East Texas' economic hopes hinge on retirees

You can be sitting in a restaurant in Mesquite in an hour," Flener
(president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce) said.

I'll bet this made Tyler economic development officials cringe when
they read it. You can be sitting in a restaurant in Tyler in 45
minutes or less from Athens.

Maybe Flener is a Hooters fan. Mesquite has one and Tyler, of course, does not. And there'd no doubt be church protests organized against one if they did.

I think the Sutter couple from Chicago has taken isolation a bit too
far. There is nothing all that scenic about Toledo Bend either.
Rayburn is a nicer lake, IMO.

Note Mr. Murdock says you need "topography" to compete (there's
another Hooters joke in there somewhere). That's why North Carolina is
so popular, especially the western part.