Road Trip Home: Family Take Three

Our last stop on the journey was in Tulsa. The last time we were there was in October for our last visit with Mom and her subsequent funeral. Consequently, this was a different experience of Tulsa for us. We had always before stayed at Mom's house, my home that I grew up in. Dad bought that house in 1954 for about $13,000 when I was 4 years old, and Mom lived there the next 54 years of her life. My brother Bill and I met at the house to look it over and talk about plans for selling it. After 54 years it will be owned by someone else. To whom ever buys it I wish them all the joys that we had while it was Mom's house. My next time there it will belong to someone else and we will drive by, but not go in. I asked Don if he wanted me to go along with him to this home. Other than our home in Ohio Don lived here longer than anyplace in his life. Often when we'd visit he'd tell me some story or another about growing up with Mom and Dad- and all of those "boys". We buried more than just Mom this October. But I rather sensed that Don wanted to make this last trip home with Bill- that his last walk around the home that watched him grow from child to man was best made with the oldest of his brothers. Now all those memories will be guarded safely in the stories we tell to each- and our children- and our children's children.

Because the house is now empty we stayed at Max's Dad's house. Frank and Fay always welcome us and we enjoy seeing them. Frank will be 85 next year, but acts and feels much younger. (By the way- we're planning an 85th birthday celebration- and for Fay's 75th- next October 2- so save the date!) Our first morning there we took them to Tally's Diner that brother Bill told us about. If you want to know where to eat in Tulsa- just ask Bill. He always knows where the best food- and the best service is. It's only about one mile from Mom's house and sits on the old Route 66-

- that runs from coast to coast. Max had eaten there before and ordered the table a cinnamon roll.


As you can see from the picture this was no normal cinnamon roll. The picture has not been adjusted. This cinnamon roll is really the size of a dinner plate, hot and soft all the way through. My goodness that was a treat. This is Don's favorite treat - a giant gooey cinnamon roll- this one more than matched his fantasies!

While Don spent the day with Bill, I spent the day at yet another meal with family- sometimes I can't believe all the food that can be eaten on a trip home. At lunch we met my sister-in-law, Karen and her husband, Bob. (By the way- you might divorce the husband- for whatever reason- but always hang on to the sister-in-law- a sister-in-law is a joy for your whole life- and like fine wine, they get even better with age!) We had a grand time catching up!

That night we had dinner with brother Bill and his wife Ellen, our niece Tracy, and our great nephew Kyle, and Kyle's girl friend. It was a fun evening of great food, stories, laughs, and the wonderful experience of family. We had so much fun! I'm not sure I'd laughed so hard in weeks. And of course since Bill and Ellen picked the restaurant, the food was great as well.





Don and Tracy sharing secrets...

Kyle with his first grown-up Grappa...


You might notice in the picture below that above Ellen's fireplace are numerous stockings. No Ellen and Bill didn't have that many kids, in fact, Bill and Ellen only had dogs, lots of dogs - Norwich Terriers to be specific. You can count 13 stockings in this picture, but Ellen is a real sentimentalist and even though some of her dogs have gone to doggy heaven, they still have stocking above Ellen's fireplace.
We will be going back to Tulsa because we have roots there, roots of family, friends, experiences, and places that are part of us. Tulsa is where Max and I met and dated in high school. We both went to OU in Norman and together have 5 degrees from OU. There are wonderful friends there that we see too seldom and often miss. Ohio is our home, but Oklahoma is a special place for us.