5/7/17, “Where the Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plain”
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas (DFW)
My time in Oklahoma has come to an end, and it is time to
fly home. I have enjoyed this brief trip
to the heartland, and I look forward to many returns. Kansas seems to be calling my name
first. Part of the brilliance of the
Rodgers and Hammerstein musical by the same name, whence I drew the title of
this entry, is that is just a collection of ordinary stories of settlers in the
territory in the days preceding statehood.
There is nothing special about the story. In fact, the story is boring, by design.
The music is what brings it to life, the
catchy tunes and the brilliant lyrics. Talking about a “bright golden haze on the meadow” or how the “corn is
as high as an elephant’s eye” poetically paints such a vivid picture of the scene. The idea of imploring the farmers and the
ranchers to be friends, while each side gently ribs the other, gives even more
color to the town. Each word in that
song is carefully chosen as it conveys what Hammerstein wanted to describe
about the town.
By the time statehood is
announced, we already know everything there is to know about Oklahoma, but we
are glad to hear one more time that it “where the wind comes sweeping down the
plain.” These were the thoughts I had as
I drove through Oklahoma today, and it was a bland day, to say the least, but
the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein made it that much more interesting, the
same way they can make the tale of an island in the South Pacific or a
nun-turned-governess that much more interesting.
After I closed last night, I went to
Cattlemen’s for dinner, which dates back to the 1930s. It is considered Oklahoma’s “most iconic
restaurant” by Thrillist, and I wholeheartedly agree. I was in for an iconic experience that tI
fear my writing ability will not be able to convey as brilliantly as Hammerstein
did. There was a 45-minute wait for a
table, but I could eat at the counter without a wait if I wanted. I very much wanted to do that, so I sat write
down, ordering a club soda to get started.
Steak and whiskey, just like they had been serving for 80 years. That was all I wanted. It came with bread and mashed potatoes, and I
also got a side of fried okra. This was
as Oklahoma as Oklahoma got.
The men
next to me added some local color. The
one sitting immediately to my right was as polite as polite gets, ending every
sentence to the waitress with “ma’am.”
When I sharply elbowed him in the back while trying to take a picture,
he had nothing but good-natured humor, saying that these seats weren’t spaced
for big guys. He also said that someone
back home is going to very jealous when they see that picture. The guy one more to the right asked if I had
actually gotten my water bottle in Palmer Station. I told him about my cruise to
Antarctica. Then, the two of them got to
talking, and the guy further away asked the guy to my right if he was from here
or “just here herding cattle.” He was
just here to herd cattle. Only in
Oklahoma. My food came quickly, and I
was glad for my all-American mean. Every
bite of it was perfect. One of the best
meals I’ve ever head. I got my cake to
go.
Now, here comes the interesting
part. My reader will recall last night I
had seen something about an event at ZT Cigars.
Well, I couldn’t find anything about it.
What I did find, though, was even better. There was something called Smoklahoma, a
once-a-year, huge cigar event, and it was last night. I went to ZT Cigars, confirmed it was closed,
and then drove to Smoklahoma. After a
bit of a hassle finding parking, and literally being able to smell the smoke
from a block away, I went inside. I
bought my ticket, and I was in heaven. Each vendor was selling, so I made
purchases from six vendors, the prices were so good. I lit up a special Aging Room from the event
and drank my fill of whiskey.
Around
10:30 PM, I headed back to my hotel, and I started to look at my day for
today. Something was off. The day I had designed was technically viable,
but it would require leaving the hotel at 5 AM and doing 11 hours of
driving. I would try to get up at that
hour, but I didn’t think it was happening.
If I eliminated the two sites in Texas, I could leave the hotel at 9 AM
and just go to the site in Oklahoma. I
could do those two Texas sites as part of my New Mexico trip in two weeks. I went down, lit up an LFD, and played Zelda,
making great progress. I got to where I
had wanted to get, and all that was left was finding and defeating the main
boss. That is easier said than done,
since I need to buy a lot of new gear and spend time finding the resources to
purchase the gear (in-game money, not real money) but I am in the home stretch. I went upstairs and soon went to sleep. I woke up at 5:15 AM, which I knew was too
late to try and make the Texas sites, so I went to sleep and woke up 3 hours
later. I was delayed leaving my hotel
room and didn’t have time for breakfast.
It was 9:15 AM by the time I got in the car. From there, it was a straight shot to Washita
Battlefield, stopping only for gas and coffee.
That was when I started listening to “Oklahoma!” I loved listening to that in Oklahoma. When I got to the Washita Battlefield
National Historic Site, I learned that it was not so much a battle as a
slaughter by Custer and his men. I lit
up a Carrillo and walked the battlefield a bit.
I then got on the road to the airport, knowing I would only stop for
food and gas. Sonic Drive-In is Oklahoma’s
most famous fast food restaurant, so I stopped at the first one I saw, planning
to get a burger, tots, chicken fingers, and a shake. Well, they were out of shakes, so I decided I
would want to save my dairy allowance for a trip to Dairy Queen later, which
would also entail chicken fingers, so I ordered a bigger burger and the tots,
which I would soon learn would not be enough food. For my readers who have never been to a
Sonic, you order from a screen next to your car and wait in your car from them
to bring you your food. You are
encouraged to eat in your car, which I did.
From there, I got back on the road, and I was hungry again almost
immediately. I blamed the heat and the
lack of a cold beverage. I lit up an
Aroma de Cuba, followed by an Aging Room and then a L’Atelier. After my cigars, I stopped at a Dairy Queen,
where I got my Blizzard and chicken fingers.
I then gassed up and was on my way to the airport. I hit the same construction as I did on my
way up yesterday, and it cost me about ten minutes due to a detour, but I got
to the airport in plenty of time. I
breezed through security and went to my gate, where I sat down and proceeded to
write this entry, which I will now close, along with closing out this
trip. Next stop: New Mexico in two weeks
to finally, hopefully, say, “New Mexico Complete” and get my stamps at Taos.
No comments:
Post a Comment