Springbreak 

Dear Department of Tourism:

I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed my recent trip to Oklahoma City. I was there with a hundred other writers for the Will Rogers Writers' Workshop. The Hotel and Convention Center were really big. The next time I come, I will bring some of those tennis shoes with wheels like the kids wear.

People couldn't understand why I was visiting Oklahoma City. "There's nothing to see there," they said. " I know," I replied. I had never been to Oklahoma to
visit and just thought of it as a state to drive through on the way to somewhere else.

I saw lot of oil wells on the way there, which probably explains where people get the money to spend at all those Indian reservation casinos. I would like to explain that the time we left I-40 and stopped at the Indian museum for directions was because we were looking for a gas station, not a casino.

I would like you to thank the hotel for upgrading our room to a suite with a living room, mini-bar, and two TV's. I couldn't believe that they would give us a room that nice for the convention price. I asked three times to be sure.

I've never stayed in such a fancy room and didn't know the mini-fridge had sensors and charged it to your bill if you touched anything. Simple folks like me don't usually stay in luxury suites with $4 bottles of water. I nearly fainted when I saw the bill and had to get an adjustment. Next time I'll just take a plain room with no mini-fridge.

We had some great speakers at the convention. though. Dr. Doug Watson did a great job with his witty impression of Will Rogers and worked in some of Rogers' most well known quotes, such as, "Everybody is ignorant, only on different things."

Seems like Will Rogers is about the best thing that Oklahoma ever produced besides oil. He was an entertainer who could do rope tricks, as well as a philosopher, journalist, author, and humanitarian, although he called himself a humorist. "All I know is what I read in the papers," he quipped. My honey enjoyed the tourist sights around town while I went to the convention. He liked the old historic district called "Bricktown" and the way the canal, was dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. I didn't get to see any of this as I was attending the convention. Next convention I'm going as my own guest so I can see the tourist sites too.

One thing I did get to see was the Memorial Site of the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma. I especially liked the large reflecting pool with gates at each end, representing innocence prior to the bombing, and loss of innocence afterwards. The ducks seemed to like this best too.

I learned a lot about the history of our country as well as about writing. Craig Wilson, a columnist for USA Today told us about a column that he wrote years ago about one shoe on the side of the road. People still remember and write to him whenever they see a shoe on the side of the road.

It is good to see other places, meet people, and learn more about my craft. Still, when I came back home, the pear trees and buttercups were in bloom, and the redbud trees were starting to bud. There's no place quite like Tennessee in
spring.

But, thanks to Craig Wilson, I couldn't quit looking for one shoe on the side of the road all the way back home.