The Adventures of Dr Urchin, part II

The Adventures of Dr. Urchin, part II, or "How People Whose Names Are Not In the Phone Book Don't Get Located"

Saturday night, smoofie in hand and dog on leash, I went walking down 33rd street, going west. (A smoofie is a delicious combination of espresso and frozen yogurt, served only at Vintage Coffee, 940 NW 150th street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The gentleman "Alan" whom I refer to owns this shop.) It was that time of twilight that I particularly love, when the sun is going down, storm clouds are rolling in, and night creatures are just deciding to wake up. Several people honked and waved at me on the road. Were they mistaking me for some acquaintance of theirs? Was is someone who actually knew me, honking to say hello? Or did they just think my dog was incredibly beautiful, and were saying hello to the dog? She is, by the way. No matter what their motives were, I smiled and waved back. Having walked as far as some elementary school, I threw away my empty smoofie cup in the trash, and started walking back to where I had left my car. I greeted the friendly guys working at Vintage coffee as they were closing up, put my dog in the back seat, and went driving back to my hotel. By the way, those guys really are fantastic, Alan. I'll bet everybody wishes they could get cheerful and competent help like that!

I had brought an altogether new book along with me, so I read myself to sleep, falling asleep quite early for me - 10:30 or thereabouts. Strange, unpleasant dreams, but we will refrain from recounting them here. It was nonetheless a very good night's rest.

The next day, after doing a few morning things, the sort of things one does on a Sunday morning, it now being 10 o' clock, I went to look for a place with long trails to walk. There is a large lake near Norman, with a convenient state park there. Perhaps it was raining just a little bit, but I didn't let that hold me back, nor did my hound let it hold her back. We went up and down the trails. I decided that she was a useless tracker, when she couldn't even find the two foot long snake a mere foot in front of her. Good thing it wasn't poisonous, or it would have bitten her when she sat on it. Eventually, I got bored of trails, and cut through the bracken to go deeper into the forest. Mind you, I was armed with lots of mosquito repellent, so they came all about me, but not one of them bit me. We found lots of pretty jelly fungi in the forest, an inquisitive squirrel, and an enterprising box turtle (a tortoise, actually) who refused to accept the fact that he was on somebody's endangered species list. My dog introduced herself to the tortoise by sticking her nose under its shell and flipping it over. I doubt the tortoise liked us very much, so I turned it over again, apologized to it, and took my dog away from there. Sitting on a stone picnic table, looking at the lake, a bluebird landed next to me, and took the food I offered. Remarkably tame bird, I thought. I hadn't even known that bluebirds lived in Oklahoma until yesterday!

Being covered with mud and somewhat cold, I drove way back to the north side of the city, bathed, went swimming, and combed the burrs out of my dog.

At that moment, I was struck by a bright idea: I had missed people the day before, but perhaps I could invite them out to dinner on Sunday night. The worst that could happen would be that everyone would decline! So I rousted out a phone book from my room, a somewhat old and tattered phone book. My first difficulty lay in the fact that there is neither a "Meems" nor a "Teffertoes" anywhere in the Greater Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area Phonebook. That part didn't surprise me very much, but fortunately, I happen to know both lovely young ladies' real names, in full. So I went looking for those. That's where the surprising snag was. According the the GOCMAPbook, they don't exist under their real names, either. That struck me as incredibly unjust. I will admit, sitting here now, in comfort and at leisure to consider the matter fully, the book was somewhat old, and probably was printed back in the days when neither of them lived in OKC. But my hypothesis at the time was, "deliberately choose to be unlisted; how unlucky for me." I saw no solution to it, so I threw up my hands. Having some time to kill, I had taken my dog to Oklahoma Christian U, just because they had a nice fountain that I had seen, and I wanted a place to read in peace. So, I read my book for a few more hours until dinner time, then went out hunting for a nice place to eat. The waiter looked really tired, told me he had been on shift for ten hours, and that lots of people were being awful. I told him he was doing a fine job, and should be commended for restraining his temper. Overall, I had a very good meal. Italian. I love Italian food.

I went to bed again, planning to be up very early and at the coffee shop for a few hours, just in case anyone else goes out for an early cup of coffee. It seemed unlikely, but more likely to meet someone I knew at Vintage Coffee than anywhere else, no? Anyways, if I didn't mention it before, the coffee is REALLY good there, and I like good coffee. I spoke to Alan's wife, whom I thought a very pleasant lady. She and the two people working the bar were making everyone who came in feel welcome. I penned off a couple of important letters, looked at clouds outside the window, and once more picked up my book. Sadly, though lots of people came to the coffee shop, there was no one who would have known me. It was time to go. I wrote a note to Alan, expressing my regret at missing him, purchased one (or two) for the road, and set out for the long drive home.

Curiously few interruptions along the way. One somewhat uncanny experience as I was passing through Dallas. I was coming in from the north, and there was lightning flickering in the dark and looming clouds over the city. I saw vultures circling ahead. Suddenly, I had the most unnerving impression that the whole city was decayed. The words that impressed themselves into my mind were "this is a place made entirely of glass and bone." I **HAD** been intending to stop at a very nice restaurant I know to get some lunch before resuming my journey, but after that strange moment, I decided to skip through this town as quickly as possible, and get away from Dallas. Now, I must confess, having visionary experiences anywhere between the I-35/635 junction at the north and the I-35/I-30 junction to the south is very very unsafe. I don't recommend it to anybody, because it is likely to impair your driving while you are dealing with some very hazardous and badly constructed interchanges. I forced myself to put everything out of my head and think only about the large truck trying to force itself into my lane. But I was just as glad to be away from Dallas a little while later.

Seven hours after leaving OKC, I got back to my house. The grass needs mowing. It's going to rain, and apparently has already. It's good to be home.

It was something of an adventure. Not what I expected, but probably what was good for me. It also gave me long time to reflect on where I am going. There are some things I need to do, which I doubt I would have considered had I not lost those many hours on the road going up. So, all in all, I am grateful. I am very sorry to have missed seeing any of my friends though.

Alan, thank you for that wonderful coffee shop experience. It is just the sort of place I like. I hope your business prospers.