Backseat Perspective

Off to Oklahoma City we went. Started much too early in the morning, but we had a big day planned and needed enough time to get everything finished.

My daughter was sitting in her car seat, buckled up properly and positioned in the middle of the seat. Still sleepy, she looked around the car as if she had never seen it before. Her Daddy and I were buckling ourselves up when we heard a sleepy voice from the backseat.

"That's something you don't see everyday," she quipped excitedly.

Still in our driveway, we were surprised by her comment. What could she possible see that she doesn't see every day of her life?

"What do you see?" I asked, looking around our front yard.

"I can see my breath," she answered. "It is all white and puffy."

Ah ha, proof that we are in the middle fall and well on our way to winter. It was a cool morning and, she was right, seeing your breath isn't something you see every day.

As home schooling parents, we jumped on this opportunity to explain condensation, weather and the different seasons. We happily made our way to OKC, teaching away.

Oklahoma is blessed to have four distinct seasons. I can't imagine living somewhere that doesn't. Autumn is my favorite of all seasons. It reminds me of getting ready for bed. Nature begin to slow down for its winter nap. The colors are spectacular. I love the different shades of orange, red, greens and brown. To me, the autumn sunsets are the best. The sky explodes all sorts of different colors and coordinates them with the colors of the leaves and grasses.

"Momma, look at the trees," she said, pointing at the multi-leaved trees. "They weren't all different colors last time. The sap must be getting cold."

Yes, she was paying attention. We had just explained how the leaves turned colors in the fall.

"Autumn is like spring," she explained. "We get to see all sorts of colors, not just green."

Right again.

Most people do not realize that Oklahoma has foliage. So be it our foliage isn't as pronounced as other places, but it is there. All you have to do take time to look for the beauty around you. It comes in all shapes, sizes and colors.

Happy Oklahoma traveling,

Emma Riley Sutton

Watching It Slip Away

Yesterday, my family and I took a little day trip to Red Carpet Country. Drove a few hours simply to see what we could see. It is one of the many joys of living in Oklahoma; you can drive just a little ways and see completely different scenery.

It was an overcast day and the breeze was brisk, so we rolled the windows down to enjoy the fresh air. We turned off I-35 onto a smaller state highway. My daughter was busy pointing out all cows, trees and ponds. That quickly turned into the "Find The Color" game. She gives us a color and we have to look for it as we drive by.

Driving into the sunset is no fun for my husband, so we pulled onto the side of the road so we could turn around. It was time to go home anyway. Before we had a chance to head back, the sky became to fascinating to only see it in our rear mirror. We all got out of the car and sat on the hood of the car and watched the sky explode into all sorts of colors.

The wind was moving the clouds around and my daughter was awe-struck. We started pointing all to all the different shapes the clouds were making. This was a favorite game of mine as a child. Still is today.

I can sit for hours, watching the clouds. My imagination can come up with all sorts of different objects the clouds look like. My daughter, obviously related to me, began to do the same thing. She saw all sorts of things as the clouds swirled above us and the sun set in front of us.

"Momma, it looks like Ming-Ming," she giggled, pointing to a duck-shaped cloud. No matter where we go, The Wonder Pets from Nick Jr. are never too far away.

The colors in the sunset were amazing. Pinks, oranges, reds and blacks were mingled together. We leaned against the windshield of the car and watched the sun dipped below the horizon. The colors changed as the sun slipped away.

Cars passed by as we watched the sunset. I'm sure they wondered why this family was three was cuddled up on the hood of our car.

"Momma, I don't think they see what we see," my daughter said as one car went by. "If they could, they would have to stop. They are missing Jesus paint the sky."

Yes, they were missing that. They were also missing a great way to end a terrific "family day." I'm sure they had places to go and people to see; our lives are so busy now days. I hope they will be able to stop, like we did, and watch the sunset. I hope they are surrounded by people they love when they are able to stop. Those few moments we shared as the clouds swirled around us and the sun set are priceless to us.

