No one actually reads into fortune cookies, do they? I mean, not really. Most people don’t even eat them (but if you do, you know that you have to eat the cookie before you read the fortune). I’d wager that most people crack them open, glance over the platitude written on the slip of paper, and chuck it in the trash. I typically read it, utter the words “that’s dumb”, then chuck it in the trash. However, there have been two times in my life, I’ve gotten a fortune cookie that stuck with me. The first was the day I bought my first guitar. The fortune read something like “you will make a musical decision today” or some such. As it happened, I had planned to buy the guitar that day. I always thought that was neat. I feel that, sometimes, the universe does give us little hints that we’re going in the right direction.
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| No, we did NOT look this good during the drive itself |
So, back to that drive I mentioned. Ali and I made this trip to Florida to get her settled in for her new job. The plan for this “little” road trip was to leave town around 8:00 AM and stay the night in New Orleans. When we hit the road at 3:00 PM, we had to make some… adjustments to the plan. These adjustments included driving straight-through (24 hours total) and making the sketchiest stop for gas in Shreveport which prompted me to re-enter the car and utter those words: “get me the fuck out of Louisiana.” I think it was about 2:00 in the morning when delirium began to set in and we belted "My Heart Will Go On" complete with interpretive dance. Why take drugs when you can deprive yourself of sleep and have just as mind-bending a time?
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| The boys, Koda and his little brother Cooper, took the road trip in stride |
They say that a massive road trip like this is a good test
of a relationship. I gotta tell you, I
didn’t really feel tested at all. Other
than pushing the limits of how long I can drive without stopping (spoiler
alert, it’s a while). Once we made it to
Florida, the drive was well worth it. I’d
never been to the state before and, while I’d seen the Atlantic from the
northern part of the country, nothing could have prepared me for how beautiful
the Gulf Coast is.
We spent several days at the beach, found a cool restaurant
or two, and took some obligatory beach photos.
Other than sunburns, a couple of bouts of sun poisoning (which is a
thing, apparently), and one near drowning experience, I can honestly say I
spent a week in a slice of paradise.
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| She loves when I take pictures when she isn't ready as you can tell by her expression |
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| We couldn't resist |
We took a couple of trips into Sarasota (the nearest actual city anyone has heard of) to see what Florida has to offer. Time kind of escaped us (as it does when you're having fun) one Sunday night. Everything in town was beginning to close, including the aquarium we planned to visit. But we were determined to find something to do in this new, exciting city. So where does one turn when they have no hope? Google. "things to do in Sarasota". The list was extensive, but I knew what we were doing next. "Baby, let's do an escape room." Neither of us had done one before, so we went online and reserved a room and made the 20 minute drive after grabbing some coffee. (NOTE: Did you know that anytime there's a Chili's, Kohl's, and Best Buy in proximity, there will be a Starbucks also? It's science.)
At the escape room, we met the two couples we'd be in the room with. At the risk of sounding judgmental, one of the guys was a dope and his significant other was, um, not the sharpest, either. The second couple was seemed more our speed, but the young lady kept mentioning how she had done escape rooms before. "Did you make it out?" "No." Great. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the premise of an escape room, but basically there are a series of puzzles that give you combinations or keys to locks that lead to more clues for the next lock. This continues until you get the final code to open the door and escape. The time limit was an hour and there were six or seven locks before the final door. We managed to open all but two of the locks on our own. So, I guess we make a pretty good team.
While there, I did manage to hit a few comic book shops. And, honestly, all but one of them suck. I’ve said it before and I’m saying it now: I’ve been in comic book shops on both coasts and many states in between. Nothing compares to Mammoth Comics in Tulsa. But one shop was pretty cool. It was actually half-comic shop, half-tattoo parlor, which I thought was a perfect pairing. I browsed around and found quite a selection of Silver and Bronze age key issues. One of which caught my eye.
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| Pre-escape room cold brew |
At the escape room, we met the two couples we'd be in the room with. At the risk of sounding judgmental, one of the guys was a dope and his significant other was, um, not the sharpest, either. The second couple was seemed more our speed, but the young lady kept mentioning how she had done escape rooms before. "Did you make it out?" "No." Great. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the premise of an escape room, but basically there are a series of puzzles that give you combinations or keys to locks that lead to more clues for the next lock. This continues until you get the final code to open the door and escape. The time limit was an hour and there were six or seven locks before the final door. We managed to open all but two of the locks on our own. So, I guess we make a pretty good team.
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| Random picture of a veggie burger I spent way too much money on that I'm using only to break up text on the page, you're welcome |
While there, I did manage to hit a few comic book shops. And, honestly, all but one of them suck. I’ve said it before and I’m saying it now: I’ve been in comic book shops on both coasts and many states in between. Nothing compares to Mammoth Comics in Tulsa. But one shop was pretty cool. It was actually half-comic shop, half-tattoo parlor, which I thought was a perfect pairing. I browsed around and found quite a selection of Silver and Bronze age key issues. One of which caught my eye.
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| Detective Comics #566 |
I’ve wanted a copy of this book for a long time. It’s nothing special and wasn’t expensive,
but I’ve had a poster of this in my living room for years and always said I’d
buy it if I ever saw it in person. And
here, in a comic shop in Florida, where I otherwise probably never would have
visited had I not met Ali, I found this book I’ve always wanted. Sometimes, the universe does give us little
hints that we’re going in the right direction.
The sunsets and nighttime are pretty cool in this waterfront town. Not literally of course. It’s hot.
And one thing that gets mentioned a lot about Florida is the humidity. I actually didn’t think it was that bad (ask
Ali now, though, she’ll tell you a much different story). What I did enjoy was the out-of-nowhere
rainstorms. Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”
was something of a summer anthem in 1961.
Hearing that song while sitting on the porch in the summer rain and
playing cards with the most beautiful girl I know almost transported me to a different time entirely. In reality, moments like those are timeless.
Once I returned to Tulsa, I began the process of packing and
preparing my office for the move to a new location. I’ve been at this school for eight years now
(and actually was involved since it’s opening almost 12 years ago), so it’s
somewhat apropos that I’m ending my time there at the same time the school
moves physical locations. There’s
a bit of symmetry there.
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| My "home away from home" for the past eight years |
This is definitely a season of change for me personally and
professionally. And I welcome it. While this has been a comic book blog since
it began, I’m going to make a little bit of a shift and document more of just…
life. Forest Gump’s mama always said
that life is like a box of chocolates, but I tend to think it’s more like a fortune
cookie. Things happen in life that can be interpreted as a sign. And these signs are
sometimes complete bullshit.
Sometimes they’re not. Sometimes,
the universe does give us little hints that we’re going in the right direction.
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| My fortune cookie two days after meeting Ali |
Thanks for reading.
-Josh
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