To say it was hot on that drive is an understatement. According to the NWS. parts of Eastern Oklahoma were 105F with Heat Indices of 115F+... It was all the air conditioner in my Mitsubishi SUV could do to keep up with the heat. I had hoped to reach at least Amarillo, TX...
While in Oklahoma City, I did take advantage of the opportunity to go see the Oklahoma City Memorial... PeeDee over at 'Queen of the Dogs' posted about her visit to the Memorial... I went at night... and was awed by it. I don't think I was quite prepared for what I saw. I guess I can't comprehend someone being so angry that they would be responsible for the deaths of so many innocents...
this is not my photo...
By being there at night, I was able to observe the lighted 'chairs' that represented those who died in the cowardly bombing. The adults are represented by 'adult-size' chairs while the children are represented by smaller chairs... I was walking down the side of the reflecting pool... looking at the names on the chairs that were closer... and this one just seemed to jump out at me... the name was 'Miss Baylee Almon'... if you remember the photos in the days that followed, there was one of a fireman carrying this little girl.
Anyhoo...
Another hard day of driving got me to Sante Fe... one of my destinations... and I was so "driven out" that I decided to not drive any further...
So I didn't get to Bryce Canyon or to Arches... nor did I get to Sedona or to the Grand Canyon... or even back to Monument Valley...
I was asked if I found the spiritual release that I was seeking... and I had to answer, 'No...' Now, don't get me wrong... something really wonderful did happen on the trip... but I didn't find the release from the weight that has built up over time.
I did make it up to Taos, and there was some beautiful scenery there... I will post some of the photos when I download them... and I did see an unbelievable rainbow on the return drive... I have never seen a rainbow quite like this one...
the rainbow I saw looked nothing like this...
...nor did it look anything like this!!
I have said before that I would never try to go out to this part of the country during summer months... that the best time to go would be either in May or in October... but time was running out... and I wanted to try. We start back to work this week... back-to-school meetings will be Thursday. Quite a few professors don't know about Robert having passed yet... so that will be emotional... and hardly any of the students know yet... Next week, when the students return will be difficult... but time doesn't stop... doesn't wait... doesn't slow down...
It's good to be home... I have much reading of your blogs to do... and comments to make... I'll be around to see you all shortly...
~shoes~
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe heat index over here has put temps in the 100-110 range + 90% humidity. It's disgusting.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're back, you've been missed.
Isak Dinesen said... "I don't think that one gets a flash of happiness once, and never again; it is there within you, and it will come as certainly as death..."
ReplyDeleteSo Robelyn says... "close your eyes, be still for just a moment, feel it again, smell it again - stand there again - remember the places you've been and will someday head back to - and refill your spiritual tank."
Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
And I'm thinkin' that rainbow was there just for you... uhmmm... all of them! LMBO!!! You do see things in colors, huh? LOLOLOL
Did you watch the sunset over the memorial? Breathtaking....
;-D
Well even a shorten trip brings with it some get away I suppose.
ReplyDeleteLooking at pictures of the Memorial gives me chills, I can't even imagine what it must be like in person.
ReplyDeleteNice to have ya back ;)
@ Jessica... How sweet of you to say that... :o) It's nice being missed... Down here in the Mississippi Delta, they are talking about temps at or around 100F to 105F all week... with heat indices VERY high!! Damn... How are you?? :o)
ReplyDelete@ Red.Neck.Chic. Haven't you shared another quote of his with me? It seems you have... and you are so right about what you say... previous events are always with us... and that's the allure I have to going back to the mesas and canyons...
I took some photos of the rainbow... I will have to down load them tonight... it was the most unusual rainbow I've ever seen... as I got closer to the rain, it took on a more traditional rainbow shape...
Re: The Memorial, there was this good looking young lady at the Memorial that took the most amazing photo of the one wall with '9:03' on it... she seemed to catch the last bits of some blue and orange in the sky.
@ Bathwater... Yes, any break beats no break at all... In that regard, Ive been fortunate being a professor. I hope I can continue to be for a few more years yet...
@ Vixen... The Memorial is amazing... to think that someone could park a truck load of explosive material that close to people... who are guilty of going about living their every-day lives... knowing that he is going to kill most, if not all of them.
