Sunday, November 11, 2012

Stories from the Road: State of Confusion

My travels have brought me to Texarkana, TX, which happens to be right next to Texarkana, AR. It's a fun and quirky border town, their post office even sits directly on the state line with one half in each state. Plus they've got a mall and Books-A-Million within walking distance to where I'm staying, so I'm pretty happy.


Last night I happened upon an independent ice cream/shaved ice shop, and as is my custom, stopped in to support local business and my sweet tooth. After striking up a conversation with the woman behind the counter I come to find out she's got an interesting identity crisis. She was born in Texarkana, AR. Went to school in Texarkana, TX. She also lived in a house that was bisected by the state line, just like the post office. She said after all these years she's never really known whether to consider herself a Texan or an Arkansan. I suppose it I didn't want to end the suspense, so I didn't bother to ask about her drivers license.

She even joked that she could have probably gotten in-state tuition in either Texas or Arkansas. Looking for something of a tie breaker I asked where she did end up choosing. Her answer? Louisiana. So, when posed with the question Texas or Arkansas she chose none of the above.

Oh, and the ice cream infused shaved ice was great too.

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