The meteorological pride of Texas . . . is the norther—the Texas norther. F. Frank Dobie James Frank Dobie, whose nickname was Pancho, was the quintessential raconteur of Texas folklore and tradition for generations of Texans in the first half of the twentieth century. By the time Larry McMurtry was starting to make a name for himself as a novelists and essayists Dobie, in the words of McMurtry, had “gone, no more to ride the river nor follow the Longhorn cow.” Four years after Dobie’s death, McMurtry wrote, “[J. Frank Dobie] had the largest audience of any Texas writer, but at that it is an audience composed primarily of middle-aged nostalgics. And it will probably not outlive him much more than a generation.” McMurtry was right. Dobie is rarely read these days by Texans, to say nothing of those outside Texas. And that’s a shame—not because Dobie was a great writer, but because he was a great collector of stories (despite McMurtry’s arguments to the contrary). The following yarn is about the peculiar nature of Texas weather. The most peculiar of which is the Texas or Blue Norther.
Mr. Fishback's Half-Frozen Horse
Mr. Fishback's Half-Frozen Horse
Mr. Fishback's Half-Frozen Horse
The meteorological pride of Texas . . . is the norther—the Texas norther. F. Frank Dobie James Frank Dobie, whose nickname was Pancho, was the quintessential raconteur of Texas folklore and tradition for generations of Texans in the first half of the twentieth century. By the time Larry McMurtry was starting to make a name for himself as a novelists and essayists Dobie, in the words of McMurtry, had “gone, no more to ride the river nor follow the Longhorn cow.” Four years after Dobie’s death, McMurtry wrote, “[J. Frank Dobie] had the largest audience of any Texas writer, but at that it is an audience composed primarily of middle-aged nostalgics. And it will probably not outlive him much more than a generation.” McMurtry was right. Dobie is rarely read these days by Texans, to say nothing of those outside Texas. And that’s a shame—not because Dobie was a great writer, but because he was a great collector of stories (despite McMurtry’s arguments to the contrary). The following yarn is about the peculiar nature of Texas weather. The most peculiar of which is the Texas or Blue Norther.