Ohhhhhhh-klahoma!

As mentioned in the titular song, the wind really does sweep down the plain here in Oklahoma. For comparison purposes, it's similar to the Santa Ana winds, but more consistent and somewhat more forceful at times. We spent the night in Oklahoma City and indulged in a childhood favorite: Mazzio's Pizza. It's a regional pizza restaurant best known for its greasy deep pan pizza. Mmmmm...greasy.

This morning we woke up to the wind blowing through the streets of OKC, making packing the car a little difficult, since every time we set something down, it would blow away. We headed out of town and drove straight to Tulsa, where we picked up my car. We decided to ship my car to Tulsa and give it to my mother. It made it safe and sound, thankfully, and I'm going to miss it, since it was the first new car I ever bought and even paid off!

I have a complicated relationship with Oklahoma. Around the age of two, I was already plotting my escape from the place. Yet, there is a lot of beauty here. If you can look past the crucifix skyline, you'll see a stunning sky of azure blue and white fluffy clouds. Plus, since Oklahoma is so flat, you'll never see a more picturesque sunset as the sun literally melts into the straight line of the horizon. As expected, my house feels smaller than when I was a child. And now my parents' big yard feels smaller, too, since they lost almost all of their trees in the ice storm earlier this year.

My 12-year old niece informed me that she saw my name on the alumni panel for my class at the high school. Yup, the graduating classes are so small that you can fit everyone's pictures on one panel and then hang them in the hallways. She noticed my name was listed, but no picture. For me that pretty much sums up my youth in Oklahoma. I was here in name only. My heart and soul were already long gone. We're here until Friday, so I'm sure we'll be encountering more ghosts from my past. Michael's just happy mingling with all the cows. I'll have to check and make sure one doesn't end up in our car before we leave.