How many people have visited Meers, Oklahoma to get a hamburger and wax nostalgic?  How about Eischen’s Fried Chicken in Okarche?  Wilson’s BBQ in Tulsa?  J&W Grill in Chickasha? The Italian restaurants in Krebs?

How many have visited these establishments for so long that they then take their children and eventually their grandchildren?  Of those grandchildren taken by their grandparents (who were waxing nostalgic as well as enjoying their precious cargo), how many decide to then take their teenage friends back and begin their own sentimental journeys?

I have no idea.  I do know that at least one has followed this hypothetical pattern. She took her boyfriend on August 18th, their two-year “dating anniversary.”  She took him to Meers, Oklahoma to get a hamburger because she had a nice time when she was a kid on a trip with her grandparents.

Tylz and Rylz (Tyler Garcia and Rylee Roberts) headed toward southwest Oklahoma at approximately 3:30 in the afternoon.  They had scheduled the afternoon and evening off work, dressed up slightly, printed out a map and set out to find the restaurant on their own.  It wasn’t their first road trip and it probably won’t be the last.

They arrived at the restaurant, ate dinner, talked to the cook, and said hello to the stray cats.  The cook said they could take one with them if they wanted.  “Well,” he hesitated.  “Not the fat one.  You can take one of the others.”  Evidently he had a soft spot for the “fat” cat.  I wonder how many hamburgers that cat has ingested?

Just prior to arriving at the restaurant, Rylee spied a sign on the road.  “That’s where I went on youth retreats! Camp Y’Shua…Let’s go back there after we eat.  I’ll show you where I camped!”

Where she camped.  Where she went with her grandparents.  Where she went to her youth retreats.  Tyler was getting the grand memory tour and Rylee was just fine with being the tour guide.

They said goodbye to the cats at the restaurant, explored the grounds at Camp Y’Shua, stopped by the lake to watch the sunset and headed home.

Tonight I was trying to decide what to put on the blog since we moved our Sports release to Friday, and another piece I had come in didn’t really fit our mission.  It was one of those “What do I do now?” times.  So I’m digging.  Digging for some angle.  I asked Rylee, “What is it about the 20-something crowd that makes them want to go back and explore the Oklahoma culture?  The grass roots of our state?  What is it that motivated you to choose Meers for your two-year anniversary trip?”

“It’s not my ‘group’ or my friends that are doing this, mom.  We were the only ones our age in the restaurant.  I just wanted to go back.”  She sounded slightly annoyed.

“Okay.  So, you just randomly decided to go?”

“No,” she replied.  “That’s not it.  I just wanted to go because I went there once with Granny and Papa when I was little and I liked it.  That’s all.”

She wasn’t waxing philosophical.  She just wanted to share a happy memory with her boyfriend.

Her reason was so much more than I had assumed before I heard her answer.  And, it was certainly deeper than my questions.

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