Life is full of twists and turns. Twenty-two years ago, when I went on the job market out of graduate school, I wanted to live and work in California. If there was one state I hoped to avoid, it was Texas. I was a progressive then, you see. Texas, with its tradition of individualism and opportunity, and with its conservative culture, seemed backward by comparison to California.
My first academic job was a one-year position at Texas A&M University. I completed my doctoral dissertation and went on the job market again, this time for a tenure-track position. You guessed it: I ended up at another Texas university, UTA. During my years here, I have come to love this state, so much so that I thank my lucky stars that I didn't end up in California. If it weren't for my two friends and a handful of relatives in California, I wouldn't mind if the state slid into the Pacific Ocean. It is a cesspool of political correctness and statism.
With that as background, you can see why this made me chuckle.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 