Visiting a Child Advocacy Center in Oklahoma

It was a hectic, but so important 48 hours.

Within two days, I would go from a Thursday afternoon… a roughly 3-hour flight from New York City to Dallas, Texas. Followed by an immediate 2-hour drive in an Alamo bright Red Rental SUV to McAlester Oklahoma arriving just before dark. I would have 4 hours of sleep at a hotel located on the busy George Nigh Expressway strip with Casinos less than a mile away, only to wake up Friday and speak at a Child Advocacy Center conference in McAlester. Then drive 2 hours immediately afterward to Tulsa Oklahoma, and finish the night with a four-hour drive from Tulsa, back to Dallas, to then fly back home to NYC. The wake-up call in Dallas Saturday morning was 3 am, for a 6:30 am flight. Hey, at least we had the opportunity to have a quick Friday night dinner at about 10 pm in downtown Dallas at a place called Frankie’s. Then I slept 40 minutes on the plane headed home. I was just too excited thinking about the work being done at the Child Advocacy Center in McAlester, which is named Ryan’s House, and its Executive Director I had just met, Jessika Whitman.

Life has taught me to appreciate the little things that we often take for granted. When I was done speaking, it was a beautiful warm day in McAlester. I took in the fresh Oklahoma air and the magnificent landscape. As far as I was concerned I would do my whirlwind 48-hour trip again, over and over if necessary. That’s how important Child Advocacy Centers are.