What is it? A town.
State? Texas
County? Johnson County
High school mascot? Yellow Jackets
Population? Around 30,000.
Elementary schools? Five.
Middle schools/junior highs? 2. One sixth grade and one junior high.
Main drag? Henderson, or as we called it, "The Strip."
Kicking parking lot scene? Try the mall or out in front of the Fina at Henderson and Douglas.
Entertainment? Nolan River Mall,
Cinemark Cinema 6, Country Club,
Putt-Putt, the city pool, the 24 hour Wal-Mart
Eats? Lots of Mexican, homestyle and fast-food restaurants. An
Applebee's was just put in which caused the old people in town to
shit themselves. Johnson is a dry county, and Applebee's serves
hooch. Go figure.
Churches? One on every street corner, it seems like. There are literally dozens of
churches in this one small town.
Things I can only see in Cleburne, TX: A monument to ME in the high school
band hall; a used bookstore run by an ex-band-director-turned-blackjack-dealer-turned-proprieter; my house, where two
generations of legendary parties took place out in the middle of nowehere; Yellow Jacket Stadium which way back in the 1910's was going to be the first bowl stadium in
America - The city eventually pulled the funding and the damn thing was only half finished.
Fun factor: If you are going to high school, there are always plenty of
parties and romantic encounters to be had. As an adult, very little, although it's
ridiculously cheap to live there. I give it eight lobsters.
Final assessment of my hometown: If you want a quiet, cheap place to live with decent community and low
crime, Cleburne is for you.