Happy Oklahoma traveling.

Emma Riley Sutton

2009 Oklahoma State Fair

I rolled myself home from the 2009 Oklahoma State Fair, full of all the "fair food" I could have eaten one day. Actually, I think I ate more than I could have in one day.

I was also packing memories that will last me a lifetime. Even without all the photos of the fair I took. I met some great folks, saw some great sites and had a terrific time. I would say "just like every year," but, somehow, it gets better every year.

I met Froggie. He is a member of "Bikers Against Child Abuse" (BACA) and a genuinely nice man. We talked as we watched my daughter on the carousel. He told me had just left court; he had been there helping a child that had been abused. I learned a lot about BACA as my daughter waved from her purple horse.

I saw the livestock that was about to be shown. I met a very sweet bull named "Sanddollar Charger" who stole my heart. I didn't know bulls could love having their pictures taken so much. He had to have known what a camera was because he really hammed it up for me. Hammed it up! He's a bull. Sorry, I shouldn't laugh so hard at my own "funnies."

The "nursery" was great. We say baby goats (triplets) that were two days old and piglets that were four days old. We watched a baby chick hatch. The three of us stood in awe as another life entered the world. My daughter announced she wants baby pigs to live in our house. That was when we knew it was time to go to the insect exhibit. The beehive was fascinating, but she didn't want one of those at home.

My husband dragged me and my daughter out of the petting zoo. I knew he would have to that. She loved the camel and thought he was much softer than the sheep. She and I are both curious why a kangaroo and a turtle shared living quarters. They got along great, but it was an unusual combination.

I rode all the rides. I even got on the swings with my daughter. I can ride any roller coaster, "spin in tight circles" ride and the "drop you millions of feet" rides, but I don't do well on the ones where my feet dangle. Strange, I know, but that is me. I need to have a "Zipper" installed in my backyard. I could ride that one forever.

Of course, there was the food. I won't tell you how many of each I had, but I overly-enjoyed all the stuff they had to offer. I would love to have the recipe for fried Oreos and fried Twinkies. Why they aren't a food group all to themselves is a mystery to me. You can't live without them. I did eat some healthy stuff as well. The turkey legs were great as was the corn on the cob.

Unfortunately, the fair is over for this year. It was much more fun than last year which was much more fun than the year before. I sincerely hope I never get to old for the fair. I don't see how.

Happy Oklahoma traveling,

Emma Riley Sutton

Headed To the Oklahoma State Fair

I am so looking forward to tomorrow! I love going to the fair in Oklahoma City. It is one of the few times I get to be a kid again. Of course, this time I am on official business for my website. I'll try to remain professional as I ride the rides and eat all the great food.

Oh, the food...I can eat fair food all the time. Funnel cakes. Cotton candy. Those giant turkey legs. Corn on the cob. Hot dogs. Snow cones. I'll probably gain 50 pounds in one day, but I don't care. It isn't like I can go to the fair all the time; it only happens once a year.

Don't tell anyone, but my favorite part of the fair is the petting zoo. I leave smelling like a barn. I hope my husband doesn't make me ride on top of the car on the way home. One year, I was able to feed baby animals (goats, calves, foals and the like) with a bottle. That was a thrill. My daughter is going to love it. I'm not sure who is going to be harder to pull away from there. Probably me. My daughter is much better at following directions than I am.

I also love to look at all the exhibits. The quilts have always fascinated me. I will never understand how all those intricate designs are made. My granny was a quilter. She had the big wooden whatever-you-call-them hanging from her bedroom ceiling year round. She tried to teach me, but I was more interested in looking through her button box and all the fabric. She told a story for each one. I have all those memories, but no quilt to call my own. I'll take the memories any day.

Of course, I get to meet great folks. I will strike up a conversation with just about anyone. Everyone is so friendly. How can they not be? It is one of the happiest places on the planet. Maybe I will even run into some old friends there. It has happened before. I can think of so many friends from school I've lost track of over the years.

