the travels of bud caddell – conroe, texas

January 4th, 2010 • posts i've written

Aaaaaand I’m back! Hello, 2010. I like typing you.

I spent the holidays in Conroe, Texas with my family. It’s where I grew up, went to school (K-12), and promptly departed for Austin, then Chicago, and finally NYC.

I’d like to share a few random observations from my travels into the heartland, the fly over states, the bible belt, and the real America (of course, I jest).

• Conroe is a town of around 40k people – most of which seem to live, eat, and shop within 5 miles of the major freeway that runs through town (I-45). The freeway off-ramps are loaded with every chain-restaurant and big box shopping experience you can imagine and they’re crowded. When I left for college, Conroe was half the population it is now. That means Conroe roughly doubled its population over the last decade.
• Scarcity is dead. Shopping for basic necessities in Conroe, compared to Manhattan, is pure bliss. The aisles are wide, clean, over-stocked, and over-abundant. Need toothpaste? Well, we have 200 varieties. Among the many retail outlets, you’ll find a giant store dedicated to embroidery, 4 tanning salons, a dozen Christian-goods outlets, and almost anything else you wouldn’t ever think of.
• The four TV stations always on at the local gym were: E!, Fox News, a 24 hour hunting station (not kidding), and the Soap Network. Almost all, scripted dramas.
• Foursquare is being used, in very small numbers, by the locals. The closest check-in to my home was Vernon’s Kuntry Katfish, which is only a mile or so away.
• Everyone, I mean everyone, is driving a truck or SUV. When I was in high school, the bigger your truck, the cooler you were – surprisingly, this has not changed. Almost every teen I spotted was climbing in or out of a large truck, sometimes with monster-truck-sized tires. Also, I could spot a Hummer in every parking lot I stopped in.
• There are no college-aged adults. The last census showed only about 10% of the population between 18-25. And I suspect that after kids go off to college, they aren’t returning to Conroe in large numbers. Perhaps this is why the same behaviors I saw as a teen are still being exhibited by teens there now?
• Attitudes are insular. I found most everyone well-versed and read on the day’s news (mostly the Fox News take on things) and there was real fear of an encroaching government (and strong Obamaphobia). I had the damnedest time keeping the conversation away from politics while I was home. People wanted to talk about it and give you their opinion.
• People still believe in advertising. Most of my family can recite an ad back to you verbatim (not just my niece and nephews), and most of them expressed trusting opinions regarding ads. In all, being back reminded me that we take Manhattan attitudes and interests as foregone national conclusions or eventualities all too foolishly.

I’ll always love my family and the acre of earth I grew up on, but to me, Conroe is like an international airport – well polished, all the restaurant chains and shops you’ve heard of, but a real sense that this isn’t a place you want to settle down for very long. It’s good to be back in Brooklyn.

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Tags: conroe, travel

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