I write to you tonight from a hotel in north Dallas, Texas, in a region the local folk call Addison.

All of the stories you've heard about Texans are, indeed, true. Everyone has kind eyes and smiles when you walk by. The men here wear cowboys hats as if they were fashionable, and not a prop or costume. When you ask people about the city and its culture, they invariably throw in the phrase "we do it big." And best of all, nobody generalizes the characteristics of cities after they've spent two days there.

I'm learning to correct that tendency.

One of the first things I discovered -- and became excessively giddy -- about Dallas is that they have a Sonic here. You've probably seen commercials for it when you've watched basketball games on TNT. Sonic is a fast-food restaurant that, I assume, is like a southern version of Jack In The Box: In other words, it's a Jack In The Box that does things bigger. The menu has items such as Toaster Sandwiches (hamburgers with Texas toast), Coneys (chili-cheese hot dogs), the Sonic-Blast (basically a Dairy Queen Blizzard), and other foods people eat when they want to punish their bodies. I can't remember if it was Houston or Dallas that was the fattest city in America, but either way, I'm sure Sonic contributed heavily to that honor.

Get it? Contributed HEAVILY?

I'm trying to motivate myself to wake up tomorrow at 8 a.m., which I haven't done in roughly seven years. They're serving continental breakfast downstairs from 7 to 9 a.m., but that's not a good enough reason. Besides, Sonic serves breakfast all day.