Button Making

I'm not at Afton Station, but I'll tell you about my activity for today since it's related to Route 66. The great guy who has been making the pins and magnets I sell at the Station has been busy lately with an exciting new undertaking, opening his "Route 66 Bar and Grill" in Ohio, so he's a bit behind on filling orders. Meanwhile, I'm almost out of both items, which just happen to be my best sellers. Therefore, I recently purchased a Badge-A-Minit machine and I'm making my own. I've owned the machine that makes the larger magnets for many years and used it with great success, but never had the smaller one until now. Today, I'm creating some original designs, both large and small. Although the larger machine is a dream to operate, the machine that makes the small pins is pretty frustrating! Approximately one out of three pins comes out wrong and has to be discarded. Grrrr! Maybe it's "operator error", but I don't really think so. Anyway, that's what's occupying my time today.

Misconceptions

On the way home from Afton, I was listening to an NPR show about misconceptions. Although it concentrated on global and national misconceptions -- the kind that people just can't stop believing, despite proof positive that they are indeed not true (example: that Obama is a Muslim) -- it got me to thinking about the misconceptions that are being exploded just about every single day since I became the proprietor of Afton Station.


Before moving to Oklahoma, when my dream of having a visitors' center on Route 66 was not yet fully formed, I imagined the kinds of people I'd be meeting and greeting every day. Just about every idea I had then has proved to be a misconception. I visualized scads of happy little family groups. Some, but very few, of those come to visit. I expected to entertain more children. Not so. I imagined a parade of visitors far younger than those that actually visit. I had no idea how many truck drivers would be interested in Route 66. I had heard, but had no proof, that lots of foreign travelers would visit. I underestimated how many folks would want to share details of their personal life with me. I imagined having my visitors' center being in a friendly, vital little town rather than a virtual ghost town that offers no support for my business.


Don't get me wrong. I'm as happy as can be with what I have, and with the people I've met. I'm actually glad that most of my misconceptions weren't accurate. There is a mere handful of folks I've met that I haven't appreciated. But, in life, we just don't know what we're getting ourselves into until we're in it up to our necks. As for me, I like what I've found, and I'm definitely up to my neck in it!


Today's visitors -- 24 of them -- were quite the mixed bag. We (Tattoo Man and I) started the day with a family of 5 from Johnston, SC. They actually DID fit into my early conception of traveling families. Mom, Dad, and three sweet little girls! Then came a trucker from Carthage, IL, and boy oh boy, did he like to talk! A Harley arrived carrying a nice young man from Dubendorf, Switzerland.


I expected we'd have some Gold Wing visitors coming back from Tulsa. The first two were on their way back to Richmond, VA and Chester, VA. They stayed a while as they dried off from an rather unexpected rain shower. Later, a couple from Alpha, IL on their pretty silver Gold Wing came in.


A couple of Harley riders from Webb City, MO came in and told me they didn't want to do any more of their trip on Route 66 because it was just "too rough". Somewhat shocked, I told them that people come from all over the world and rent Harleys just to ride Route 66, and I've never heard any complaints! They were very nice, but they remained unconvinced. Upon leaving, they peeled out of the parking lot laying rubber, and exited town with a mighty roar, going approximately double the posted speed limit. Then, I got it. They're just NOT Route 66 types!


Three interesting vehicles arrived during the course of the day. Since all three parked in front of the gas pumps, I found out I could take pictures of them out the window and never had to move my lazy butt out of my chair. So, here they are (should enlarge with a click): [Sorry, they seem not to want to click to enlarge.... grrr!]


1966 Rambler American from Mahomet, IL



1972 Maverick from Moundville, MO


1956 bright yellow Ford Ranch Wagon from Fayetteville, AR. This was so jacked up that the slight young woman passenger had to hurl herself in the air to get in her seat.

Finally, there were visitors from Nowata and Broken Arrow, OK. Everybody was talkative today. I'm tired, and look forward to a quiet evening.





I took this picture this morning. I like it!

Stop the insanity!

No, don't! I love the insanity! Keep it coming!

Today's version of insanity began early, with ominous clouds while driving to Afton. Storm brewing! And sure enough, when we were about halfway there, the skies opened up and the rain descended in buckets. We were feeling sorry for the 8,000+ Gold Wing riders amassed in Tulsa today, plus all the little towns (and big towns) which had fireworks planned for tonight, and all the families who were anticipating picnics, barbecues, and other outdoor activities on this Independence Day. On the other hand, we need the rain and my lawn is thrilled with the moisture.

