Coming Home Part II

In January 1977, I moved to OKC to work for then Governor David Boren. I was back in Seminole quite often. I played tennis at Twin Lakes with some of our local yahoos. I still play tennis here but with a Tennis Tutor ball machine. I took the Seminole Producer by mail so I could keep up and I have always loved what is now named 85 Years Ago. Back then, I believe it was 45 Years Ago. Growing up here, I knew the players. I did that all the time I was in OKC and when I moved to Washington, DC, following my 20-year SHS Reunion, 1987. That continued until the Producer went digital and I opted for that instead of mail delivery. I was back here quite often even while in DC. All that time away, I had several friends and family keep me abreast of all the scoop of what was going on in Seminole. In so many ways, I was never really “gone”.

When I returned here in May 2015, I was at the bus station for breakfast. One of my friends was there and we talked a bit. He asked me if I was going to be able to acclimate, having been gone for 38 years. He stated further that I had been living in the fast lane and the Seminole pace might bore me. I said not at all. I was done with the fast lane and I was back HOME, where I belonged. I guess one could say this red dirt is in my veins. Throughout my professional career, half of my life had been in airplanes, hotels, restaurants, etc. I loved every minute of it, but I was done, stick a fork in it. The last thing I want to do now is board a plane or check into a hotel. I am afraid to leave town now, fearing I would get lost and not find my way back home. Crossing the state line is not even in the cards but for one trip I must take to finish business. I dread that!

I was not born in Oklahoma; I was born in Effingham, IL, land of my mother. We moved here when I was 3, in time for my sister’s birth. This was the land of my father and his father. I suppose than makes me a naturalized Okie. That notwithstanding, Oklahoma is all that I recall of my youth. I am back home. I could live anywhere I wish. I will be going nowhere; this is where I belong.