The Joys of living in small town Oklahoma

Maybe Norman isn't an especially small town, but this sign really just cracked me up. It has to be about 50 years old. Or maybe just made by someone who wishes he was going to the ice cream shop with the varsity cheerleader 50 years ago.

I am really entertained when driving through Norman, because, for the most part, it seems like any normal modern town with Targets and strip malls, but then I drive past the Hiland Dairy Plant with the dancing cow out front, or I drive the wrong way down 24th street and end up in nowheresville, OK. Oh look, cows!

Driving around Norman, you'll find that they've got lots of neat little shops here; they've got a few really nice consignment stores, and the cutest little 'food market' with (I'm not joking) around 200 different kinds of cheese. But then there's the 'tobacco and beer' store . . . There's also a nice little 'earth foods' store with organic and environmentally friendly/fair trade stuff. Though it is a bit expensive and a little way-out-there-hippie for me (you know, being a republican and all) in a way that makes me really miss Trader Joe's.

Oh Trader Joe's! How I miss your chocolate covered pretzels and frozen Chinese dumplings! (except the ones in the black plastic trays . . . those were gross)

There's a pretty yummy Thai restaurant, and also apparently a nice sushi place which I will check out as soon as I can figure out how to say "yes, please show me the sushi place, but it is not, nor will it ever be, a date." And of course, there's a few Starbucks as well as a Panera Bread, but there's one of those everywhere now, so that's not really impressive. And then there's cows . . .

I suppose the point is that even though I'm sure many of my friends from the East or West Coasts loathe to think of visiting me here, it's nice here, plus I can go visit livestock whenever I want!