Incidentals
The decision to travel to Lawton, OK was made a week before my son’s graduation from basic training. Everything fell into place seamlessly, or so I thought. I used a third-party to purchase plane tickets and car rental but I booked the hotel myself. On the 7th at 2:30 a, I left for BOS.
There was a problem with the ticket and when I tried to reach the third-party, the number I received lead to a discontinued number. I had to scramble and a kind soul at the United ticket desk found me a seat for only $200 but I had to wait three more hours for departure. I overheard the ticket agent say, “He will have to accept the set, there’s only one left.” Of course, I agreed. Thankfully, nothing was wrong with my non-stop return flight.
Uncomfortable flight with a silver lining best describes the United flight. Apparently, some folks missed their flight because both my flights had empty seats in my row. My connecting flight was in Dulles and the gate was a mile walk through the airport and I walked it again for exercise. I arrived in DFW, got my rental and by 4p I was headed for Lawton, Oklahoma.
Within a couple of miles, I encountered a massive interchanged and my GPS couldn’t think fast enough. I finally gave up, having been directed to reverse direction twice, and drove into a residential area and plotted my course from there and within several minutes I was on my way. A moonless night descended upon the countryside and an ocean of nothingness spread out in all directions. Out in the distant, lamp-lit settlements lined the horizon like houses lining the seashore.
Knights Inn sat off the beaten path, off the main thoroughfare, half a mile down the frontage road along the old route. It felt creepy driving away from town and the clock having struck the witching hour, through an area I knew nothing about, so naturally, I imagined the worse. Seeing the Knights Inn sign partially lit helped tremendously.
My room number 256, had a comfortable kingsize bed and I slept on the opposite side then I do at home. The place seemed the late fifties renovated in the eighties and repainted in 2010, it was run down but clean. An outlet was not conveniently near the bed and a chill breeze passed under the door. I was too tired to hear the heating unit rattle until the next morning.
I learned that Sills Army Base is an artillery base and it goes on for miles. When checking in at the visitors center, I was instructed to pass through one gate after which I would think I left the base, which I did, go under the overpass and proceed the next gate, at that point, I could throw an orange to where I needed to go, which I didn’t.
I pulled into the parking lot next to the graduation field and unexpectedly parked next to my son’s mother who had just arrived. Both of us are remarried and happily live our separate lives but events involving the children will always bring us back together. I was surprised that our family reunion went as easily as it did. The focus on our son’s experience made all the difference. Destiny was having fun with me.
The smoke blew away from where I was standing and allowed this photographic effect but if this is a message, I disagree with it. Sending troops into harm’s way for political and religious reasons to determining a winner through body count and territory obliterated makes no sense to me. This image is should be horrifying.
I spent an afternoon with my son. We walked in Estes Park and our conversation was one-of-a-kind. I wasn’t preaching and he was participating. That experience alone made the trip worthwhile.
