129) Written On The Way To Oklahoma

On a road trip to Oklahoma City and Tulsa for work.  We got on the road early this morning, right as the sun peeked above the Eastern horizon.   Listening to Jack FM, which plays a wide range of older music like Journey, Def Leopard, Joe Walsh, with No Doubt sprinkled in there.  The idea of a road trip sounds so Romantic (notice the capital R).  There is music, bad food, horrible jokes and the excitement of going somewhere new and different.

However, sitting in the car right now, it does not feel Romantic.  One guy yawns every 45 seconds.  The other has an earbud in connected to his phone, so that he can participate in an hour long conference call.  I am in the backseat finishing up a report that is due by noon.  And right now Leonard Skynard is on the radio, and I dislike them more than almost any other band.

I’ve not ever been on a proper road trip.  And by proper, I mean a car trip that does not involve the entire family.  The closest was buying a map with Craig in the summer of 1995 before we were to head off to college.  We opened the map on his mother’s dining room table and charted different courses that would take us to various corners of the country.  We discussed the random things we could see, the music we would listen to and the places we would stay.  We figured out motel fees and gas, making sure we would be able to stay on the road for a minimum of two weeks without having to worry about money. 

But for some reason we did not go.  I can’t remember why.  Honestly, I don’t remember much from the summer.  Seems possible we were working, and never asked off.  Or perhaps we simply let the inspiration pass away without properly harnessing it the way we should have. 

However, there are a couple of things I can say about this road trip that hold true today, and I am positive they would have held true in 1995.  The countryside is beautiful.  The music is terrible and awesome.  The donuts, coffee and chips are so bad, yet so good.  And watching the country coast by, I feel one with the world in a way I miss out on working 25 floors up in Downtown Dallas.