The word is out. The evidence in unquestionable. Westerners are just better drivers than easterners. Well, the Pacific coast may be an exception, but . . .

In Texas, as in most western states, people realize the purpose of driving a car is to get from point A to point B as expeditiously as possible. To help with that, most western states have posted speed limits of 70 to 75 on interstates and rural highways. In Texas, recognizing that our drivers are even more skillful than most, the typical limit is 75, and some of our roads have 80 mph speed limits. One tollway is actually 85.

With the exception of I-35, where constant construction and bumper-to-bumper traffic usually won’t allow anyone to get up to the speed limit, Texans zip from one place to another rapidly. This is what we’re used to, and it’s what we expect.

Imagine my shock on a recent trip east, when we crossed the Sabine River into the swamp they call Louisiana and the speed limit dropped from 75 to 70. As we drove through Louisiana and Mississippi and into Alabama, 70 was the best we found. In many places it was 60 or even less. I can only conclude that the legislatures of those states realize their residents are not skilled drivers. Our destination of Peachtree City, Georgia, is well off the interstates, and we found speed limits of 30 and 40 getting across to there.

Despite the driving conditions getting there—and I didn’t even mention the traffic we incurred along the way—we had a good time. My cousin Jan had invited us, along with some other cousins, for Thanksgiving. I think there were about 20 of us gathered for the Thanksgiving meal, including five of us who are first cousins and a number of other relatives and friends.

Jan, on my left, was our hostess. June and Jane, on the ends, are twins, believe it or not. Don’t know why Jan’s brother Randy wasn’t in the picture. If it looks like I’m older than my cousins, that’s not true. It’s just that they were all born later than I was.

What did you do for Thanksgiving? What kind of speed limits did you incur trying to get there?

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We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.