#49

We started the day out in Oklahoma City and ended it here in Dallas.  You know, it's funny but when, before visiting, I thought of Oklahoma City, my first thought would have been the bombing of the federal building on April 19, 1995, and, unless it's football season, my first thought of Dallas would have been the assassination of JFK on November 22, 1963.  Today, in the same day, I visited the sites of both of those tragedies, and, curiously, I felt I had already been in both places before.  Maybe my first thoughts from now on will be what these cities are really like.

Notes so far:  Jerry and I agreed that if we were forced (at gunpoint, no doubt) to live in one of these two cities, we'd pick Oklahoma City.  And, only based on what we've seen so far, I've liked Oklahoma overall better than Texas.

But I've done my self-imposed duty and have seen Texas, making it the 49th out of the 50 states for me to visit.  Oregon will be #50 for me, maybe later this year.  My brother Davy, who lives in San Antonio when he's not in China, thought that I was saving Texas for last.  I wasn't.  I mostly just didn't want to come here while Bush was President.  And now the current Governor of Texas thinks the state should secede from the Union, so maybe I got here just in time.  Now I say, "Let 'em go!"

brother in a strange land

My friend Barb, the leader of my book group (that I am usually AWOL from), was surprised several months ago when I mentioned that I had a brother who lived in Shanghai. Barb, one of the select few people in the world who read my blog, said she only knew about my sister Joan, who gets a frequent mention here in these meandering lines, so Barb assumed she was my only sibling. Actually, I have five siblings, and what's amazing is how well we get along and how much we still like each other and keep in touch with each other. Joan just happens to be the only one who lives nearby.

It's my brother Davy who mostly lives in Shanghai. He teaches English there, loves China, is very fluent in Chinese. When he is back in the States between semesters, he lives in San Antonio, Texas. He's in San Antonio right now, skipped a semester to take care of some medical issues, which thankfully he came through great.

But it's funny to think of a brother in a place that is so foreign. No, not China. Texas. Yes, I know what you're saying, it's one of the 11 states I haven't been to yet, so I shouldn't judge a place by pre-conceived notions. Well, why can't I? And then last month the governor of Texas suggested that Texas should secede from the United States because it's so out of touch with what's happening in the rest of the country. I say, why the heck not?.. (although I say he should have to take all the states between him and South Carolina with him)... I really can't picture the rest of the country bothering to fight another Civil War to keep them in the Union.

So, if I don't go visit Davy sometime soon, I might be visiting him in a foreign country. Who knows which one?

And I need to get down to visit my sister Nancy in North Carolina sometime soon also. It's been a year already.

Next week, though, I'll get to see my brother Ronnie and sister Mary when Jerry and I vacation for a week in our family's home state of New Jersey, the only state that's totally in touch and of which nobody ever has pre-conceived notions.