US trip, part 10
Another beautiful day; Keith had to go to work in the morning, so Leslie and I foresook the collection of exhuberantly depressing medical ads that comprises US television programing and went out for lunch at her favorite Mexican place, home of good, genuine food and smexxxy accents. I had flautas with beans and rice, and was immediately taken back to times when we went out for dinner when I was a kid, and I was the only one in the family who didn’t like Mexican food. Well, I like it now, though I still don’t take to spicy stuff.
After lunch we drove to downtown Norman and walked across the railroad tracks along Main Street, stopping by at a hippie-themed store where half of the Taoist symbols were upside-down, with the black yin part on top instead of the white yang part. I mentioned this to the owner, but she just rolled her eyes. They also had the Gayly, a homosexual-themed monthly newsletter that manages to cover the five most homophobic states in the union without the aid of a proper editor.
After stopping at a Sonic for soft drinks roughly the size of the late Herve Villachaize, we went back to Leslie’s place, where the dogs, predictably, had forgotten who I was. Then again, they forgot who I was if I changed shirts or turned around while they weren’t looking. I got my stuff together and we set out for the outskirts of Ardmore, where our parents now live. It was a nice drive; the sun was setting over the big “Ardmore Tigers”-themed water tower as we pulled into the driveway. Leslie stayed for dinner and some chatting on the back porch before she departed for home again.
It’s odd to be in this house, which I have never seen before, yet filled with objects familiar from my childhood. Lamps, furniture, knick-knacks…things I’d forgotten all about, yet hold little shocks of recognition from another life.
