Road Trips

I've been on the road this week, part of a six-person media blitz organized by Frontier Country to North Texas. Lawton, Wichita Falls, Ft. Worth, Dallas, Sherman, Dennison, Gainesville, Paris, Hugo and home – stopping at radio stations, TV stations and newspapers at each point, pitching the museum and other attractions in central Oklahoma Sound exhausting? It is. But it's a lot of fun, too. It could be a drag to be trapped in a van with 5 people, but fortunately the people are all entertaining and upbeat, and some of them are seasoned tourism folks who know what to do in every town.

I sat in the back with the fabulous Cory Cart, PR director for the Stillwater CVB. Cory is smart, talented, hilarious, knows everything about Oklahoma tourism, and is fabulously gay. Why are gay guys so much more fun that the rest of us? I had a blast sitting in the "Backseat Bikini Section" with him, trading stories and jibes and laughing at everything. It's thanks to Cory's encyclopedic knowledge of Oklahoma tourism that we had as much fun as we did. The best was the last day, in Paris, Texas and Hugo, Oklahoma. In Paris we were escorted about by the staff of the radio station... we had lunch at this little place called The Hole in the Wall, then went to the cemetery to observe the semi-famous "Jesus in Cowboy Boots" monument (apparently the sculptor wasn't good at feet, so he put boots on Christ). Then to the Paris, TX Eiffel Tower--in-a-red-cowboy-hat. A veritable orgy of camp and kitsch.

In Hugo, we visited Showman's Rest, the part of the local cemetery where the circus performers are buried. For some unknown reason, small big-top circuses have overwintered in Hugo for generations. And when the old showmen die, many are buried there. There's a section of the cemetery dedicated in their honor, and the monuments are ... unique. There are also a couple of rodeo stars buried there, and the monument for the first Marlboro Man, who is actually still alive and driving a bus in Hugo. Go figure. (It was the second Marlboro Man who died of some lung disease, I was told. The first one did not, in fact, smoke... which is probably why he lost the job.)

Now at last I'm back home, finally getting some quality time with my son. Allergies are sort of kicking my ass this weekend, however. At least, I hope it's allergies. It was 90 degrees Wednesday in Dallas, and this weekend it's freakin' freeeezin, man! So it's entirely possible that I'm coming down with a nice early spring cold.

But the trees are budding, the forsythia are blooming, and spring is clearly once again about to defy all odds and make a come-back.

MORE exciting news: Krysten had her baby on Wednesday morning. She waited until I was out of town, naturally. Violet was five weeks early, but hale and hearty, and Krysten seems to be doing surprisingly well. Not having gone through the actual birth process myself, it is still a great and terrifying mystery to me, so I'm amazed that she is up and about already. I was in bed a lot after having Grayson, nursing my big-ol' incision. Maybe I'm just a wus. Hard to say. Grayson and I drove down to Norman today so he could see her. He's been beside himself with excitement for months, waiting for Violet to be born. But he was strangely quiet and reserved when we were there. Violet is jaundiced, so she's in a "tanning bed" of lights right now. Perhaps that awed him somewhat. Normally he's much more touchy-touchy with babies, but Violet is so tiny (she was born at six pounds and has naturally lost some weight since her birth) and her little light box so intimidating, that he barely touched her. Next time, no doubt, he'll be all snuggly.

When we were at Target to let him pick out a present for her, he asked me again about a baby brother or sister. I told him it was quite unlikely now that I would be having any more babies, being divorced and over 40. He said "One word: ADOPTION." I explained to him that adoption agencies were rather loathe to give babies to single moms, and besides, I have my hands full with him! I told him he would have to just get his baby fix from Miss Violet and (reluctantly) from Gray's girlfriend's baby...who is named, somewhat sickeningly, "Willowren." gag. But Grayson does spend a certain amount of time with her (admittedly perhaps more than I'd like), so I might as well bite that bullet. Perhaps it will feed his baby hunger and make him less regretful that he has no real siblings. It does, I admit, make me grind my teeth.

Thursday is the auction day for the Single in the City fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation. I have not discussed it any further with Bob. We talked about it a week or so ago and he is fundamentally opposed. I can understand his concerns: that some good looking rich dude will bid for me and I'll discover, on our obligatory date, that I'm completely in love with him, dump Bob, and go riding off to Hawaii in my new love's jet. But lets face it, guys like that don't need to go bid on a date. So the scenario is unlikely at the very best. Probably it will be some tired corporate executive who's just making a tax deductible donation and won't even follow through on the date part. Right? I mean... really.

Nevertheless, I'm not relishing the conversation I'm going to have to have with Bob about why I'm going through with it. It's not to meet some rich guy. It's because I said I would. I got my picture in the magazine saying I would. So I have an obligation, a duty to follow through on my word. Bob sees it as a sort of betrayal. I see that I can't win either way. Call it the first test of our relationship. The upshot is that he has to trust me enough to let me do this. He's been cheated on a lot, so it's tough, and I understand that. But what kind of person am I if I don't follow through on this thing? The kind that drops her promises when they become inconvenient? The kind that lets her boyfriend dictate her behavior? I don't think so. That conversation is in my future... so wish me luck.

Now, for some not so great news
That offer we got on the house... turns out it's contingent upon them selling their current home, which amounts to no offer at all. Our house has been on the market for four months, with my poor parents paying my rent this whole time. There is no way we can wait another four months, at least, before we sell ours. So we're back to the drawing board. Hoping their house sells extra fast, or that we get another offer very soon. It's discouraging to say the least.