Stuff Texans like part 1

I've come a long way in my blogging story. When I first created this blog, I did so with the intent of detailing my job search, which was short lived. I then decided to detail my life and the escapades I would face, mostly over sharing about my political views and my unceremonious labor in and out of love. My world got dull and writing in this blog just became an escape from the drudgery of dating and trying to get my emotional house in order. Still I persevered and my life's grandest adventure took place when I packed up and traveled over thousand miles from the place I called home to start a family. While being a father and a husband is never boring, reading about it sometimes is.

Most people in the US and abroad who have never set foot in Texas feel you should be required to use a passport to travel into it, as it’s about as foreign to most as a Brazilian barrio slum. While there are indeed unique differences between Dallas and Seattle, and not just the weather, the Lone Star state is very similar to many regions in the US. The people are often just like other wherever you go, individually they’re the same, collectively they’re different.

So this new segment of Stuff Texans Like, which was blatantly ripped off from Stuff White People Like and Stuff Christians Like, highlights the unique differences you’ll find in Texas as opposed to my former life in the Pacific Northwest. Today we start with a simple arts and craft store called Hobby Lobby.

Hobby Lobby is a craft store that caters to the Chicken Soup for the Soul crowd. It has what you’d expect at a Michael’s, but it has more of a Baptist feel. You’ll find wall décor that talks about Jesus and Jesusey things, but mostly the store has various times related to scrap booking and other visual arts, and it even has model trains and the like. It’s a nice store with low prices and takes pride in the fact that they’re closed on Sundays, even posting the fact on their doors to let others know it’s to let their employees spend time with their families and worship. Their brand of Christianity is comforting to their clientele, who likely have dreams of being the next Thomas Kinkade, but it also has handy items for the more practical of us. Regardless of the company’s religious affiliation many can find a good deal at Hobby Lobby.

Hobby Lobby has upped their Christian cred in Texas with challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) in the courts as they don’t want to have their insurance company provide their employees with certain kinds of birth control, such as the morning after pill. Mistakenly thinking them as abortion drugs, they’ve currently lost their legal battle and vow to pay huge fines rather than let their staff take part in the coverage. As most of you can probably guess, most Texas Christians aren’t too fond of our current commander in chief and applaud Hobby Lobby’s martyrdom.

Now it’s unfair to say only Texans like Hobby Lobby as they’re popular all over the south, but I’ve never entered a store in the Northwest, as I’m pretty sure few exist there.

"All they're asking for is a narrow exemption from the law that says they don't have to provide drugs they believe cause abortions. Our basic point is the government can't put a corporation in the position of choosing between its faith and following the law." - Hobby Lobby attorney Kyle Duncan.