Planes, Trains, and (especially) Automobiles

Last weekend a series of in-country trips began for me. The summer's first road trip. I drove from Small-town, OK, to Big City, CO, helping my grandmother make the monumental move from life alone to life with relatives. She rented a moving van, and after we got it all loaded, we took the shortest (though not fastest) possible route to central Colorado, going through the panhandle of Oklahoma--"No Man's Land," it's called, apparently because no one wanted it back in the days before OK was a state. (My grandmother theorizes that Oklahoma was forced to adopt the area as a condition of receiving statehood, but she wasn't there, so that may be fiddle-faddle. :) Once there, I was fortunate enough to enjoy a few nice days with my not-often-seen relatives, including two of my cousins who are closest to me in age. We share lots of old but poignant memories, those hoodlums and I. Then I flew home--Denver-Vegas-OKC. Don't you hate layovers? The second leg of the trip was surprisingly enjoyable, though, because I sat next to an interesting old man who splits time between Oakland and Oklahoma. We talked politics for two hours. Some of the good, conservative Oklahomans sitting near us didn't enjoy my buddy's liberal views. One elderly woman in particular snorted her disapproval when the old guy leaned over to me and told me we ought to impeach Bush--with the same general tone my mom uses when asking if I would like to join her in a run to Wal-Mart. (I declined the invitation.) The point of contact between the old man's views and mine was his contempt for partisan politics and his opinion that money and media have corrupted and warped the whole political system. From there our paths diverged greatly. But enough about that.

This weekend, Lord willing, some buddies and I will drive up to Minnesota to see an old friend. And if I have time, later in the summer I'll make my way to Yellowstone. Ah, road trips, what a great time for friendships, what a great time to see the country I've known--but only in part--all my life.