Fly's in the buttermilk, shoo fly, shoo.
(photos by jen)
Remember when you were a kid and your dad piled you and your siblings in the car in the middle of a hot July summer for a 1,200 mile journey across country to Disneyland? You could not wait to get there and every mile felt like forever. Stuckey's made it bearable.
Then, just as everyone was hitting their stride and settling into the road trip, the unexplainable would occur. Your father would ease the car off the road - ours was a big, old Cadillac - and onto the gravel shoulder to see the roller coaster-exciting historic mile marker. Just what every kid wants to see on the way to Disneyland - a plaque in the middle of nowhere commemorating some battle or event not nearly as significant as a ride on the Matterhorn.
My mom and sisters always stayed in the air-conditioned car while my brother and I, feeling exceptionally sorry for our dad, piled out and pretended to act interested. To his credit, Billy actually was interested, and he's just enough older than me to remember every single solitary mile marker I found so torturous.
These photos of wigged mannequin heads perpetually staring out the window of Cee&Cee Wigs, located on NW 23rd Street in Oklahoma City, are just like all those historic mile markers. They represent just one of the countless times my kids and I have been in the car heading out to get an ice cream or go to the park when the unexplainable occurs. I ease the car off the road, and jump out and start taking pictures of something I find amusement-park exciting. It's like the cyclical nature of generational archetypes or that Carly Simon song, I know nothing stays the same, but if you're willing to play the game, it's coming around again.
I hope my kids discover the gifts I intend for them during all the unexplainable detours I take in the middle of skipping to their Lou. And, I hope I have the good sense to embrace with joy the mile marker where I get out of the car and ride an elephant with wings and big ears. Pretending is such hard work.
11 comments:
What a great memory of dad! I wish I'd have gotten out of the car...
Lin
@LIN - I got out and wish I'd been more genuine. =( Dad probably wishes he'd enjoyed the Matterhorn more. Love you, sis.
I SO wish I had your photographic skills -- all your pics are so beautiful.
My husband's mother has no sense of direction, but she LIKES to get lost sometimes. (She says she finds the best yard sales that way.)
Detours are all about the journey.
Cheers!
Ummm - we piled into the car and went to Arkansas. I was 23 when I got to Disney World - on my own time. 38 when I finally got to Yellowstone - on my own dime and I dragged Dad there to show him what we miss. The upside: 25 years of traveling the world and I have never found a place more beautiful than Central Arkansas - so thanks Dad - wish I trusted you more from the beginning!
Those wig photos just make me jump out of my seat with joy. You have a great eye and talent.
@NAOMI - I love photography! I'm very novice though. I have way more to learn than I know.
@TR - Very tender comment, my friend. Loved it. I'm very glad I'm not the only one who thinks photos of wigged heads are cool. Seriously, they exhilirate me!
I remember those trips! These pictures are really interesting, Jen.
Jen...Some (not all) of the things that interested our daddy when we were kids just bored me to tears. He was so deep...so complex.
Still...the memory of what he tried to teach me, us, is there. More and more I understand the value behind his words and how his strengths as well as his daily imperfections fashioned the whole of him. They made him who he is...or rather, was...
I love what Naomi Munn said..."Detours are all about the journey". Sometimes we focus so much on the places we are going and the final destination that we miss enjoying "the fluffy white stuff" of life. That kind of sweetness can only be found somewhere in the middle...
I'm with Lin...wish I'd gotten out of the car...
Sniff...
Yer sis, B
PS: Wigged Heads, just like Neon Signs FREAK ME OUT! LOL
Sweetie and SuperPizzaBoy hate traveling with me. My constant stops to find geocaches and then getting distracted by what else I find especially old cemetaries and old city parks with historical statues and such.
We generally find a mutual accomodation though.
This brings back a lot of memories. I'm glad you're taking the time to stop on the side of the road with your kids. It's something I need to do more of.
My dad used to make us stop at all of those annoying mile marker signs...I used to hate it...but now I find myself pulling over...just today I did on a bike ride...and even though he is not there with me physically, he IS there in every other way possible!
I'm usually afraid of stopping to take pictures. Then the kids will want to get out too and it takes forever to get them all to get back in and buckle up.
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