My Texas hometown priorities would fix America

My hometown is Hughes Springs, deep in the piney woods of Northeast Texas. Hughes Springs consists of approximately three blocks of stores and restaurants, a Dairy Queen, JB's Hotlinks and my personal favorite, the Wildflower Inn (located just on the border of town). At the Wildflower's daily buffet, you can get some of the best chicken fried steak, fried catfish and hushpuppies in all of Cass County. Just for fun, I once asked our waitress if they had any vegetarian food. "Does banana puddin' count?" she said, laughing. There are churches every 500 yards or so, and there's even a four-way stoplight, which was a very big deal when they installed it a few years ago.

This time of year, the entire town is focused on football, or more specifically, the "Mighty, Mighty Mustangs!" – and storefront windows are hand-painted with football signs. As a former Mustang cheerleader, I still yearn for the days of Friday afternoon pep rallies and watching most of the town shut down for the Friday night football game.

In 1980, the year I graduated high school, my parents were some of the first people in the nation to build an underground house. They didn't do it because of the "green movement" or because they're hippies – they built it purely for economical reasons: The house is cool in the hot Texas summers and warm in the freezing cold winters and saves them a fortune on electrical bills. My dad, a retired Navy CPO, designed and built the entire house almost single-handedly, digging out a hill, pouring concrete with steel reinforcements, digging a well and installing electrical, plumbing and carpentry. It's a great house, and although it has surprisingly excellent Internet service, it's not wired for Wifi. This means that whenever I visit them, including my most recent trip, in order to continue working on PolitiChicks.com my Mac and I have to go elsewhere. Usually that means the Hughes Springs Public Library, or if the library is closed, you can park your car out front and work from there, which is what I often do.

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But my favorite place to work, with the best sweet tea in town (of which I drink gallons when I'm home) is Greg McKinney's Subway/gas station. That's where the deer hunters come for lunch to talk about their three favorite subjects: football, guns and politics.

These men always remind me, a Californian, exactly how far from reality I've come. I relish in the fact that they actually talk out loud, unafraid and uncaring of what anyone might think of them. In California, conservatives tend to whisper their beliefs in public for fear of retribution and/or offending anyone in the world – but in this neck of the woods, they are the world.

When talking to my Texas friends and family about the pending threats of fiscal cliffs, tax increases and even Islam, the general consensus is "bring it!" These people are not only well-prepared, they are also well-armed and ready for any type of crisis.

The East Texas solution to fiscal responsibility and tax increases is that you live within your means. You spend less and go without a few luxuries. One friend learned to make her own laundry detergent, spending a few pennies instead of dollars to wash her clothes. (Click here for her recipe!) This same friend brought my parents a dozen beautiful brown eggs from her chicken farm and talked about her year-round garden. "I guess you can call me a 'prepper,'" she said. "If being prepared for the worst is considered being kooky, so be it. My family and friends will have plenty to eat, and that's all that matters."

Whenever I talk to people in my hometown about our Second Amendment rights being threatened, 100 percent of the time my questions are met with laughter.

"Good luck with that!" one friend dressed in camouflage tells me. "I've been shooting and hunting since I was 6 years old, and they're not about to take my guns away from me or anyone in my family." (Further addendum to anyone reading this: DO NOT EVER TRY TO TAKE AWAY A TEXAN'S GUNS!)

Another friend is planning to build a safe house in her backyard, while others are talking about taking their money out of the banking system and "putting it elsewhere." Why? "You just never know. …"

Meanwhile in addition to making plans to protect, feed and cherish their families, these same people are in church every Sunday, and if someone doesn't show up, they will most definitely get a phone call to make sure "everything's OK." If someone is sick or when someone dies, food is brought to the family so they won't have to worry about feeding themselves. They will also be placed on telephone and email "prayer chains" all over town.

So while the rest of America may be sinking into despair, wondering what horrors the Obama administration will impose on this country, the biggest thing my East Texas hometown is upset about is if the Mustangs will win their Homecoming game.

Sigh. Makes me wonder why I still live in California.

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