From “Drumbeat” to Drumright”

Drumright, Oklahoma................."Where in the heck is THAT?" I wondered as I got out my road atlas a couple of years ago.

For many, many years, I'd been putting off a trip to Washington D.C.   I'd always felt that if God was going to give the United States an "enema".....Washington D.C. is where he'd have to stick the hose!  I think that's even MORE true today than ever before.

Unfortunately, if you want to see the Vietnam Wall, the Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington National Cemetary and the Smithsonian, you have NO CHOICE but to go to D.C.   I posted pictures of that trip on an earlier blog, but I didn't include the Drumright, Oklahoma stop.

John Snowder, an old war buddy  who I hadn't seen since Quang Tri, was going to Drumright to visit his brother.  At the same time, Jim "Doc" Thomas, who'd been our platoon Corpsman lives just south of Oklahoma City in a town called Chickasha, and HE was driving up to meet John.

The three of us have stayed in touch, and knowing I was driving cross-country for D.C., we came up with a "battle plan" for all three of us to meet up in Drumright.  (John was coming from Port Jervis, New York).

Doc & John would have their wives with them,  Donna couldn't get off.  If she gets vacation time at ALL, it seems to always be in the dead of winter when the roads & weather are to crappy to go ANYWHERE.  So this would be a long car trip for me.

I'd previously made a reservation at the "Boomtown Inn" in Drumright.....although Drumright is more of a GHOSTTOWN than a "boomtown!

At least half the shops are closed up......actually, I got to where I LIKED being there, although it would only be for a couple of days.

Yes, to a guy who hates "Boise traffic"........THIS was just "FINE & DANDY" with ME!

...............and whatever scenery WASN'T there.......was PAINTED on!

Sort of a 'town history map" in mural, so you knew where you were!  And the town IS fairly "up-to-date", even has a SUBWAY sandwich shop right there in the middle of town!

The "main attraction" seemed to be this old railway station where the Santa Fe once rumbled through.

Complete with an oldtime caboose....and a "modern" Pullman car.

A Civil War cannon seemed to be an appropriate place for 3 old "Vietnam warriors" to rendevous , after "taking the town by siege!"  Of course, in 2010, NONE of us were exactly in "boot camp condition" to "storm" anything.....but it was a good time to "swap lies" and go back over the last 40 years!

"Zook", "Doc" & John in 1968.....................and in 2010............where the heck does time go...............?

..........................And WHERE IS DRUMRIGHT?