I can't wait to take all the photos I can possibly take. My memory card only holds 715 photos and I hope that will be enough. I may stop and get another memory card. I'm going to be a photo-taking fool. There is so much to see and I want to have memories for a lifetime. I also want to have some nice ones to add to my website. Yes, the Oklahoma State Fair is another reason to visit Oklahoma!

The bag is packed and all of our clothes are laid out. The only problem I'm having is falling asleep. I'm too excited to sleep. I can't wait.

Perhaps my next post will be that of an adult. Well, no. I'll have to tell everyone about my day at the fair. Maybe the post after my fair post.

Let me be a kid for a while. We all need that. The Oklahoma State Fair is the perfect place to do that. If you see a grown woman, skipping through the crowd and pointing at everything that catches her eye, it is probably me. Stop and say "Hey!" I'd love to meet you.

Happy Oklahoma traveling,

Emma Riley Sutton

Saturday Road Trips To Healdton as a Child

My Granddaddy would call early Saturday morning, asking one question, "You ready to go, Sugarfoot?"

We were on our way to the lake. Leaving Oklahoma City, we head south on I-35. Drive through Moore and past the exit to Draper Lake, pass the exit to Lake Thunderbird in Norman and take the Maysville exit. We were headed to Healdton Lake.

It wasn't just a day at the lake. It was an entire day in Healdton. To me it was the greatest place world in world spend the day. The drive was more than worth getting up early on a Saturday morning.

My Granddaddy would pull his old blue pick up into the little store in Antioch. My Granny would hand me a five dollar bill and inside I'd run. We needed two Cokes and one Dr. Pepper as well as six bags of peanuts and two beef jerkies. Once back in the truck, we'd pass out the snacks. My grandparents drank the Cokes and I had the Dr. Pepper. My Granddaddy would tear three of the bags of peanuts. We'd quickly drink some of our soda and then pour the peanuts in the glass bottles. Then back on the road. We still had to get to Healdton.

My Granddaddy and Granny would tell me stories about when they were my age. I loved sitting between them, drinking my Dr. Pepper with peanuts and eating my beef jerky. I heard all about picking cotton, gathering eggs and surviving this thing they called The Great Depression.

Time flew by and soon we were at the intersection in Ratliff City. We'd wave at folks we didn't know and my anticipation would increase by the second. Only about 10 more miles to Healdton.

We'd stop in the Wooldridge grocery store. Granny and I would get out to do our shopping as my Grandaddy talked to whoever pulled up next to his truck. Granny and I would head straight to the back of the storey store. We were going to get some bologna. Not just any bologna, in a package. Mr. Wooldridge would cut it from a huge block behind his meat counter. He would cut it really thick and wrap it in white paper.

As he cut the bologna, we'd shop. Over to the north side of the store,cut it fro out the watermelon, usually straight from Rush Springs, or some cantaloupe. We'd buy all sorts of vegetables, too - tomatoes, carrots, celery and radishes. Back to the meat counter and we'd grab a loaf of bread, several more sodas, a bag of ice and some mustard. Checking out, we had all we needed for a great lunch.

By the time we reached the Comanche Y, I could barely sit still. We'd take that long curve a few miles further south and we were in Healdton. Past the Otasco and Ben Franklin, we head for Healdton Lake.

We'd spend the rest of the morning looking for interesting rocks and pretty flowers. By noon all three of us were starving. Granddaddy would get the plastic forks and knives from the glove compartment and we'd eat lunch.

Not once did we ever go swimming. I didn't know how and it seemed a little a strange to get in the water when there were so many interesting things to do along the shore. We'd look robins, scissor-tail flycatchers and mockingbirds. Occasionally, we'd get a glimpse of a cardinal or bluebird. My favorite bird, sparrows, were always around.

