Oklahoma, the state name for land once title "Indian Territory" roughly translates to red earth people. In a few minutes, I'm driving for the Texas - Oklahoma border, a border that is marked out by the coils and undulations of the Red River. Texas and Oklahoma have all kinds of border issues, most of which were settled in 1931 or so. I have it that I lack appeal to women now, so chatting up women in clubs and stuff isn't as easy anymore. It once was pretty smooth. Now I say silly sayings, like saying to any woman I meeting in Oklahoma, "When it comes to dating, I'm dating a Sooner, or later !"
I think I'll class up my act a bit, yet there are times where bold lines cause fun. Last night I told a woman out on the docks of Collins Creek Marina, "You WIN !". She was walking on by me with a handful of cold drinks and a bag of thin sliced carrots and celery, and she stopped last moment. "What do I win?". "You win the title of prettiest woman on Lake Lavon !" It could have been true, but I hadn't visited all the docks. I think Lake Lavon has 121 miles of shoreline, too. But she was very pretty, tanned and taut, a real treat for my the eyes. "Oh, that is so sweet", she said, and she touched my elbow nicely, and kept saying nice stuff as she walked towards the floating restaurant, over the floating walkway. I'm glad she didn't walk into the water as she wasn't looking forward. It's three feet deep there, and swarming with carp, who are hungry enough to bite at any duck's tail pin feathers.
In a few minutes, I'm driving 75, not the interstate that runs from Michigan to Florida, up to Durant, Oklahoma. There's a Choctaw casino that recently opened southwest of town, and it's a nice evolution of the Indian casino concept. It is circular and domed, like some kind of sweat lodge, and the slot machines are all programmable computers, and the machines hum a new age tone poem that wouldn't sound out of place on "Music from the Hearts of Space." I swear it sounds as if the whole building is going to evolve an entirely new consciousness. I think I put a little money on a few simulcast horse races and flirt with the cocktail waitresses, drinking free coffee and soda, working new rating schemes on the race bulletins.
After I run that into the ground, I'll probably hang until two at a bar where karaoke alternates with dance music. Where most Karaoke hosts urge an audience to sign up and "tip your waitress" well, this women orders customers to stand away from the waitress stands and gives crowd control orders. I'll just sit and watch, and sign up for songs as Wilbo, my south of Dixie monicker.
And then over to Thackerville, driving across the northern fingers of Lake Texoma, the only manmade lake in this area that has the feel of a natural lake. Even the striped bass fishery prospers without additional fingerlings being introduced from a fish hatchery. Texas has bingo, but no blackjack, poker, craps or slots. Oklahoma is the neighbor state with less retrictive rules, so people from Texas are either driving for one of three borders, the one with Oklahoma, the one with Mexico or the one with Louisiana. Thackerville is home to four casinos, I think all of them under the Winstar name. I'm betting these are a bunch of river boats, with incredibly compact playing floors that make enough money to support skyscraper hotels. I'm not interested in games, except a little penny ante horse racing. I'm mostly going to people watch and to have a few safe way stations as I wander through south Oklahoma looking for stories and quirky settings.
After that, it is an easy drive on 35 back into Dallas. I haven't decided where I am going to stay Monday night, which is a school night. I'm expected back into work Monday morning, although most people have opted for a four-day weekend, if not a five day weekend. It was easy to drive to midtown Dallas on Friday, a drive where I come to a traffic snarl stop two or three times on a Wednesday.
Not as Classy As Catfish
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