The Natural State

A few years ago, Arkansas went from having "Land of Opportunity" printed on license plates to "The Natural State" and I thought it was a good choice. Whether it is a land of opportunity or not is certainly debatable but there's absolutely no debate over the natural beauty of the state.

In fact, it's one of the most beautiful states I've ever been in. I was thinking about that as I made the drive down there a couple of weeks ago, only a day after I returned from my trip to Denver. But to get to the beauty, I had to go through some ugliness first, as most of us do in many different areas of our lives.

There's just not much to look at between here and northeastern Oklahoma, nicknamed "Green Country" because of all the trees and foliage. That's why the drive through Kansas and a big part of central Oklahoma seems like it takes so long. It's just basically flat and unscenic from the time you enter Kansas between McCook and Oberlin all the way through the state and halfway into central Oklahoma until you reach the Cimarron Turnpike and turn east. It's more of an observation than a criticism because it's no one's fault that it's the way it is, that's just the way Mother Nature created it. There HAS been one man-made improvement on the drive that is pretty phenomenal. There is a wind farm that has been built on the north side of Interstate 70, beginning just a few miles west of Salina that is over 15 miles long! There are literally hundreds of huge windmills and it is a breathtaking sight. And as big as they look from the Interstate, they're much bigger when you're standing underneath one. To put this in perspective, it takes a semi to carry just one blade. It's really something to see.

It's 706 miles from my front door to the front door of my ex-wife and it takes me just a little over 10 hours to cover the distance. Linda had ribs, baked bread, cole slaw and baked beans waiting on me when I got there so the first thing I did was eat. Will was at work but Michael was waiting on me and ate with me. After eating, I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine, good conversation with Linda and Michael and then went to bed.

The next day was Father's day and Will was there early, along with Michael, with my Father's day gifts. We had intended to go out and eat and then go to a movie, but I was still tired from the trip so we put off doing those things until the next day. We ate at a great Mexican restaurant called La Huerta on Monday. The owners are Mexican natives and still don't speak English very well but the food is awesome.

(By the way, word on the street in McCook is that the former Mexico Lindo has been bought, is currently being refurbished, and will be open for business in as little as 30 days or so, offering authentic Mexican food. I believe the new owners also have three Mexican restaurants in Kansas so, hopefully, we will have a new eating option in the near future.)

Will didn't have a day off until Tuesday, so that's the day Linda took me, Will and his girlfriend Erica, and Michael and his girlfriend Nikki, to Conway to eat at Mike's Steakhouse. I had a filet that was delicious and perfectly cooked and it was really a great father's day gift. Linda picked up the rather sizeable tab as her Father's day gift to me.

The rest of the week was leisurely and pleasant. One or both of the boys were there most of the time and, when they weren't, Linda and I were able to catch up on each other's lives. It was a very pleasant experience. Linda had a new bed in the guest bedroom for me and gave me the run of the house. I've always been an early riser so I did what I always did when we were married; I would have coffee waiting for her when she got up. She made me feel comfortable being in her home and I appreciated that.

Allow me to be self-serving enough to say how proud I am of my boys. Michael graduated last January and just signed his first teaching contract as a one-year replacement for the teacher he did his internship with at Russellville high school.

The teacher was recently named the outstanding teacher in Arkansas and will be on a one-year sabbatical serving in that role. Michael will be teaching his load which includes mostly Advanced Placement Social Science classes and will be paid handsomely for his duties. Hopefully, this will lead to a full-time teaching position next year. The only two places he really has any interest in settling down in are Russellville and McCook. I would love to have him up here with me but Russellville is his home and Russellville High School is his alma mater so I would be thrilled for him if he can get a full-time job there.

Will works full-time while he works on his degree which should be completed next year. His major is Speech Education so he's most likely to become a teacher too. Will has the perfect personality to teach Speech and I know he will be successful as well. Will also graduated from Russellville high school but because his girlfriend, Erica, sacrificed and moved to Russellville to be with him, he tells me that his obligation is to go where she wants to go after he graduates and I'm sure that's what he'll do. That's the kind of guy he is. And I'm proud he is.

All of us who have children understand how they become our top priority the day they're born and remain that way forever. We worry about them constantly because we want them to be happy and successful and safe every single minute of every single day for their entire lives. Some of us are lucky in that respect and some of us aren't but it's what practically all of us want for our kids. We would do anything we could for them; we would sacrifice for them, intercede for them, defend them, promote them, take over their illnesses for them if we could and die for them if we had to.

Being a parent is one of the true joys of life.