We'd leave Healdton and head to the Healdton Oil Museum. Granddaddy would show me all the pictures of the old equipment he used working in the oil fields. Granny would cry and tell me about a childhood friend or distant relative that lost a finger or his life working in an oil field somewhere in Oklahoma. My grandparents would talk to the folks coming and going into the museum; they swap stories of "back then" and how things had changed so much.

Much too early, it was time to head back home. We'd take pass the Comanche Y, Wooldridge's store and the intersection at Ratliff City. Soon we'd be waving good-bye to Antioch. Back on I-35, this time heading north, we'd be home in no time.

Many of you may wonder what is so significant about those little road trips. That is easy to explain. My family and I make that some trip as often as we can now, but it is so much different. The store in Antioch was closed years ago. We now pull into the convenient store at the intersection in Ratliff to buy our sodas and peanuts. They certainly taste different in plastic bottles. The Wooldridge store is also closed so we buy our lunch at the grocery store in Healdton, packaged sandwich meat. Thankfully, the watermelon is still from Rush Springs.

I tell my grandparents stories to my daughter and husband. My husband never worked in the oil field so he finds their stories almost as captivating as I did. My daughter points at the Comanche Y the way I did. She knows we are almost there. We stop at the Healdton Oil Museum first. We all know how to swim so we spend the afternoon at the lake instead of the morning.

I have yet to tell my husband it would be faster to take the Springer exit off of I-35. If I did that, I'd miss out on all the memories. He probably knows it anyway. He understands the importance of me going the same way. It wouldn't be a trip to Healdton if we did it another way.

Ya'll need to wander down that way, the same way, we do. It is a little off the beaten the path, but the road is good and the scenery is beautiful. Keep in mind I am biased, though. Share your family's stories as you go. Make some new memories to share on your next trip. Double check to make sure your watermelon is from Rush Springs. They grow them better there.

Happy Oklahoma traveling,

Emma Riley Sutton

Peace of Mind is Worth the Price

Packed up the car and headed to Guthrie. Known as "The Bed and Breakfast Capital of Oklahoma" and I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Among other things. As the first capital of Oklahoma, the city is rich in history. I also thought I might even find the grave of one of the Doolin or Dalton gang that is buried there.

As usual, I never thought about having car insurance. I have the proof in the glove compartment and have never had an accident. It is just there - just in case. I'm not even sure if I have a good company or not. I've never used them. They are rated high on the insurance rating scale and that is good enough for me. Plus, the insurance rates are really cheap. I love saving money, especially on something I have to have and never have used.

I headed down 1-35 towards Guthrie. My radio played softly in the background. My thoughts were on what I would find in Guthrie and traffic. It is Labor Day week-end, after all. Traffic was much lighter than I thought I would be. I guessed folks were at the "big football game" in Stillwater - OSU was playing the Georgia Bulldogs or still having fun at the lake or something else equally interesting. I know the Sooners aren't in Norman; they will be beating some team later today somewhere south of the Red River.

I'm in the right lane, the slow lane. "The Driving Miss Daisy Lane" as my husband calls it. I'm always in that lane. Despite having driven this stretch of I-35 for years, I like to be able to take an exit should I see something interesting. I never when something will catch my attention and turn into a "photo op."

I can't even tell you what kind of a car it was. It was coming up fast behind me. It was a little red one; that's all I know. Well, I also know it was in my lane, right up next to my driver's side door. Without time to remember what I learned years ago in driver's ed, I whipped the wheel to the left and slammed on the brakes. The little red car kept going, with the dotted line centered between the tires. I heard its peppy little horn blast as it almost sideswiped me.

I'm sitting on shoulder, heart racing. My feet (yes, both of them) were still planted on the brake and my hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles were white. They weren't shaking. The rest of my body was, but not my hands; there were clinging to the steering wheel for dear life.

Putting the car in park, I start to breathe again. I glance over at the glove compartment. Not sure why, I reached over and opened it. My proof of car insurance on top of the maps and other necessities. I pull it out and look at it. My car insurance expires at the end of the month.

