Trip to the Lonestar State

Texas is definitely obsessed with her star! Every direction you turn, you will find it engraved, plastered, embossed, embroidered, stuck or painted onto something. I have traveled through Texas several times before, but this is the first time I really observed the extensive use of the star. In addition to this observation, throughout my recent visit to the Lonestar state, I was able to brush up a bit on my understanding of life in Texas.


While visiting my dear friend, Myklin, and her husband, Travis, we got to discussing some of the politics of the state. Travis informed me that everyone around there is pro-death penalty, so if a candidate hopes to be elected, he has to include support for such in his platform. I couldn’t tell for sure whether Travis personally preferred the tree hanging method or the tar and feather method for convicted criminals…

After a delightful time with Travis and Myklin, I made my way to Eric and Rachel’s house and stayed a night with them. In the course of our conversation, I learned that Texas has no income tax, no sales tax on groceries, and no statewide property tax. However, there is an interesting situation unfolding in the state right now. From what I gathered, a decision has just been handed down from their Supreme Court, indicating that the excessive property taxing of counties across the entire state is in violation of the constitutional prohibition of such statewide taxing. These property taxes are used to support the local schools, so now the legislators must meet in a special session (otherwise, they only convene every two years, in odd numbered years) to discuss how the schools will continue to receive their funding. I’m sure they’ll just go ahead and cut back the taxes and reduce the school funding since it’s common knowledge that student achievement is not linked to the amount of funding schools receive anyway…


Eric and Rachel and I spent a day traveling to Austin and visiting the Texas State History Museum, which was very informative. Museums are so overwhelming, though. We attempted to explore and absorb three floors full of artifacts and displays documenting the history of Texas and many other aspects of life in the Lonestar state. One highlight was the Star of Destiny theater presentation, accompanied by all sorts of special effects that extracted screams from audience members on more than one occasion. :-) I highly recommend it!

We parted ways with Eric as we left the museum and Rachel and I headed to the home of Jeremy and Carrie (and Reagan), our gracious hosts for the remainder of the week while we attended the MTNA National Conference. (I noticed a marked progression in my travels at this point: newly married couple – newly married couple expecting their first child in four months – newly married couple with their first child…it was interesting to observe each couple and catch a glimpse into their lives!) Carrie is an amazing cook and we were so blessed by the sacrifices they made to accommodate us for the duration of the conference.

The conference was a wonderful time of attending sessions and concerts, catching up with old friends, meeting new people and browsing the many exhibits, gleaning insight and ideas from the wealth of knowledge and experience represented in the thousand-plus attendees at the conference. Here are a few picture highlights from the week:


The opening keynote address by the renowned pianist, Van Cliburn. (You can view a more extensive summary of his address that I wrote on Music Matters Blog.)


Amanda and I went through Suzuki training together several years ago in Chicago. We were excited to run into each other one afternoon in the Exhibit Hall.


We took a trip to the state Capitol building, which I learned is larger than the US Capitol building. Didn’t I hear something somewhere about things being bigger in Texas…?


A small group of us who know each other through a piano teacher’s e-mail group met up for a quick tour of downtown, guided by our very knowledgeable driver, Diane.


Rachel and I discovered the most incredible grocery store ever! (Someone really needs to open one of these in Wichita...) Jeremy and Carrie had told us about it, and we were awestruck as we explored the aisles and sampled the tasty goods. All around the perimeter of the store were stand alone island restaurants, surrounded by small round tables, presenting the fare offered in that particular part of the store. There was an incredible variety – from seafood to barbecue to Italian to Indian, there was something for everyone and way too much for anyone! We had the hardest time trying to decide what to eat when we went there for dinner one night.


A shot of one of the little island restaurants and surrounding tables for diners.


A huge assortment of loose teas could be smelled and a pot of one was available for sampling.



Chocolate anyone?


Or perhaps something from this selection of delicacies?


I didn’t even know there were this many kinds of cheese!


Pizza baked in a woodburning fireplace. Yum!


Creatively displayed gelato. This was our final stop on the way out. The man behind the counter saw me snap this shot and informed me that no pictures were allowed to be taken in the store. Oops… :-)


The final night of the conference we attended a live broadcast of the radio show From the Top, a program produced to showcase some of the many talented young musicians from across America. Each of the five young performers did an outstanding job and it was fun to watch them interact with Christoper O’Riley, the host of the show, as he interviewed them and helped draw out their personalities. The show we observed is scheduled to air sometime in September.

As I crossed the border on my return home, I left behind me the star-studded streets, but carried with me the memories of wonderful times with friends and the resolve to apply the things I learned to become a better teacher and to encourage my students to pursue their music studies with excellence.