We are in Bixby with our dear old friends Walter and Cleone who retired from the army to their hometown in 1991. We met in Fort Lee, Virginia, mid-August 1975 at a mixer for the new Advanced Course class. We were pals for the 9 months the guys were in school and then kept up with letters and Christmas cards. We were stationed near each other three times over the years which cemented our friendship.

Ten years ago Walter and Cleone built a fabulous new home on a small farm outside of Bixby and, believe it or not, Dan has never seen it. We used this as an excuse to drop in to ring in the new year. Today, day one of the visit, was relaxing. We drove around their farm and saw, of all things, a white hawk with a little red on its tail and their grove of pecan trees. We toured downtown Tulsa spending a brief time on Route 66. We had a great burger at Hop Bunz for lunch and were home in time for a dinner of cornbread and Walter’s chicken soup with a baby bundt cake for dessert.

Just a brief whine before I head to bed. I woke up at 5 this morning with eye sockets that were burning and teeth that were aching. In spite of my best efforts and drugs dispensed by Cleone, I have not made a miracle recovery. A deep, wet caugh set in my noon. I’m going to head to bed and hope to wake up a new woman tomorrow.