Wind’blown in the Panhandle

“Welcome to the Panhandle!” That’s what folks say when I finally get the door open and roar in with wild flying hair, clutching my papers. The wind is a relentless 15-20 mph, and many days, like today, more in the 25 – 30 mph zone. The gusts today are truly formidable. We can’t open both car doors at the same time or the wind will blow out hats, papers, etc. Water poured on a cactus ends up four feet away. Our bus bucks and rolls all day and night. I’m afraid my pot of stew will slide off the stove. The noise is wearing on us. Amarillo folks say “Aw, you get used to it.” WUH! I don’t think so.

The landscape is so flat I-40 resembles a long string on the horizon with little car-beads being pulled along its length. The grackle owns bird-dom here, using its rudder tail to maneuver in the wind. At least there isn’t much dust. We’ve been in New Mexico dust storms and it’s awful. Amarillo soil has long since blown away. It’s about 85 degrees today, but it’s hard to enjoy being outdoors.

Amarillo itself is a big ole dirty cow town. People are very friendly, open and welcoming. The oil boom of the 30s has left little to remind us of those heady times. Food is a big thing here. We’re at a travelers crossroads, halfway between Denver and Dallas, Albuquerque and Oklahoma City. Lots of restaurants. No casinos in Texas, though. Strong moral values prevail.

We drove to Canyon, Texas, last week, to visit the Panhandle-Plains Historic Museum. What a find! They are used to visitors being amazed at their very extensive and sophisticated museum in such a small town. Great geologic exhibits, a complete overview of the oil industry, and special space given to the importance of the windmill. Just great.

This job is going very well. Our sales are good and we’re hoping to close a few more before we leave on Sunday. The owners of this new park have not experienced making a site map and our initial meeting was a little rough. We asked if there were any businesses they did NOT want us to call on (like liquor stores, nightclubs, etc.) That kind of opened the gate: “We don’t want so and so on our map, everyone knows they are mobbed up. And don’t get so and so, their food is awful!” But their card is on your counter, offering free appetizers, I say. “Well, some people like their food, but it’s awful!” We were sort of stunned at the direction this meeting was going and tried to explain that when we go to sell ads for a park map, we call on EVERYONE. So then the owner suggested that when we finished, in two weeks, he would look at our sales and decide which ones he could approve for his park. It was a tense few minutes as we tried to explain how we worked and how we could not give back checks after we made sales. We got a tight lipped approval. We’ve been keeping close touch with the owners, letting them know which businesses we have sold … hopefully they will be happy with the result. (And hopefully we haven’t called on anyone who is “mobbed up.”)

We’re disappointed that the season opener for the Amarillo Dillas isn’t until after we’ve gone. Our next job is in Truth or Consequences, not really new, and not really Mexico. We’re (I’m) hoping to be there for the annual Ralph Edwards Day festivities; I’m going to enter the “Cooking with Spam” contest.

On a personal note, both Dave and I notice signs of aging, which startles and irritates us. We’re reminded of my 93 year old Mother’s adage that when you are old, you’re just like you always were only more so. Dave has always had an uncanny ability and penchant for relating something he hears to a 50 year old jingle or joke or tag line. It’s like he fills in a blank in his head. I’m sharing an example that happened last week and had me laughing for days. The television was on airing a commercial about Bush’s new beans.. The announcer enthusiastically asked us to try the new “grillin beans.” Davey, who was bent over in the fridge, without skipping a beat, went right into “girl of my dreams …”

Hope you’re all beginning to thaw!

Love,