really BIG flaw I've encountered with male Texans and that is ... braggadosia ... big time braggadosia!
I'm talking about even telling "little white lies" to build up their stories of conquest, achievement, etc., to GRANDE proportions. (Are their egos too vulnerable to do otherwise?) By contrast, the women seem sweet and big hearted to the inth degree. Is it because the Baptist religion is prevalent there and that's the way they were taught to behave per the sermons they've listened to over the years? This is a serious question. I'm not reflecting on just a couple of people but on the many I have come to know. Any input from EONS members, especially from TX, would be appreciated.

Their are male braggers in every state. It is a male thing.
You also need to consider an individual, like the type of people you hang out with. Or use to hang with.
Personally it is a matter of perspective.
I have met Texas men it would take 6 months to get 5 words out of their mouth. Some people consider expounding on the truth a good story telling technique.
I don't like to confine people into a "type". All Texas men are - - -. Their women are - - .

I was fortunate to live in Texas for just over a year. I loved it a lot! I wasn't sure of how things would go because I am a tattooed and pierced old hippie but, everyone I encountered was friendly and talkative and welcoming. I hope that I can move bac there someday!

I live in Dallas and before that I lived in Arlington. Arlington is where Six Flags, Ranger Baseball and the new Cowboy Stadium is being built. I grew up there when it was a little town and my Mom was from East Texas and my Dad was from Ft. Worth. My opinion is that almost all Texans are nice and friendly. We are brought up to be respectful of other people and I don't think it has anything to do with religion. Yes, there are a lot of Baptists in the Bible Belt, but there are all kinds of churches in Texas.

Almost all born and bred Texans love where they live, yes, weather and all, and love people. It's as simple as that, as far as Texas men......give me one sentence starting or ending with "little Darlin'", and that Texas man has my heart.

Whew..how do I make a reply to these varied comments?..wow...
well..here are a few of my observations about bragging men, and Texas attitudes, etc.
First of all, my dad and my father-in-law are both first borns, and my oldest child, who is now 35, is also male, so I think that all first-born men are the type that have to have a story that tops yours and they need to be in charge or be patriarchal in attitude or whatever you want to call it. It doesn't matter where your birthplace is, there is just something a little more domineering in the personality of first-born males.
Here's a few facts about Texas and Texans:
Some of our most famous Texans were not born and raised in Texas. For example: Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, James Bowie, Stephen Austin, William Travis.
If you are a history lover or a big western movie buff, you will recognize these names, and know that these men all arrived in Texas as adults. They were all pioneers in a state that has flown six flags.
To better understand the attitudes of Texas men you have to study the history of Texas. One of the ways I mainly learned about Texas history was by being a substitute teacher, frequently in middle school.
Anyone who has had much contact with Hispanic men, especially those raised in South or Central America, may have learned about the machismo thing predominant in their upbringing and culture. Texas had been part of Mexico at one time..Many Hispanics who left Mexico also died at the Alamo fighting for freedom for Texas.
But the most important thing you need to realize is that this great huge state that is called Texas (the name is from "Tejas", whis means friends or allies)is the only state of these United States that was once a nation in itself. (The Republic of Texas)
To learn more Texas Facts, click here: view link
Also, to learn more about the many kinds of different immigrants who settled Texas, look at this website from UTSA's Institute of Texan Cultures: view link
If you are ever in San Antonio, be sure to visit this museum.

Okie dokey, here's my two-cents worth: Regarding Texas males being braggarts, I just have never found this to be true and I agree that you can't pigeonhole people. My husband and his entire family are native Texans and to me, my husband is the typical Texan. He's a big man in stature, but the perennial gentleman... also very quiet, reserved, slow to anger. (A few here have met him and I'm sure would agree with this description.) My two grown step-sons are the same way, as was my husband's father, who was also a native Texan. I realize I'm only talking about one family, but in my almost 40 years of living in Texas (wow, that makes me feel OLD!) I've never seen a correlation between any particular personality type and the place of origin, other than who can deny the general genteelness and good manners typically found in the Southern attitude? (Did I just contradict myself?)

Incidentally, in my family, the girls AND boys were taught to be polite, loving, giving, and to think before we speak. We're not native Texans and we're not Baptists!