We need a potbelly stove!

It occurred to me this weekend that what Afton Station needs is a great big potbelly stove! The way we hang around there and just chew the fat some days reminds me of sitting around the stove and gossiping, like in times past (with maybe a round of checkers or two thrown in for good measure). The Station did once have a wood stove in one corner. We know that because there's a venting apparatus still up on the ceiling, plus various people who have stopped in to tell us they used to work there back in the old days have confirmed its presence.

Today was not filled with visitors, so Betty W., Ron M. Marly and I did our fair share of sitting around. It was a little cooler than yesterday -- although still unseasonably warm -- and there was a cloud cover most of the day. Nothing whatsoever was happening in town, so we couldn't practice our usual busybody voyeurism. We did have 9 visitors, and they came from Shell Knob MO, Sheldon MO, Long Prairie MN, and Miami, Grove, and Fairland, OK. The man from Shell Knob was a long haul trucker who stayed for quite some time and regaled us with stories of his collections of cars, antique motorcycles, and an old bi-plane which he regularly flies. The gentleman from Long Prairie, MN remarked that up there in the frozen north they had a milder winter than we had here in Oklahoma. He had driven down to check on his cabin on Grand Lake, and he'll be back in a few weeks to stay longer. One of the ladies from Miami, OK offered to be a volunteer here at the Station. Naturally, I took her name, address, and phone number!

So, it turned out to be a nice, quiet day. And now, if this post seems short and rushed, it's because it is. I'm off for a sushi dinner with my ex and his wife. Love that sushi!