Yesterday, Sunday, I drove to Oklahoma to visit my parents. My father had taken a bad fall last week and was still kind of stoved up. We caught up on news and I did some yard work for them (their lot is 3 acres!) I left them this morning to drive to Abilene and am now in my hotel room (La Quinta). Tonight, I intend to finish up preparing for my presentations. I have a television/radio interview in the morning, then I’m to speak at the English Department’s lunch banquet and to speak in a creative writing class tomorrow afternoon. After that, I’ll likely take the long drive back to Monroe instead of spending the night here.

My drive to Oklahoma and to here was visually stimulating. I saw longhorn cattle and lots of flowers. As I drove, the red clover of Louisiana and East Texas shifted to bluebonnets and orange Indian Paintbrush, and to a few fields of yellow dandelions. I saw antelope in the hill country between Fort Worth and Abilene. On my trip, I’ve also seen at least a hundred motorcyclists, almost all on Harley Davidson’s of almost every color—except yellow (which I’ve seen in Monroe).
After I’m satisfied with my speeches for tomorrow, I’m going to finish reading Diary, Chuck Palahniuk’s newest book. I like writers like him—on the edge. I’ll post an entry late tomorrow about how the day went.