Quote

I do walk with a bit of a swagger. I do swear a lot. And people are going to be offended by that. But in this PC world, you can't be honest.

If you're comfortable with who you are, it shows in your walk.

I always had that adolescent notion that I had to get out of Texas. But I'm really glad I grew up there. It's where I learned to look people in the eye, to be straightforward and polite.

When I walk outside, people have something to say about it.

My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.

Now, in Texas, we believe in the rugged individual. Texas may be the one place where people actually still have bootstraps, and we expect folks to pull themselves up by them. But we also recognize there are some things we can't do alone. We have to come together and invest in opportunity today for prosperity tomorrow.

When I see people on the street, I look at how they walk. It's like a signature, a fingerprint.

Any swagger is just defense. When you're reminded so much of who you are by people - not a fame thing, but with my size, constantly, growing up - you just either curl up in a corner in the dark or you wear it proudly, like armor or something. You can turn it on its head and use it yourself before anybody else gets a chance.

I'm South American, and growing up in New York, I had the total stereotypical way of thinking of what Texas was about. I'm like, Texas. Big. Cows. Cowboys. Cowboy hats and cowboy boots. And barbeque.

I grew up in southern California in the '80s. Yes, I am a walking cliche.