Monday, July 7, 2008

July 5th, THE BABBITS and Oklahoma


Good Afternoon!
July 5th was another day of walking down memory lane for me.  We got up after a HORRID night sleep in our Cloud-Nine Hampton Inn beds.  The room was freeeezing when we returned from the Loftons, so Lou turned the A/C to vent.  Since Lou is a born and bred native of SoCal, she didn't know that when you just vent a room in humid climes, you are just asking for trouble.  Obviously, the story ends with me waking up in a ball of sweat around 5 in the morning and turning the A/C on.  
The day offered plenty of enjoyment, though, as we met Ron and Judy Babbit for breakfast. 
Ron was the best youth minister I EVER had.  And yes, I've had many (5 churches from 7th-12th grades).  There is another youth minister named  Chris Green that I helped out when I was in college who was a terrific mentor to me. But now I'm off topic...  
So we got to break some bread with Ron and Judy.  They met us at Cracker Barrel in Tulsa.  The food was good, but the time spent with the Babbits was so much more valuable (even though Ron picked up the check!).
Ron has always had a love for the ministry.  He also works well with people from impoverished backgrounds.  He now runs the Contact Church of Christ in the inner city area of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  There is so much that Ron and Judy do with the people that are underprivileged in northeastern OK including providing food, shelter, furniture, and housing to those who are desperate need.  If you want more info please click on their names and you will be taken to the link for their ministry.
Wow!  The love that we got to share with important people from my past was really a blessing for us at the tail end of this vacation.  I am truly thankful to have had those opportunities.
We left Ron and Judy for the mall and the Eskimo Joe's  clothing store and dropped a pretty penny there on some Joe's clothes and other stuff.  We then went to Chickasha and drove around the town where I lived during my 10th grade year.
  
Some of Chickasha still looked good, but unfortunately, most of the houses in my old neighborhood had fallen into disrepair. This stop was very important because with it, my kids finally got to see all of the houses I had lived in from 4 years old until college (12).  We also got to see my grandparent's old house.  The new owner of the house was outside and started talking to us.  She even apologized to us for not letting us in her house (she was having a big family reunion at the time)!  She let us know that if we came by another time, we could come into the house and take a tour.  That is the Chickasha I had remembered!
My mom's farm was the next item on the list.  We made our way to the tiny town of Alex (pronounced Eh-lek), about 15 miles away from Chickasha.  
The kids finally got to see the farm where my mom grew up.  I have included some of the photos taken on her farm. 
 
We drove around Alex next. 
 That little town seemed to be in pretty bad shape with a lot of abandonded buildings.  I don't know why I needed to include that, I just did.  
After Alex, we drove through many small towns across Oklahoma.   
We stayed away from the interstate in order to give the real look and feel of Oklahoma to the kids and Lou.  
The drive was lovely and interesting.  It was a really important experience for them.  
We arived in Amarillo about 3 1/2 hours later checked into the Homewood Suites.  I was jonesing for some Taco Bueno, so Lou and I got some and brought it back to the room.  That food was definitely not as good as I'd remembered.  'Nuff said.
We were all ready for a good night's sleep, which we needed because the next day was our final ay on the road...
-Dave 

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