Ron M. was with me today. Our first visitors were, not surprisingly, a group of soaking wet motorcycle folks (not Gold Wing) returning from a car show and concert on the lake. They took refuge in Afton Station until the rain backed off a little, and then they were off to their homes in Joplin, MO. Not long after they left, the rain let up, the sun came out, and a cool breeze made it possible for us to sit outside and enjoy the apres-rain atmosphere.

Here's one of the drenched bikers. His "mask", which was keeping is face dry, is the scariest thing I've seen since Halloween. I told him not to forget to take that thing off before going into his bank!

Since Ron and I admit to being part of the insanity, and since it was a holiday, we got out the Uncle Sam hat and the megaphone and made fools of ourselves by gesturing and shouting to passing cars. (I am not as grumpy as the picture below would have you believe. Ron just caught me squinting into the sun!) Anyway, it was fun, and we had 30 visitors, so I guess we didn't scare too many people off.
Among our visitors were some friends from Tulsa. Julie Miner and her friend John dropped in unexpectedly. They're at Julie's lake house this weekend, and she wanted to show her friend John the Station. Then, two other friends from Tulsa, Jim and Joe, arrived. We were expecting them. They drove up to spend part of the day with us, and we were glad the rain hadn't made them change their mind.

Other visitors came from Nowata OK, Sulphur Springs AR, Broken Arrow OK, Jennings OK, Pittsburgh PA, Hollister IL, Spring Grove IL, Oklahoma City OK, Bartlesville OK, and Stillwater, OK. I think the fact that it was a holiday (and the early rain) kept our visitor numbers down a bit today.

I got back to Tulsa just in time to walk down to the end of my street (just 3 houses down) to take pictures of the parade of Gold Wing motorcycles, wending their way from the Fairgrounds where the convention was headquartered to the the bank of the river, where the fireworks will be held tonight. As you can imagine, the parade was LONG.... about 3 or 4 miles long, in my estimation. Obviously, no photo could do it justice, but here's one. It took about a half hour for all the bikes to pass my street...lots of horn honking and flag waving. Nice!

And now, this evening I will be able to watch the Tulsa fireworks (which weren't cancelled!) from my front porch, although they become less and less visible as the trees across the street grow each year. Even so, I love living downtown for just these reasons. Happy Fourth to all!

Happy Independence Day!

Going to a parade or fireworks display today? These dolls, in the window of a Claremore, OK doll shop, are! May you all have a lovely Fourth. I'll be back later with an Afton Station report.

Will Rogers

It isn't quite the Fourth, but almost. Today, the Third of July is the day-off holiday, since the Fourth is on a Saturday. The streets of Tulsa are quiet. I'm cooking a rack of ribs, because Ron M. is coming for a picnic dinner. As is usual on Friday, I couldn't go to Afton. I'm sorry about that, because I have the feeling that it would have been a good day for visitors at the Station.

A few days ago, on my way to Afton, I took a detour of a couple of blocks in Claremore to take a few pictures of the Will Rogers Memorial and Museum. Will was one of Route 66's most famous and revered citizens, and in fact Route 66 in Oklahoma is called The Will Rogers Highway. The museum was closed because it was very early morning, but here's the exterior. It's quite a lovely place.

Coincidentally (I didn't find this out until just now, after posting these pictures), the Fourth of July was an important milestone in the life of Will Rogers. In 1899 Will, as a teen-ager, entered a Fourth of July rodeo in Claremore that had a big impact on his future life. The rest is history. Here's the story, in his own words:

“Well all I know is just what I read in the papers, and what I run into here and there. “Fourth of July sneaked up on me before I had even a firecracker or knew the day was anywhere near me. “I was around the old home place at Claremore and they said the next day was a big ‘Rodeo’ up at Nowata. Well that's right near. I knew they would be having a lot of ‘Calf Missings’ at various towns on the Fourth, so I was glad to get to this one, for there I met a lot of old boys that I had been raised with. Some of 'em still roping. “Lot of these places are having what they call old timers roping contest. Now that's getting right up my alley. I am going to start practicing and see if I can't get in some of them. “I was just thinking when I was looking at that show the Fourth, it was at a little Fourth of July celebration at Claremore just 35 miles from this one, on July Fourth, 1899, (Boy that's 33 years ago) they had a steer roping, and I went into it. It was the first one I ever was in; the very first thing I ever did in the way of appearing before an audience in my life. Just such a show as I was looking at now, (only ours was not so skilled, all these things have advanced). “Well, as I look back on it now I know that that had quite an influence in my little career, for I kinder got to running around to 'em, and the first thing I knew I was just plum ‘Honery’ and fit for nothing but show business. Once you are a showman you are plum ruined for manual labor again. “I had an awful good little horse that really put me in the business. A little Dun (yellow pony, called ‘Comanche’). All the old timers will remember him. He put you up so close to a steer that you didn't rope him, you just reached over and put a ‘Hackimore’ on him.”

