Top 10 ways to know you're not in New England anymore

*I wrote this while I sat in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport waiting for my plane to take me to Oklahoma City. In general, these are not meant to be negative either for New England or for OK/TX. They are just some observations I made.*


1. Your aircraft controller is Mexican, not a big, burly white guy with a Boston accent.
2. There is western-style clothing in every store.
3. The TX/OK drawl is so thick it makes you wince, even though you were raised in OK.
4. People smile at you as you walk by.
5. People speak Spanish.
6. There's a tequila bar in the airport terminal.
7. There are restaurants that advertise "authentic SW flavor", not legal seafood.
8. People get excited about college football, not the Sox.
9. There are paintings of cowboys & indians, not Paul Revere.
10.There's one guy at the gate where you're sitting that actually commands the attention of everyone there with the stories of his travels. They're actually not that interesting, you see, but he's speaking sooooo loudly that you have to listen. (and he's not insane)