Monday, I went to Amarillo.  I had not been on that road going West out of Oklahoma since 1968.  I had forgotten how flat it is out there.  I mean f-l-a-t.  People think Oklahoma is like that, but it isn't.  Edmond is full of hillocks and trees.  And everything you stick in the dirt grows here.  And Pryor is in the middle of what we call '"Green Country."  Oklahoma is reputed to have more shore line than any state in the nation--we have so many lakes.  It would be Eden, but in Oklahoma we have tornados.

The white sands of Pensacola can lay claim to the most beautiful shore line in America as far as I am concerned.  If they didn't have all those gnats (no-see bugs) it would be Eden.  So I am going to stay in Oklahoma.  I can get away from a tornado, but you can't get away from the no-see gnats.

The last time I drove West, I was taking my three kids to California.  Ken had four months to do (after Viet Nam) before he could retire and he insisted that the kids finish the school year in Pryor.  But the kids and I voted not to do it.  After he left to go to El Toro, we piled in the car and started driving West.  Those memories flooded back as I was on the road to Amarillo.  They didn't miss anything important in school anyway.  And Ken was glad that we didn't listen to him. 

Becky and I had gone to see Ken's sister who has been ill.  I packed sandwiches because I knew Becky wouldn't stop.  She doesn't get hungry.  I am hungry all the time.  I must burn it all up because I don't gain weight.  We are going to Paris (I'll tell you about that tomorrow) and Becky asked me what was the most important thing I wanted to see.  That was an easy question.  "The pastry shops."  The last time she went to Paris, she promised to bring me French pastries, but had to leave that morning before the shops opened--so I was dissapointed.  Big time.   

Pretty pitiful when an eclair is more important than the Eiffel Tower.   But this isn't my first Paris Rodeo.  There will be time for both.