A middle earth earworm

Ohrwurm is a German word that means, literally, "earworm" and refers to those persistent and annoying tunes you can't get out of your head. As we packed, the spouse and I both developed middle America ohrwurms based on the musical, "Oklahoma!"

You know the tune, "Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain... And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet When the wind comes right behind the rain...."

And of course, "Ev'rythin's up to date in Kansas City: They've gone about as fur as they c'n go! They went and built a skyscraper seven stories high, About as high as a buildin' orta grow. Ev'rythin's like a dream in Kansas City."

Since we can't eradicate 'em, we decided to join 'em. We are now the proud owner(s) of a recording of the hit musical, and we'll be singing along as we drive that rental car through the state. So, stay tuned, folks.

Nicky the test cat

No, It's not Toto, but Nicky the senior housecat is a pretty patient subject for a novice digitographer. She looks excited about getting her furry little face posted on my blog, doesn't she? Click on her photo to get a better look at what she's been reading.

Trip takes on a new twist 'er something

I never would've picked high gardening season in the Northwest for a vacation away from home. Nonetheless I reconciled myself to missing the annual Tilth Edible Plant Sale. (And found a kind fellow gardener who is willing to stand in line and buy some tomato plants for me.) I will plant my beets and beans after my trip and hope for the best.

But today I learned that not only am I leaving my beloved patch of dirt just as it warms up (and dries out) enough to be receptive to seedlings. . . but I am also headed right to the eye of the storm! It's tornado season in the Midwest, one of my co-workers who grew up there advised me this morning. Yikes. We're not in Kansas any more, Toto.

Curious - and concerned - I checked out "tornado season" and learned that indeed it is no Hollywood invention designed simply to kick start Judy Garland's film career. It's real weather. And when is the peak of tornado season? May. And where are the tornados? More than anywhere in the world they are right in our American Midwest.

Anybody have an extra pair of ruby slippers I could borrow for a couple of weeks?

Trip planning: Books!

Reading, and planning what I will read are important parts of travel plans for me. So it's not surprising that as I think about my trip to MiddleEarth I consider an appropriate library for my suitcase(s). It may be too late to prepare for Oklahoma, but Arkansas - the second destination on this itinerary - is another matter. I know one Arkansan and, as luck would have it, she happens to be the Seattle Times book editor.

Mary Ann Gwinn is not only happy to recommend reading fit for the Arkansas traveler, but she is actually envious that I am going to her home state!

I must digress here. The women in my book group are a well-travelled bunch. India, Africa, Rome, Paris, Tierra del Fuego, for crying in the night. They go every where. So it was with some reluctance that I told them of my plans to visit Oklahoma-Arkansas-Missouri-Kansas this spring. Nobody asked for details about my travel plans. Nobody recalled with enthusiasm their last trip to Kansas... or said, "I know a wonderful spot you simply must see."

So I was gratified when Mary Ann responded to my email: " I'm envious," she wrote ". . . I went to college in Conway(Hendrix College) and participated in many a Toad Suck Daze, mostly by drinking a lot of beer down by the Arkansas River."

We will be staying in Conway, a small town north of Little Rock. And Toad Suck Daze will be in progress when we are there! Wow. This trip is starting to sound like fun.

Mary Ann also kindly educated me about Arkansas literature. She wrote:

"There are lots of worthy Arkansas authors, though a lot of them write about other things than Arkansas. One is Donald Harington, He is considered Arkansas' most prominent literary author; The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks is one that's particularly good. He's an art historian and the books are very strange and wonderful. Charles Portis, who wrote True Grit, is from Arkansas, as is DeeBrown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Stephen Hunter, who is the film critic for the Washington Post, has set a string of thrillers in 20th century Arkansas."

Needless to say, I scooted right over to the Seattle Public Library and checked out two Arkansas books: With by Donald Harington and Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter. This last I can't resist. A hillbilly detective who was a Vietnam sharpshooter. It's gotta be different!

Thank you. Thank you, Mary Ann!

You know, I am beginning to suspect there is not an uninteresting place in the whole world.

One of our first stops

...will be Oklahoma City where we will vist the Myriad Botanical Garden, a huge tropical garden downtown which features a "Crystal Bridge," actually a tropical conservatory, depicted in this photo gallery. Lots of orchids and the like inside - and one of those big stinky "corpse" flowers similar to the one that bloomed about 4 years ago at the UW. It is an Amorphophallus titanum. Examination of the etymolology of the name is interesting in itself: from the Greek "amorpho" means "without shape" and "phallus" speaks for itself, while "titanum" is, of course, "large" e.g. "Titan." Gardening is so wholesome.

Travel plans

Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Probably not your dream vacation. But in very shortly The Spouse and I will be heading out to AKOM, or MiddleEarth, as I am beginning to think of this four-state sojourn. There is an explanation for this destination, but I am not permitted to divulge it until our mission is complete. If you are reading this you probably already know. . .