Lost in OK

Well, it was an interesting last couple of days. Tuesday, I had a spectacular dinner at probably my favorite restaurant on Earth, Rose Angelis. However, my affection for the wonderful food of this establishment is probably somewhat mixed up with the beautiful dinner companions that accompany me there. And that night was no exception. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Vicki in over a year but like all of my dearest friends, it was as if only been a day. I often think that the truest sign of friendship is this strange mystery of prolonged absences that don’t seem so. I think it has something to do with really having a connection of commonality that allows us not to worry that everything has changed since we last met. In any case, we caught up, drank a little too much wine and generally had a good old nostalgic time.

Well, I just thought I would give you a quick update on the last couple of days. I arrived on the afternoon of the 27th. God, I’d forgotten how much I missed this city. As I climbed off the train, I was struck with a nostalgic smell of exhaust, food and a cacophony of other smells carried on cool crisp air. I climbed on board the Brown Line headed north and was pleased to see that once again the Phoenix was arising from its proverbial ashes. New towers of glass were arising from what were either vacant lots or small structures when I had left. It was like some sort of Randian wet dream. The march of the condo’s continued its inexorable path towards downtown, eating everything in their path. Everyone was holding down on their car horns for no particular reason. People were walking determinedly down the sidewalks avoiding eye contact. And commerce rained supreme. All in all, everything that I loved about this town is still here.

Sorry for the delay. I somehow lost my phone charger on the train. But I have one now. I’ll post more either tonight or tomorrow when intoxication isn’t such an issue.

-– This post was made with a trial version of BlogPlanet, a photo blog client for mobile phones. For more information visit www.blogplanet.net.

Unfortunately, sleep was a little inconstant last night, just couldn’t quite fall into a deep sleep. However, I still felt relatively rested this morning. Took a nice hot shower which I’m sorry to say was hotter and with higher water pressure than my shower at home. Had a wonderful breakfast of quiche, fried potatoes and toast and retired to my room with a hot cup of coffee.

We crossed over the Mississippi about an hour ago with a beautiful shot of the St. Louis Arch shining in the sun (pictures to come). A few minutes into Illinois and I saw a very unusual hunting techniques. There were about three or four hunters lined up against the train tracks looking out across the thick grasses that lined the tracks. As we passed, the train scared up a flock, bevy, or what ever they are called of pheasants and the hunters blazed away. Quite a bit easier I guess that hiking through the thick grass. However, I do say that shotgun blasts outside your train window is a little unnerving. Something like waking up and finding yourself in a bad western.