How "An Oklahoma Love Affair" Was Born

This blog began in the most innocent of ways: with the snippet of an idea that at once seemed ludicrous and then, as the warmth of it oozed into the synapses, simultaneously brilliant.

Once upon a time, there was a man who just happened to be celebrating 15 years of marriage to his bride. They wanted to take a glorious trip to someplace exotic (Hawaii, perhaps) to celebrate what was an historic milestone in their life together. But, with nary a half-day of vacation to rub between the two of them, a weekend car trip to someplace close by and familiar was more within their reach.

Having safely deposited their two offspring at Grandma's house midday on a Saturday, and after feasting on homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn-on-the-cob, they set out on their journey, just the two of them, the way they used to when they were young and unaffiliated.

With a hotel reservation mere hours away in Arkansas, they had a few miles to go and all day to get there. They had looked forward to these precious hours of uninterrupted conversation all week, so once they were safely ensconced within the confines of their now-quiet minivan, these two intrepid souls began talking about their future. Blame it on the chicken grease if you will, but this is how it went from there:

Dear Husband: "So, do you like what you are doing for a living?"

Dear Wife: "Yes. For now." [She, by the way, loves what she does for a living, but absolutely detests working within the confines of the soul-crushing legal system.]

Dear Husband: "Well, if you didn't do what you're doing now, what would you do?"

Dear Wife: "I'd write. And, of course, I would figure out a way to make some money while I was at it."

Dear Husband: "What would you write about?"

Dear Wife: "I don't know." [Silence ensues.]

Now, what hasn't been shared thus far is that on Dear Husband's 44th birthday, Dear Wife gave him a fancy Canon 40D SLR digital camera that can pick up a speck of dust on a flea's rump at 40 paces. Further, Dear Wife had been on Dear Husband's Facebook page mere days before and had noted Dear Husband's posting of photographs of Oklahoma sunsets and countless cloud formations, the likes of which she hadn't seen in some time. And, Dear Wife, seeking an appropriate gift for Dear Husband to mark the occasion of their wedded bliss, had gotten Dear Husband a gift certificate for a digital SLR photography class.

The conversation continued:

Dear Wife: "What if I wrote a blog about the things we love about Oklahoma, you know - sort of off-the-beaten path, homegrown stories - and you took the pictures, and maybe someday, somebody might want to make a coffee table book out of our collected posts? Or not. We'd have a lot of fun going around and collecting them. Kinda like the good old days."

Here, Dear Wife paused, allowing this crazy notion to sink in. Dear Husband did not allow his feelings on the subject to either encourage or discourage Dear Wife. But, they both kept thinking about it.

And then, the most unexpected and wonderful thing happened next. Dear Husband remembered that somewhere nearby was a spectacularly unique and wonderful man-made object that he'd wanted to find for probably about as long as he'd been married to Dear Wife.

He pulled off of the main highway, onto a state highway, and then, onto a little dirt road.

The hunt was on. And they were both "in."

"An Oklahoma Love Affair." Is it ludicrous or brilliant? You, Dear Reader, shall be the judge.

Tune in next for the story about what we found down that little dirt road.