A (Personal) Introduction to Midland, Texas Pt. 2
When I meet people who are unfamiliar with Midland, Texas, there are three things I mention:
1) Oil & Gas
2) Friday Night Lights
3) Trevor Stoltz
Listen, oil & gas is the Goliath in Midland and it's sister city, Odessa. If you live here, you work in it, or you are one degree separated from it. Drive through here, and you’ll see undulating rows of pump jacks pulling black gold from the earth. If this is the part of West Texas you’re most interested in, I suggest The Prize or The Big Rich.
Friday Night Lights is, itself, also the name of a book, a film, and much beloved television show. The degree of authenticity probably diminishes in that order, but one thing is very certain - high school football is BIG here. College football isn’t far behind. As for the NFL, I see more Patriots bumper stickers here than Cowboys or Texans, but I’m not naive as to why and I’m definitely not complaining.
Now you may notice my list omits the renowned Bush family - Midland, TX was home to two former American presidents (you can visit the remarkably humble site, now a museum, year round). But I only had room for three things and a lot of reasons to choose Trevor Stoltz.
Trevor Stoltz
I like to think of Trevor as the quintessential Midlander. His family has deep roots here that go back generations and he continues to grow his own with an amazing wife (PhD et al) and three young children. He works in (you guessed it!) oil & gas, a business you can do pretty well in here when people like you. People really like Trevor. If the industry separates people by one degree, Trevor separates them by two. If he’s in the room (and he often is), you might hear him before you see him, which is a feat considering his stature and the signature mess of curls that swing from his head. He’s about a +25 handicap but everyone wants him on their team. Golf is a lifestyle in Midland - that means something.
I’m introducing you to Trevor now because, aside from his popularity, he’s an expert on two things - red meat and red wine. Both exist in abundance here. To this day, he has grilled my favorite steak I’ve ever eaten. I depend on Trevor, and people like him, to show me the ropes of the West Texas culinary experience, so expect to hear from locals on this site. Those are the best people to tell you how it is.
I’m just here to tell you what it’s like.
