For me, Texas Independence Day is deeply personal. My family’s roots in our great state go back to the Texas Revolution. My fifth great grandfather, Col. Martin Parmer (sometimes spelled “Palmer”) chaired the Texas Constitutional Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos as the Alamo fell. During that incredible time, he wrote a letter to his wife relating the importance of the struggle for freedom in which the defenders of the Alamo and all Texans seeking liberty were engaged. I have shared that letter on Texas Independence Day before, and I was honored to once again read that letter on the floor of the Texas Senate today.