Nostalgia


Reading the latest entry on my friend John Enright's blog, Rhyme of the Day, I was reminded of past summers in August and visits with my family to Oklahoma to see my Grandmother.
Each August we would pack up the car and travel from our home in Elkhorn, Wisconsin down Route 66 to Miami, Oklahoma where my mother grew up. I still remember her corner house at 33 G Street NE with a porch that wrapped around two sides facing the street corner. Many evenings I would sit on the porch reading as the daylight slowly waned. My sister and I filled our days with visits to the local swimming pool, the library and, sometimes when a good film was playing, the movie theater downtown. Each of these were places one could cool off as well as have fun. One of the things we often did during these visits was take various side trips to see sites in Oklahoma and Missouri. Over the years we visited Joplin, Tulsa, Will Rogers's home in Claremore, Silver Dollar City and others. One of my fondest memories was visiting The Buffalo Ranch in Afton, Oklahoma. This was not very far as Afton was just a few miles further west on Route 66, but it was unique with the Buffalo (American Bison) and other animals including llamas and yaks. I still have postcards saved from these visits. It is a reminder of another era, growing up in the 1950s, travelling with family and living in what seems now like another world.