A Heartland Forgotten
By Sara Patton
13 Jul 2009
It's quite easy to simply forget, or lose appreciation for such magical beauty once you've been taken away from it for so long. I recently went back to Oklahoma to visit my family and was immediately awestruck at the saturation in the fields, the clean air, the vast space, but most of all, the feeling that I could breathe.
Camargo is a little town of about 100 people way out in western Oklahoma along the South Canadian River. I'm not exactly sure how many times this little town has been moved due to being wiped out by tornadoes, but I think it was at least twice. My grandfather grew up here, so when he retired him and my grandmother moved back. Eventually we did too. I lived there for 6 years, and hated every minute of it. That is, until I moved away. Now that I'm grown with children of my own, I truly miss the comfort and safety of such a warm community and beautiful nature. Where everybody waves at the car passing by, where everyone knows your name and what you had for dinner last night. Where the bugs are so big you can catch one and tie a string to it's back leg as if you're flying a kite. Where there's no traffic and no stop lights. Where you can drive to the top of a hill and see at least 15 miles in each direction. Where the dirt is always red and the skies are always blue. Where the wind is always blowing, the breeze is always fresh. And most of all, where family is there to pick you up when you fall.
It's sad that it takes moving 18 hours away to truly appreciate what Oklahoma has to offer.
4 responses
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Megan Bailey gave props (14 Jul 2009):
Fantastic story.
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Sara Patton said (14 Jul 2009):
Thank you Megan! :)
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Tony Edwards gave props (22 Jul 2009):
Having grown up not too far from Camargo myself, I know exactly what you mean. When I go back, it's harder and harder to leave even though it's not right for me any more. It's like, the lands and sky calls one to it.
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Kellie Kennedy gave props (22 Jul 2009):
Very well put! I like the story!
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