Amarillo is...

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Now that is one large fill-in-the-blank sentence. That’s about as large as the wide-open vast plains on which this city of 200,000 sits. Amarillo is, what, exactly?

The book definition may say something like: “Amarillo is the 15th largest city in Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County; Amarillo, originally called Oneida, is situated in the Llano Estacado area.”

Blah, blah, blah. That might work on Jeopardy! but it doesn’t really get to the heart of what Amarillo is, for this city is different things to different people. There’s no right or wrong answer. There’s only personal taste and observation.

To borrow the cliché, Amarillo “is what it is.” So, what is it? Well, in a brief snapshot, Amarillo is…
Quirky: There’s the lure of a free 72-ounce steak from the Big Texan on the east, the Cadillac Ranch with old vintage cars buried face down to the west, Arnold’s Burger and their hubcap-sized hamburgers in the middle, the color and character of Sixth Street and Stanley Marsh’s whimsical signs that still remain all over town.

Surprisingly Cultural: No, really it is. This isn’t Odessa. Find a city this size that has a symphony this good going on 76 years, an opera that’s 22 years old, an Amarillo Little Theatre that has produced exceptional performances with home-grown talent for more than 80 years, and the Broadway Spotlight Series that fills the Civic Center Auditorium. Staying true to its Western roots, “Texas” in Palo Duro Canyon has been packing them in from the U.S. and overseas going on 45 years. Take that, you downstate snobs.

In Love with Restaurants: Wanna draw a crowd? Open a restaurant. Then pray you find a parking spot. Does anyone eat at home anymore? This town loves to eat out. How long would it take to eat in every restaurant, every café, every little eatery within a one-block radius of I-40 from Soncy to Eastern? And that’s just a small strip of Amarillo. It would make sense if this town also sells a lot of Tums.

Summertime Stopover: Take a drive along I-40 on some July evening. Check out the parking lots of the miles of hotels. They’re jammed.

Diversified: This is not your granddad’s Amarillo. Primarily East Amarillo is becoming a melting pot of Laotians, Sudanese and others who were once refugees and looking for a better life. Nearly 27 percent – or more than 50,000 – of the population are Hispanic.

Out There: Many would say that’s the beauty, that it’s far enough removed to have its own identity, uniqueness and individualism. And it does. Amarillo is no blowfish community, attaching itself to the economy of some bigger metropolitan area. Still, what I wouldn’t give to wave my magic geographic wand and place Amarillo two to three hours closer to, say, Austin or Dallas. It can be a haul back home.

Windy: That’s not exactly classified material, is it? We’re No. 3, baby, as far as windiest cities in the country at 13.5 mph average wind speed. And that’s just indoors. We’re six spots ahead of Boston – Boston? -- and seven ahead of Lubbock, but the Hub City has us on dirt particles in the air. But every part of the country, except maybe San Diego, has its weather issues. The reward here for enduring some winter cold and springtime wind is cool summer evenings and awesome autumns.

Busy: Be it participatory, recreational or spectator sports, outdoor/indoor entertainment, a myriad of church and school activities, parks, museums of all kinds, shopping, movies and the like. If you’re bored, it’s your own fault.

Helping Hand: The non-profit agencies that help those in need are many. No one knows how much they matter until an unfortunate time arises.

The People: Disclaimer No. 1: Every city says that. Oh, we have the best people – except in the Northeast where they don’t even pretend. Disclaimer No. 2: Like everywhere, Amarillo has its share of jerks, smart alecks and hot heads. But it’s that irritable minority that keeps me from taking the friendliness and caring of the majority for granted.

“The Largest Between Dallas and Denver:” How many times have you heard that slogan over the years? Wonderland Park, 31-story Chase Tower, Amarillo Zoo – the largest between Dallas and Denver. Okay, so there’s not that much between Dallas and Denver, and sometimes it means a slight detour around Colorado Springs, but let’s not ruin a good saying.

Like A Family Member: Oh, we can gripe about Amarillo, wished it had that, didn’t have this, why it can’t be more like some other city. I’ve done it. Hey, we’re not at all perfect and never claimed to be.

But let some outsider start to criticize and make fun and then we start to get a little defensive and start taking up Amarillo’s cause. This is kind of the bottom line: For a lot of us, whether we moved here or have moved away, Amarillo is…home. And that’s enough.