American Notes Texas

Nothing was to be too grand for Texas' 150th birthday, not even a visit from the Prince of Wales. And so there stood Charles last week, biting into his first taco, cutting a slice from a 90,000-lb. sesquicentennial birthday cake and receiving an 18-inch ceremonial gavel from the state legislature. The gavel, he said, was "the biggest I've ever had, which is entirely appropriate because it comes from Texas."

During his five-day stay, the Prince met Governor Mark White, toured a San Antonio urban renewal project, and visited the battlefield where General Sam Houston won Texas' independence from Mexico. He also walked through a Houston oil refinery, where the falling price of oil is doing more harm to Texas than Santa Anna ever did at the Alamo: state tax revenues from oil could fall by $1 billion this year. After presenting a Winston Churchill Award to Dallas Businessman H. Ross Perot for his "bold imagination, pioneering spirit and dynamic leadership," Charles left for California. Despite his princely welcome, he will not be around for the high point of the yearlong, $130 million observance. That comes March 2, Texas Independence Day, more important to Texans than, well, the Fourth of July.