I’m trying my best to not include facts, numbers, or research of any kind in posts this month, but it’s hard. I tend to look stuff up and think about the stuff I looked up. Even in my spare time, which is a joke because I’m fully retired now.

So here’s a number or two. Back when I grew up in/near the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex from the late 60s through to the end of my college studies at North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) in 1987, the rural community of Frisco, Texas quite a bit north of Dallas had a population of around 2,000. Or less, for decades.

Today it’s over 200,000.

And sure, it’s true that things change, old person, get used to it. Don’t be stuck in the past. In my old person defense, however, going from 2,000 to over 200,000 during a lifetime is kinda of an outlier. The place has like eight high schools now. It’s crazy and my research I’m trying not to include in these posts tells me Frisco has been named “fastest growing town in America” more than once.

What’s even more interesting to me is that 16% of the folks living in today’s Frisco, Texas are Asian-American. That’s 32,000 or so of Asian descent living in a place I associated during my DFW upbringing as “Last Picture Show” meets “Elmer Gantry.” I.e., tumbleweeds, country bumpkins (I am allowed to use this term because I am one) and evangelical revival meetings. True, a number of today’s Asian-American Friscoites are likely Christian (I’m not looking that up), but still.

For further context, Frisco lies partly in Collin County, Texas, home of politically pummeled adulterer, liar, and public thief Ken Paxton. Very much not the next Governor of Texas Paxton fits every one of my mental notions of what Frisco, Texas/Collin County is to a veritable T for Texas. That Paxton did not even carry his home county last Tuesday is truly one of the greatest joys I will ever experience. From what I read, most folks in Frisco/Collin County are thinking the place isn’t necessarily “turning blue.” They just hate Donald Trump and Ken Paxton.

In other words, my kind of folks.

In prepping for my trip back “home” this coming week, I’ve been on Google Maps. It’s been shocking and exciting to see how many diverse ethnic restaurants choices are now available compared to the 90000000000000 BBQ and chicken joints, 800000000000000 Tex-Mex offerings, 20 soul food restaurants, and 2 Chinese places available back in 70s and 80s. Not that all those restaurants were bad, Tex-Mex aside, but the number of, for instance, halal places has gone from zero to quite a bit more than zero.

To sum up, I’m today excited and even joyous to visit a place I’d long vowed never to return. It’s weird in the absolute best way possible. Paxton losing Collin County being the cherry and sprinkles on the now diverse DFW sundae.

And now the unrelated photo…