Thoughts from a Route 66 Business Owner: I never had the pleasure

Thursday, April 17, 2014

I never had the pleasure

Among all the places I've lived in my long life, I've never had the pleasure of residing in a very small town and making it my own. Having Afton Station in tiny Afton on Route 66 is probably as close as I'll ever come to experiencing what it's like to know everybody in town and every move that my fellow citizens make. Although, as a relative newcomer to Afton, I'll never be a part of the closeness of Afton citizens, I do get to observe it close up. Today was a perfect example of that, when two brothers who were born and raised in Afton came in for a visit from their respective homes in Bixby and Grove, OK. Although they've never been that far away, this was their first visit to the Station. They were senior citizens, so they had a treasure trove of great stories about the "old days" of Afton, and I was absolutely mesmerized by listening to them. It got even better when Betty stopped by while they were there and joined in the reminiscing. The older brother left Afton years ago when he opened a theater in Branson, MO where he and his siblings were "The Gospel Singing Collins Family" from 1978 to 1985. Their father owned the other D-X station in Afton down by the Horse Creek Bridge. The family lived on a farm about 5 miles out of town, and the gentleman told us about some of their boyhood stunts on the streets of the town. I enjoyed every minute of this exchange and wished I was able to record it for posterity.

Another interesting visitor today was a fellow from Wheeling, West Virginia who is bicycling across the country. . . so far, 14,000 miles in 1 1/2 years . . . as his retirement "relaxation". Wow! His wife is following along in a motor home in which they sleep each night. This is quite a feat, and is responsible for his strong physique. He was a very nice guy with more stories for us to enjoy. You can read the very interesting blog about his trip and see a map of it at www.travelsoframblingroses.blogspot.com.

Ron M. was with me today, and our other visitors came from Spokane WA, Palm Springs CA, Evast MI, and Tulsa OK.

I made a treat for Ron, Betty, and me... a silly project that turned out pretty good. I dyed some Easter eggs after they were shelled, then made them into deviled eggs. They actually looked better in person than in this photo.