- every year, the bluebonnets appear, almost overnight, every year thousands of people flock them. It bothers you that no-one really questions why.
- "how can I help y'all?" the waitress asks, looking over your shoulder, you are the only one in the diner.
- you've been driving towards El Paso for hours, but you swear the scenery hasn't changed, out on the horizon, the turbines have stopped spinning.
- "y'all come back now, y'hear?" the sign on the highway says, it's once bright paint faded and peeling, this is not a farewell. It's a warning.
- no-one really swims in the lakes, ask anyone why, and they'll mutter something about cleanliness or the fish, they won't meet your eyes.
- you haven't seen a cicada in years, but there rattling hiss taunts your every step on hot summer days, at least you hope it's just the cicadas.
- there are no basements in North Texas, despite the tornadoes, folks would rather face the wrath of the skies than what lies beneath the clay.