I spent a good amount of time in Texas at Lackland AFB in the 50s and 60s. Only back to Houston and Ft. Worth on some business trips since. Nice countr...er...state, except it's a little too warm for this guy born in northern Iowa - Sioux City. So I love the snow.
But I did grow up in the crime capitol of the forties, Kansas City. Don't get me started on the Mafia, Democrat political machines, organized crime, or the rest of that crap. GOOGLE up Charles Binaggio or Charles Gargotta, or Tom Pendergast.
Hey, BattleHymn, where 'bouts in the Ozarks are ya from? I'm down here in unincorporated Shell Knob, south of Springfield, west of Branson, and east of Cassville, the closest town with sidewalks!