Still shaken from my near miss, I take the next exit and head home. Guthrie will still be there. At that moment, I wanted to get home, get online and pay my car insurance premium. I know I have 25 days to pay it, but I do a lot of driving. As busy I am, I might forget. As usual, I will pay for the next six months. It is cheaper that way, in the long run, and peace of mind is well worth the price.

Happy Oklahoma traveling,

Emma Riley Sutton

Back to The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum

Wanting to get to the bottom of this little mystery, I packed up my notepad and my camera and back to Pawnee I went. I was hoping to gain a little more insight to my previous adventure...

The staff greeted me, remembering me and my experience. Once again, just as before, I felt very welcome and comfortable. Into the mansion I went, both with an open mind and an open heart. I wasn't sure what I would or would not see, but I was determined to enjoy whatever happened to me there.

I turned on my camera and clicked away. No funny, floaty, filmy lights in my camera's view finder. I did feel a bit strange, but I think that is understandable. I noticed all the pretty items on display - the paintings, the china, the Tiffany lamps. Once again, I was taking it all in. I made my way up the staircase. The eyes of the Indian in the painting followed me, but his eyes follow everyone. Most eyes in painting do that anyway.

At the top of the stairs, I turned to the toy room. There was the old train set Pawnee Bill and May's son played with behind the red rope. Sitting behind the train set and slightly off to the side was a little boy. Plain as day. I guessed him to be about six years old, give or take. He was wearing blue jeans and a light cotton shirt. I could see the dirt on his bare feet.

I know there shouldn't have been a little boy playing back there. No is allowed past the red rope. I closed my eyes tightly and opened them slowly. I looked again, more closely this time. He was still there.

Feeling foolish, I waved at him. He waved back at me, grinning ear to ear. Not just any wave, though. He waved at me as if he was thrilled to see me. Maybe he was waving at me because he was thrilled to be seen. I knelt down on one knee and waved again. He waved also, more enthusiastically than he did the first time.

I took the picture of the playroom. He sat there smiling, more interested in his toys than with me. I made my way down the stairs and then outside. I was leaving with more questions than answers.

Back in the museum, I told the staff what I had seen. They smiled and nodded. I was told I was the only adult they knew of that had seen the little boy.

I told the staff good-bye, drove through the Pasture Exhibit, and then started back home. The first time I left the museum, I didn't have any regrets. I was leaving with regrets this time.

All the way home and even now, several hours later, I regret not talking to the little boy. I don't think he would have spoken to me, but there are things I would like for him to know.

I would love for him to know how nice it was for me to see him. It was lovely to see him playing and being happy.

I also think he needs to know that the lady who walks through his home all the time is there to help care for his home and all the things in it. She is sharing his life and the lives of his parents with people who might never understand their importance if not for her.

I would also like for him to know that all the people who visits him home will not bother him or his things. They are there to learn about what life was like "way back then." I want him to feel secure in the thought that those who work at the museum will do everything they can to make sure that the mansion, all its contents and the ranch are well taken care of.

Yes, I wanted to have a conversation with a little boy that no one else saw. And, yes again, I don't believe what I saw him.

I guess I am going to have to roll with this one. I still don't believe in ghosts. I know the mansion isn't haunted and that evilness is not all around. I also know I saw a little boy playing where a little boy was not suppose to be. I know in my heart of hearts, down in my soul - deep in my bones - he waved at me.

Somethings just aren't meant to be understood. My adventures at the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will have to fall into that category. Truth be told, I don't really want to understand it. I just want to live with the fact that I saw what I saw. No one has to believe me. I don't even have to believe me.

I hope to go back and visit again. Should I see the little boy again, I will stop and talk to him. Maybe tell him he should play outside a little, watch the buffalo do whatever it is that buffalo do and go in the museum to see all the things that his Momma and Daddy held so dear. Of course, make friends with the folks who work there. I am sure they will love him as much as they love the ranch and museum.

Happy Oklahoma traveling,

Emma Riley Sutton