I’m coming from the north and on my way to Texas but before I get there, I stop for lunch in Tulsa. The way the streets are configured, the easiest place to get to is McDonald’s so that’s where I go. Y’know, why not? (Okay, okay, there’re a bunch of reasons to not go to McDonald’s, I get it, but that’s what I did.)

 

Except for the manager, all the employees are teenagers and, dang, are they working hard! I’m impressed with their industry and their aspiration to make this McDonald’s the best McDonald’s anywhere. Washing the already clean windows, wiping off the already clean tables, mopping the already clean bathroom floors, filling up the already full bins of condiments. Oh, the looks of joy on their smiling faces!

There is, however, one small problem: No one is taking orders or manning a cash register.

 

By the time the manager comes by, a hungry mob has filled up the place. But no one complains and the cheerful atmosphere remains unsullied. And why would anyone complain? We’re all in beautiful Oklahoma saying things like “I reckon” and “Set a spell!” The thing is, by the time I get my lunch, I could have been halfway to Dallas.

 

I take US 75 south to Texas and continue to enjoy the countryside. Mother Nature has groomed herself so well in Oklahoma that a number of times it seems like I’m looking at a perfectly manicured and professionally designed garden, as if all the trees and bushes have been meticulously placed in order to create the greatest aesthetic appeal.

 

Crossing into Texas, I start to have an urge to replace my helmet with a cowboy hat and get one of those huge silver belt buckles, too. All along, I’m practicing saying “I reckon” and “Set a spell” with a cowboy accent, which has become so thick that even my thoughts have a drawl to them.

 

Soon, I begin craving for circumstances where I can say things like “I’m fixin’ to” and “Sheeit.” It’s amazing. And unavoidable. But sheeit, it’s Texas, y’all, and I’m fixin’ to visit my niece and her hubby, then my beautiful big sis, so I reckon I’ll be settin’ a spell.