OKC Trip 2019

We were already going to Oklahoma City for the annual Friends of the Metropolitan Library book sale, so Amos took Friday off and we made a weekend of it!

Off we go!  Amos being silly.

Had to stop for provisions...

Turnpike construction

Time for surgery...

Amos gave me this Bible a few days before we got engaged (we added the Ralston later, haha!).  I dropped it a few times over the years, and the spine finally came off, so it was time to get it rebound.

Very large press...

Super Cao Nguyen!  The biggest Asian grocery store I've been in!

I went here a few times when we lived in Oklahoma City.

More provisions...

We have our pho and ramen supplies! :D

Amos was excited about these seaweed snacks.  They tasted like shrimp...or the ocean.

A T-Rex and a good sign...

Hello, poor cow, carved into the concrete

Waffle Champion in Midtown, recommended by Beau and Chrissie

Amos had chicken and waffles and I had the Florentine (tomatoes, eggs, spinach, goat cheese, etc.).

When in town for a book sale, one must also visit Half-Price Books. :D

WinCo!

The bulk section!

More provisions!

[Not pictured: A stop at Duluth Trading Company.  Ooops.]

I love the Loft Outlet store!

City Bites!  I get the California Club sandwich, and Amos gets a sandwich or a baked potato.

We've had a $10.00 gift card for Coldstone for about five years, but there aren't any stores in Tulsa...finally used it up!

Our hotel had a very nice breakfast!  The thing with whipped cream is actually a waffle boat!

We're here, we're here!

Friends!

Amos, me, Tasha, Rachelle, Amelia (belonging to Tasha), and Brittany

Lots of people, even more books

Parked in (why?!?)

Our finds! CDs

Science fiction

Misc.

Kids' books

More kids' books and audiobooks

Don't judge a book by its silly movie cover.  Take it off and see what's underneath!

Wow!

Everyman's Library!  For $1.00!

We went to Earl's.  The internet was down, so they couldn't run cards and they couldn't open the cash register.  Employees were running back and forth from the back room with cash and handwritten orders.  Amos had already gotten a drink, but they gave it to him for free when we decided to go somewhere else...

...like a different City Bites! :D

Last stop: Dunkin' Donuts!

Heck no! Not today!

There I am, driving along, minding my own business, listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, eating a few Skittles (a present from Amos), when *WHAM* a grey SUV appears out of no where, scraping down the driver's side of my car.

I gasp.  I slow down.

The other car does not.

Me, in my mind: "HECK NO!!!"

I've heard too many stories about hit-and-run accidents.  The victim is left to deal with a broken car while the perpetrator zooms off, taking any chances of filing a claim with them.

Not me. Not today.

I shift gears and chase that car down.

I hear wind whistling through my closed window and realize that my rearview mirror is gone.

No matter.

I zip after the grey SUV, holding down the horn.  A maroon pickup truck races next to me.  I am irritated: "Can't you see I'm trying to catch the guy who hit me?!?!"

About half a mile down the road, a police car comes screeching up the suicide line. I make sure that this officer is actually after the grey SUV, and we all turn into the parking lot of a small credit union.

By this time, it is me, the maroon pickup, the grey SUV, and three police cars.

I am impressed. This is a very quick response, especially since I hadn't called anyone.

I grab my phone and insurance info and jump out of the car, ready to take on the world!

Mr. Maroon Truck rolls down his window: "I'm a retired police officer, and I saw what happened!  I'll be your witness!  Just stay over here."

Me: "Okay!"

Mr. Maroon Truck: "Bless your heart."

It turns out that Mr. Maroon Truck has been following this guy down the freeway onto one of the main roads in Tulsa, and he was just about to call the police to report reckless driving.  When he saw me get hit ("Bless your heart!"), he called in a hit-and-run, and police cars materialized (five of them, by the end of the incident).

The officers, which include a sergeant, have me fill out a statement, give me a copy of Mr. Maroon Truck's witness statement, and tell me that the other guy is being arrested for a suspected DUI.  Off to the pokey!

And then the run-around begins...

Sergeant, rolling his eyes: "Tulsa PD said they wouldn't come this far south, so you have to drive back to the Braum's and call them, and they will come take your statement."

Me: "Uhhhh, okay."

I thank Mr. Maroon Truck again ("Bless your heart, call me if you have any questions, bless your heart.") and drive the one mile back to Tulsa.

I call 911, tell them it is a police non-emergency, and wait. This is how it goes:
Tulsa PD: "Where are you?  Oh, you're there?  Oh wait, you're there?  That is the highway patrol."
-transfer-
OHP: "Where are you? Please hold. *one minute* Hello ma'am? Please hold. *three minutes* Here is the Tulsa PD."
-transfer-
Tulsa PD: "Hello, where are you? Let me look at the map."

I call Amos and tell him what happened.

Thirty minutes later, I am still waiting for the Tulsa PD.

Tulsa PD shows up, seems confused, asks some rather disjointed questions, takes Mr. Maroon Truck's witness statement, and gives me an incident number.

I then toodle off to Walmart to buy groceries, where I call my mom and proudly tell her that I just ran down a bad guy, who is now on his way to jail.

Mom: "I'm glad you're okay!  You need to go to the hospital."

*sigh*

So I'm off to the hospital, just to make sure that I'm okay.

I sit in the emergency room waiting area with my back to the daytime tv program, talking to my old roommates on chat, and giving Irene chills over the phone as I relay my adventure of the day.  In my peripheral vision, a rather limp-looking lady sits in a wheelchair, occasionally barfing into a bag.

After waiting about an hour, I am taken into the back, inspected, and told that I am fine, no x-rays required, take some ibuprofen, here is your bill for $250.00.

Lessons learned:
Don't get in a hit-and-run with Jennica and expect to get away with it
Don't jump out of the car and try to confront the person who hit you
Always have a retired police officer in the car next to you, ready to make a call
Thank the Lord that you are okay and that it isn't any worse

$15.52

For the last two years, Amos and I have kept a designated jar on our dining room table. This small Mason jar holds all the money we find on the ground for one year.  At the end of the year, we count the change and stick the coins in a bank masquerading as an old, red Nalgene water bottle.  Our total last year was $3.02.

Our grand total for 2017 was $15.52!  We found $13.00 on Valentine's Day, floating in a puddle.  The rest was found a little at a time, here and there: grocery store parking lots, the apartment complex's laundry room, the area around recycling bins, etc. Oddly enough, we didn't pick up any quarters.

So far in 2018, I have found $0.23, two dimes and three pennies.

Now to stick the dimes in a baggy (for occasional library fines), the rest of the change in the Nalgene, and the bills in my wallet.  Maybe we will go out for lunch tomorrow. :)

"It's snowing!"

Amos, 12:00 last Friday night: A little kid is yelling outside, "IT'S SNOWING!"
Me, half-asleep: Mmmm, okay.

Well, that little kid, whoever he is, was right.

It snowed!  Not much, but enough for me to wander around outside for a few hours and get some good pictures.

As always, click the pictures to enlarge them. :)

The view from our porch

Mistletoe!

If you look very closely, you can see my reflection in the berries :)

This reminds me of Lord of Rings, where Sam and Frodo go through
the bog of dead people...

Duckprints!

I don't know how their little feet don't freeze off!

Blurry flight