Waco, Texas, USA

lpret · 04-25-2003, 06:53 PM

I'm not from Texas. I'm not really from the USA for that matter, and so because of all this, I think I'll be a great tour guide for yall here in Waco. You may be wondering, what the hemm is in Waco besides that crazy Koresh guy? Well, not much. But what is here is quite interesting. So let's start walking...

First, a little history. The Waco Indians lived here first, they had a nice little village going along and were friendly towards the white people who came along. In 1837, some Texas Rangers came to Waco village to build a fort but it was out of the way and there were Comanche problems elsewhere, so that idea was abandoned. You'll see this abandonment is a theme throughout Waco's past. After several businessmen had set up a trading post, the city of Waco started in 1849, and in 1856 it was incorporated.

In 1870, Waco being the center of commerce for central Texas, many railroads and wagon trails came through Waco, encouraging it's growth and development. The city planners realized this and took care to lay out the city carefully so that the city would be bustling yet organized. Good 'ol German immigrants

So at this time, Baylor University, which had started in Independence, Texas, decided that they needed to move to a bustling yet organized town, and Waco fit the bill. So in 1886, Waco became Baylor's home.

Well, times have changed, and so has transportation. Railroads just aren't a big deal, and as roads became more popular, people didn't have to move towards the hubs of railroads. So Waco soon became a ghost town of sorts. Now, in 2003, Waco is considered one of the poorest cities in the nation, due to the rapid deflation in the 50's, and it has not recovered.

I'm a student at Baylor, so let me give you the rundown on Baylor, as it is the largest employer in Waco and a major driver of the Wacoan economy. Baylor has 13,000 students and is a Baptist school. It is the only private school in the Big XII, which has not treated us kindly in some sports (always ranked near bottom in Football and Basketball) yet we manage to consistently do well in the lesser known sports (Big XII champions in Tennis, Baseball, and Rugby). Academically, Baylor is considered the Harvard of the South, with much more emphasis on it's Baptist heritage. Some would say that hurts it, others would defend that heritage -- whatever. It's a good mix of crazy frat parties without feeling like everyone's on speed around you.

I'm sure most of you have heard of David Koresh, and rightly so -- it's a testament to the gullibleness of people and the way the government can fark things up. David Koresh started his own little cult where he told people that he was Jesus Christ reincarnate and that they should all follow him. Same old story as many other cults. However, the FBI got involved because of the children, and so they surrounded the Branch Davidian compound (that's what he called his little cult), and tried to wait them out. Well, after several unsuccessful raids to get children out, many in the compound started a fire and burned themselves to the ground. One side of me wants to say they got what they deserved, and the other side of me blames the FBI for screwing up negotiations (promising stuff to Koresh and then not doing it, etc.). That's the biggest news in Waco in the past decade.

We have your standard Barnes and Nobles, 2 Starbucks, a Best Buy, a Chili's, a Friday's -- all the things a town of 100,000 people should have. But not large enough to get a good nightlife or specialty restaurants. If you want to see some of old Texas, there's a bunch of museums here, but not much else.

So on that happy note, let's break for lunch, and then you can either head 100 miles north to Dallas, 100 miles south to Austin, or 100 miles southeast to College Station (Texas A&M).

That Guy · 04-26-2003, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by lpret
. . . I'm a student at Baylor. . .

I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe things will turn out for you after all.
Hook 'em!

Griff · 04-26-2003, 10:11 AM

When is Slang going to counter the official history of the Waco situation?

lpret · 04-26-2003, 11:50 AM

Yeah Griff, I was wondering when the conspiracy theorists would jump in to prove me wrong...

And that guy, I transferred here from UT, I figured my chances of finding girls without STDs was a lot better here...

xoxoxoBruce · 04-26-2003, 11:54 AM

Quote:

I transferred here from UT, I figured my chances of finding girls without STDs was a lot better

Under Toad has girls with STD's????????

wolf · 04-26-2003, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Griff
When is Slang going to counter the official history of the Waco situation?

He'll get to it.

In the meantime ... there's a Frontline report viewable in it's entirety online.

Funny (strange, not ha-ha) thing about Waco. When the seige started and we were watching it on the news at work in the employee lounge, I made a statement ... "They're not coming out of there alive, and the place is going to burn to the ground."

The shrinks who were eating lunch with me laughed and said they expected the negotiators to do their jobs well, etc.

I got some strange looks after it happened.

russotto · 04-28-2003, 10:06 AM

Did they find the other half of the front door yet? Or the missing footage on the tape of the initial assault on the front door that came up blank?

ttubob · 03-08-2005, 04:07 AM

You do realize that didn't actually happen 'in' Waco, right? It was actually out towards Axtell (about 20 miles away from Waco). Waco, was just the closest city. Also, it wasn't the FBI, but the ATF... And they didn't go there because of the children, but because of the grenades, that the U.S.P.S. 'accidentally' found. Man, I didn't know a damn thing about them before the stand-off (I remember it started on a sunday, and I just happened to see the footage on a live broadcast from the local news station), but I seem to remember it 'slightly' better than the rest of you.

Screw bu, tu, and atm....

mrnoodle · 03-08-2005, 12:15 PM

I got kinfolks in Waco, Temple, Troy, Lorena, Crawford. When I was a kid and we visited down there, it was a big deal to drive out to see the Baylor stadium and campus and eat at the Luby's cafeteria. And my aunt would tell us about the big tornado in 19fiftysomething.