Writer T. Lester adds: That’s the way Will Rogers characterized his entrance into show business. In his modesty, Will failed to mention the most important aspect of that story: That he won that steer-roping competition. The prize money Will received for first place was 18 dollars and 10 cents. While the amount of $18.10 was not inconsiderable in 1899, it was the fact of winning first prize that would prompt young Will to build on that initial success. From that point on, he entered most rodeos in the area. It is hard to say whether it was the excitement of the competition that was the attraction, or whether it was simply Will’s passion for travel, to be on the move, to learn what others were doing, or simply to see for himself what lay beyond the horizon. Most likely it was all of these, for as the rest of his life would clearly demonstrate, it was simply impossible for Will Rogers to live life as a mere spectator, standing uninvolved along the sidelines. One thing is certain, the prize money never was an enticement. He was a rich man’s son, and money meant little to him. It was a case, as Will admitted freely, that show business had bitten him and he was infected for life. Over the next few years, Will Rogers left the family ranching business near Oologah to go in search of the next rodeo, the next audience. He joined Texas Jack’s Wild West Show in South Africa and began earning a regular paycheck, as much as $20 a week. Before long, he was an international celebrity. He conquered every medium of his day, earning star status on Broadway and in the movies, in journalism and in radio. And it all started with a little rodeo on the Fourth of July in Claremore, Indian Territory.

Wing Ding

I think I've found the flaw in this blog writing thing. On the days I have the most to say, I'm almost too tired to say it, because all the things I want talk about are the things that made me too tired. It's a vicious circle. Today is one such day. But, I plod on....
The city of Tulsa is chock full of Gold Wings. They're beautiful, luxurious motorcycles, and there are 8,000-10,000 in town for their "Wing Ding", according to tonight's news. They're everywhere! However, only a few made their way up to Afton today. You can see a few of them above. I believe they were all from Decatur, IL, but I'm not sure I made the right notation on that.

We may not have had a huge number of Gold Wing visitors, but it felt like just about everyone else in the world showed up at Afton Station today. Since I'm exhausted from talking ... and the long drive home ... and the heat ... I'll just give the daily rundown without much commentary. One thing I must point out, however, is that I'm excited that the foreign visitors have begun to arrive in larger numbers.

From afar came folks from London, Harrow, and Yorkshire, England, Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. All are on full Route 66 trips (Chicago to L.A.). Other visitors from less far afield came from San Antonio TX, Foyil OK, Oklahoma City OK, Sarepta LA, Highland IL, Pittsburgh KS, Miami OK, Las Cruces NM, Frontenac KS, Maryville AL, and Kansas City, MO. There were 41 visitors in all.

Ron M. was with me, and he managed to take this very cool photo which I believe is a wonderful intro to the Fourth of July weekend. I particularly love his reflection as the snaps the picture.

We will not be open tomorrow (Friday) but will be at the Station to meet and greet visitors on both Saturday and Sunday. Come see us!!!!

Judy, Judy, Judy

This is my friend Judy, who has been visiting for a couple of days. Unfortunately, she had to leave to go back to Florida this morning. But we had a great time at Afton Station yesterday. She got to see the nonsense that goes on there every day. We also had several great meals out while she was here. Then, this afternoon David (the ex) and his wife took me out for sushi. So, I'm fully satiated and won't be hungry again for days!As you'll remember, the other day we had our first Zimbabwian visitor at the Station. Yesterday, I had my first visitor from India! I get such a kick out of foreign visitors because of their enthusiasm and great spirits. Most of them also have amazing knowledge of Route 66. They never come without some prior knowledge of what they're going to see. The Indian visitor was from the town of Jamshedpur, which he described as India's "Motor City" because that's where all the car factories are located. We also had a visitor from Tours, France, and Hamilton, Ontario, so it was a very nice international day.

Domestic visitors came from Pleasant Point, OH and Locust Grove, Tulsa, and Grove OK -- 21 visitors in all. It was nice that they didn't come in all at once, because we got to talk to everyone at some length.

The other day, Tattoo Man gave me some photos of the inside of his garage, which he's decorated in a Route 66 theme. The mural was painted by his wife. He's got a good start at a license plate collection, as well as a nice array of other Route 66 memorabilia and signs. Nice going, Tattoo!