It’s Worth It

I guess I can say that at least one small thing I’ve written over the years has been officially published…

The Houston: It’s Worth It book hit the shelves back in October 2007 and — like the bad procrastinator I’ve been lately — I haven’t even bothered to check it out yet, even though I hear it’s phenomenal.

As chance would have it, I was perusing a favorite website today — Houston Strategies — and saw that Tory Gattis had done a brief write-up on the HIWI book and included a few of his favorite quotes.

For those that aren’t familiar with the HIWI project, the creators of this ambitious, quasi-tourism initiative asked Houstonians (and non-Houstonians alike) to submit a few lines to their website, telling the world why they loved Houston.  I thought long and hard about how best to describe my deep and abiding love for the city I was born and raised in, and which I lovingly call home.

And, in the end, I scrapped my original diatribe and just wrote this instead:

Because it’s my home. It’s in my blood and my lungs. Because I get lonely for the mercurial chaos and sprawl when I travel to sad, soulless, cookie-cutter towns. Everyone has a chance here; anyone can fit in and find a place of their own. No city in this country offers more diversity and opportunity alongside such friendliness and hospitality as Houston does.”

I was flattered to learn today that not only had my statement made it into the HIWI book, but it was also Tory’s “favorite” quote of the entire book.

Aw, shucks.

What can I say?  I love this place.