Standin’ on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, specifically on the corner of West Second Street and North Kinsley Avenue, there was this bronze statue of someone famous. I am still not certain who he was. A statue of Glenn Frey was added nearby later, and might have replaced this one, but I could not find much news about it. The new statue does not look anything like this statue, which was the only one there when we stopped to get our picture taken there five years ago on our way to Oklahoma.
We did not plan the trip very well. We did not plan it much at all. We were in a less than ideal situation at home, so loaded up a tired old Blazer and went on our way. I sort of planned on staying for a few days or maybe two weeks, and then returning alone to Felton, and then tending to some work near Hilo in Hawaii by early December. Steven and Gayle who are with me and the bronze guy in the picture were to stay in Oklahoma. Of course, even these meager plans did not go as planned. I stayed much later, and all three of us, Bill the terrier and Darla the kitty all returned to Felton on the last day of 2012.
What a trip! It was the farthest I had ever gone from the West Coast, and the longest time I had ever been out of California. It was my first time in another time zone, and then another! I actually ‘lived’, albeit temporarily, in Oklahoma; and I got to drive through Arizona, New Mexico and a small part of Texas to get there!
I had always wanted to go to Oklahoma because I had heard so much about it growing up. My maternal grandmother was an Okie, so much of what I learned about horticulture was from that background. To me, it was one of those magical places where great grandparents lived and grew tons of fruits and vegetables in the rich red soil on their farm. It was where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain, and the fragrant wheat sure smells sweet . . . okay, so maybe not that part.
Oklahoma certainly did not disappoint. It was exactly as I knew it would be, but was completely fascinating anyway. Pecan, black walnut and various hickory trees grew wild, as well as American persimmon, Eastern red cedar, redbud, honeylocust and blackjack oak. Vacant parcels were overrun with native red mulberry, campsis, honeysuckle, Arkansas yucca and sumac. I collected seed from more specie than I can remember.
The funny thing about all this is that the Okies did not understand my interest in all their flora. Much of it was the sort of stuff that they cut down and burn. The Eastern red cedar, honeylocust, red mulberry, campsis and sumac were quite unpopular for their habit of growing into rangeland. Even less invasive plants did not impress those who had always been around them. To them, redwood, big oaks, avocado, citrus and all the cool exotic specie that we grow in California are much more interesting. It was a matter of perspective.
Tony Tomeo 
Now that’s a beard!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is why children sit on my lap and tell me what they want for Christmas.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s wonderful— I never knew there was a statue/monument. Didn’t you get to see a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford…….guess you weren’t there at just the right time. 🙂 They did so much great music.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is a girl who drives by in a restored old flatbed Ford and stops to get her picture taken with tourists during the Summer. She is depicted in a mural on the wall behind us to the right, outside of the picture. I think the Chamber of Commerce has her do it. We were there in October and December, so did not see her. I love California and I love Oklahoma, but I do believe that Winslow was my favorite stop on the trip, and happens to be very near to halfway between the two destinations.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is so cool, keeping the song alive with the girl and the truck, and a mural.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Apparently, Winslow does not feel that it has much else going for itself. I think that is what I liked about it. It is a good sized town, but still simple.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It had it’s time of fame thanks to the song.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your post makes me want to visit this place. And your beard makes me think of the luxuriant growth my Jack sported when we travelled for many months and he never visited a barber. In December kids would look sideways at him and I could see them tugging their mother’s sleeves and pointing, with his white, long hair too, he certainly looked like Santa in disguise…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oklahoma is certainly not for everyone. I think that everyone should be able to decide where they want to go. You know how people are always saying that ‘everyone’ should go to Paris (the one in France), or Manhattan, or wherever, when they do not even know their own town very well. To me Oklahoma had always seemed to be more interesting the Paris. I know that Paris is fascinating as well, but I would not say that it is any better than anywhere else.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I believe every where is interesting in its own way. It depends on your interests. Should always keep an open mind and not go on other people’s, sometimes, biased opinions
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think that statue is Jackson Browne, who wrote Take It Easy. I was looking for the Oklahoma adventure that you had mentioned once in conjunction with a discussion on red cedar. Didn’t expect rock and roll, too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh WOW! That’s him! You would think that it would have been easy to find the name of that statue, but I could only find information about the newer statue of Glenn Frey that was added later.
That trip was so RAD! I grew up believing that Oklahoma was a magical place full of vegetable gardens and fruit trees and such. So much of what I learned about horticulture was learned from Okies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Tony Tomeo.
LikeLike