The stories in the News about the two convicts that escaped from prison in AZ... It seems that they killed two people in a New Mexico community that I passed through... and in looking at the photos on TV this morning, this one looks just like a man I saw in a service station on the Texas/LA border on Saturday... I've thought, did he look close enough to being this fellow that maybe I should notify the authorities??
It's good to be back... thank you! ;o)
~shoes~
oklahoma city. i broke my ankle the day that happened. those were the days when you could go an entire day without finding out something like that had happened. i didn't even see it until i got home from the doctor's at, like, 10:00 at night. i remember that newsweek cover really strongly, too. that stuck with me.
ReplyDeleteglad the trip went well!
Glad you got away. Seeing a rainbow, even in the heat is always a special thing!
ReplyDeleteHas it rained in Mississippi yet?
Oh Shoes, I'm so glad you got away for a bit. Even if you didnt make it as far as you wanted it was still "away" from your normal everyday. Its good for the soul.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I didnt get to see the Memorial at night. I had heard it was amazing. It was powerful enough during the day and I had tears in my eyes the whole time. Its so different to read about a place like that and then actuallly see it. Its moving is probably the best way to describe it. I'm glad you stopped and saw it.
Welcome home and good luck at school. It will be a hard week with your friend missing so I hope it goes quick for you.
xoxo
Right idea. Wrong tool.
ReplyDeleteRoad trip to clear the mind and refuel the tank; excellent idea.
SUV with A/C and mp3s blasting!
Think EASY RIDER. Think Harley Davidson. Riding through New Mexico on a FatBoy, will increase your odds of seeing those alternative rainbows.
Remember the last time you saw a HARLEY parked in front of a psychiatrists office? NO BECAUSE IT NEVER HAPPENS. Go get a 883 Sportster. They go for under $10k. But they throw in the attitude free.
Sorry that you didn't get the spiritual release you were hoping for, but you did get a break. Not sure that I could have handled that scene in Oklahoma City. That must have been hard. Looking at death is never easy. Senseless death is even worse.
ReplyDeleteWell, it is good to have you back. And I am sorry your vacation is over. Yes, I realize that those are contradictory statements.
Welcome Back, Shoesies !
ReplyDeleteI missed you over here in my perverted little corner ! It sounds like it was really hot in your car. I hope your nuts didn't stick to the seat of your car or onto the side of your leg !
So sad you didn't get your um "release", we all know what you really mean. Spiritual release my ass !
Welcome back, Shoes. We missed you!
ReplyDelete@ Magnolia... I remember the images of how the building was just blown away... and of the people who were hurt and needing help, and of course, the fireman carrying little Baylee Almon...
ReplyDeleteI personally do not like the idea of 24 hr per day news reporting... it's news over-kill... we can even get live feed direct from the battlefield... *sighs*
@ Charlene... yes, there is something special about rainbows... I find them so facinating...
@ PeeDee... thank you, yes, things are going to be difficult the next week. In addition, I've already started receiving emails about the uncertainty of my future here at Alluvial Flood Plain State University... I so do not want to experience this again...
@ Kurt @ Krippled Warrior... Yeah, you are right... it was a good idea... just a bad delivery system... hahaha!!! I did think of Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper when I was cruising from Sante Fe to Taos... I understand that Dennis Hopper made Taos his home...
You are RIGHT!! I have NEVER seen a Harley in front of the office of a psychiatrist...LOL!!!
Maybe I need to see if I can borrow my brother's Harley and test it out... ;o)
@ Robin... thank you so much!! It is good to be back... in a sense... but I do know that the mesas and canyons are still there. I just need to pick a cooler time of the year, and maybe allocate more time for the trip. I do still want/need to go.
@ Senoritaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! It's good to be back!!! And it would be even better to be over there in that perverted corner!! ;o) Nope, ye olde RedShoes nutz did NOT stick to the car seat... that would have burned like a MOFO, I'm thinking... Yeeeooowwwwww!!!!!!!!!
Hmmm... can you explain what you said about your ass and a release?? Hahahahahahahhaaa.. :oD
In all seriousness, it's good to be back,Senorita. Your upcoming trip to Europe sounds like a BLAST!!!
@ Just Another Girl... thank you... it's very nice to be back... in a way... ;o)
~shoes~