Lawter Road

Lawter Road was an old country road just north of a small quiet western Oklahoma town in which I spent my college years.

When living the dream of a lowly freshman with a minuscule bank account & precious few resources, I quickly learned you must become creative in finding cheap alternatives to self coping mechanisms or risk sinking further into a dark, emotional abyss...at least that's what they tell me. ;-)

Many summer evenings, golden autumn mornings, bleak, snowy weekends & lazy spring Saturdays, would find me on this therapeutic pathway driving well under the speed limit playing music in my car stereo while trying to summon every free moment I could afford to gather myself, my thoughts, & the courage to dig back in to the never ending demands of college life.

Time always seemed to stand still on Lawter Road, giving no thought or concern to its travelers or their circumstances. That was the beauty of it. And from its vantage point one could always easily gaze back toward the community & see the college standing firmly on the hill. I admit it sounds too good to be true, but a simple change in perspective was often just the ingredient needed to gain fresh insight & motivation to confront lingering issues.

Some say western Oklahoma is a repulsive eyesore with its red dirt & pancake terrain. I've even heard it jokingly referred to as "The backside of Mars." I couldn't disagree more. While maybe an acquired taste for some, those harvested wheat fields & grain elevators provided the perfect backdrop in every season of my college experience. Everyone needs a Lawter Road at some point or another in their life. If you haven't found yours, I hope you do.