The other day Christopher and I were watching the Antiques Roadshow which was in Houston that week. They did a side story about a great house full of amazing pieces. It was once owned by a woman who is very well known in the area for her contributions to the arts and community–Miss Ima Hogg.

This poor woman, who was actually quite rich, must have had some mean-ass parents to give her that name. Who would do that to their kid? It’s not like her parents were uneducated and couldn’t have known what a terrible name it was–her father had been Governor!

I found this bio and noted that she spent some time being treated for mental issues. Big surprise, not, what with that name–it’s a wonder that she didn’t become totally anti-social.

But she didn’t. Instead she was a great philanthropist. Seems she was one amazing lady.

And that got me to thinking, what is it about Texas and turning out unpleasant men but great women? Ann Richards, Ladybird Johnson, Miss Hogg, Carol Burnett, Cyd Charisse, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, all Texans. And sure, there are a few clunkers too, like Bonnie Parker and Kay Bailey Hutchison, but on the men’s side the list is heavily weighted to the negative: the Shrub, DaddyBush, Lee Harvey Oswald, Dan Rather, Clyde Barrow, Tom Delay, all the Enron bastards, Halliburton corporate bastards (only one woman on the board), and Karl Rove (who isn’t a native, but makes his home there). And the list goes on, with only a few goodies like Walter Cronkite and Gene Roddenberry bringing some honor to the title of Male Texan.

It’s like the men of Texas have some sort of extra selfish gene in ‘em. Maybe this came out of the admirable traits of can-do-ism and self-reliance so many of the pioneers and early Texans had, but it’s been twisted somehow. Now they just grab whatever they can, hurt whoever gets in their way, and refuse to see any damage they may cause.
I think the women end up being so strong and amazing because they have to fix everything the men screw up. So, from housewives to politicians, you end up having confident women who know how to get things done and who do what is necessary–without harming others. They’re willing to call whomever on the carpet (Molly Ivins, Ann Richards are great at that) and do it with a particular grace.

Of course, that’s just my theory…