04-25-2003, 06:53 PM	#1
lpret Recruit or Something Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Waco, TX Posts: 4	Waco, Texas, USA I'm not from Texas. I'm not really from the USA for that matter, and so because of all this, I think I'll be a great tour guide for yall here in Waco. You may be wondering, what the hemm is in Waco besides that crazy Koresh guy? Well, not much. But what is here is quite interesting. So let's start walking... First, a little history. The Waco Indians lived here first, they had a nice little village going along and were friendly towards the white people who came along. In 1837, some Texas Rangers came to Waco village to build a fort but it was out of the way and there were Comanche problems elsewhere, so that idea was abandoned. You'll see this abandonment is a theme throughout Waco's past. After several businessmen had set up a trading post, the city of Waco started in 1849, and in 1856 it was incorporated. In 1870, Waco being the center of commerce for central Texas, many railroads and wagon trails came through Waco, encouraging it's growth and development. The city planners realized this and took care to lay out the city carefully so that the city would be bustling yet organized. Good 'ol German immigrants So at this time, Baylor University, which had started in Independence, Texas, decided that they needed to move to a bustling yet organized town, and Waco fit the bill. So in 1886, Waco became Baylor's home. Well, times have changed, and so has transportation. Railroads just aren't a big deal, and as roads became more popular, people didn't have to move towards the hubs of railroads. So Waco soon became a ghost town of sorts. Now, in 2003, Waco is considered one of the poorest cities in the nation, due to the rapid deflation in the 50's, and it has not recovered. I'm a student at Baylor, so let me give you the rundown on Baylor, as it is the largest employer in Waco and a major driver of the Wacoan economy. Baylor has 13,000 students and is a Baptist school. It is the only private school in the Big XII, which has not treated us kindly in some sports (always ranked near bottom in Football and Basketball) yet we manage to consistently do well in the lesser known sports (Big XII champions in Tennis, Baseball, and Rugby). Academically, Baylor is considered the Harvard of the South, with much more emphasis on it's Baptist heritage. Some would say that hurts it, others would defend that heritage -- whatever. It's a good mix of crazy frat parties without feeling like everyone's on speed around you. I'm sure most of you have heard of David Koresh, and rightly so -- it's a testament to the gullibleness of people and the way the government can fark things up. David Koresh started his own little cult where he told people that he was Jesus Christ reincarnate and that they should all follow him. Same old story as many other cults. However, the FBI got involved because of the children, and so they surrounded the Branch Davidian compound (that's what he called his little cult), and tried to wait them out. Well, after several unsuccessful raids to get children out, many in the compound started a fire and burned themselves to the ground. One side of me wants to say they got what they deserved, and the other side of me blames the FBI for screwing up negotiations (promising stuff to Koresh and then not doing it, etc.). That's the biggest news in Waco in the past decade. We have your standard Barnes and Nobles, 2 Starbucks, a Best Buy, a Chili's, a Friday's -- all the things a town of 100,000 people should have. But not large enough to get a good nightlife or specialty restaurants. If you want to see some of old Texas, there's a bunch of museums here, but not much else. So on that happy note, let's break for lunch, and then you can either head 100 miles north to Dallas, 100 miles south to Austin, or 100 miles southeast to College Station (Texas A&M). __________________ When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: 'Only stand out of my light.' Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light. - John W. Gardner, author and educator (1912-2002)

04-26-2003, 10:11 AM	#3
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	When is Slang going to counter the official history of the Waco situation? __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

04-26-2003, 11:50 AM	#4
lpret Recruit or Something Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Waco, TX Posts: 4	Yeah Griff, I was wondering when the conspiracy theorists would jump in to prove me wrong... And that guy, I transferred here from UT, I figured my chances of finding girls without STDs was a lot better here... __________________ When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: 'Only stand out of my light.' Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light. - John W. Gardner, author and educator (1912-2002)

03-08-2005, 12:15 PM	#9
mrnoodle bent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: under the weather Posts: 2,656	I got kinfolks in Waco, Temple, Troy, Lorena, Crawford. When I was a kid and we visited down there, it was a big deal to drive out to see the Baylor stadium and campus and eat at the Luby's cafeteria. And my aunt would tell us about the big tornado in 19fiftysomething. __________________ Sìn a nall na cuaranan sin. -- Cha mhór is fheairrde thu iad, tha iad coltach ri cat air a dhathadh

04-28-2003, 10:06 AM	#7
russotto Professor Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,788	Did they find the other half of the front door yet? Or the missing footage on the tape of the initial assault on the front door that came up blank?

03-08-2005, 04:07 AM	#8
ttubob Kinda New Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1	You do realize that didn't actually happen 'in' Waco, right? It was actually out towards Axtell (about 20 miles away from Waco). Waco, was just the closest city. Also, it wasn't the FBI, but the ATF... And they didn't go there because of the children, but because of the grenades, that the U.S.P.S. 'accidentally' found. Man, I didn't know a damn thing about them before the stand-off (I remember it started on a sunday, and I just happened to see the footage on a live broadcast from the local news station), but I seem to remember it 'slightly' better than the rest of you. Screw bu, tu, and atm....

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