Oklahoma Is Not OK
Casinos had grown up everywhere between the state line and I-44 - we counted five just in that short distance - and while it’s a heck of a way to make a living, most of the towns looked relatively prosperous. We planned to get back off the toll road somewhere past Tulsa because we wanted to get to the Route 66 Museum in Clinton before it closed that afternoon. But the best-laid plans of mice and men…
The sky had mostly cleared when we got to the other side of Tulsa. An exit pointed to Historic 66 and we were up for adventure…and lunch! Stopping in a small town we found a locally owned burger joint and the time was right so we went in to order our meals. Help at the counter was polite but moved at a slower pace than what we were used to in Madison. This was becoming de rigeur so we just accepted it and sat at a booth to wait. While this went on, the counter mom’s progeny along with the neighbor kids ran in breathless and the oldest girl rattled off an order that would satisfy a stevedore or lumberjack! She wanted a burger, fries (with cheese sauce), pie and ice cream. Mom asked if that was all and she said yes, oh but then she wanted a shake and then a Coke to wash it down, and did she have to pay for it or could Mom just put it on her bill? Mom wisely pared the list to just a couple of items and of course she would pick it up…this time. After the ball was rolling on her daughter’s order ours came up and we moved to the rear of the restaurant so NOS could watch his Chargers play. Then it was back on the road.
