Home away from Home (Sallisaw, Oklahoma)

I made a quick, last minute trip to Sallisaw, Oklahoma recently.

Although Sallisaw has never been an official place of residence for myself nor my immediate family and I did visit there for a week at least once every year for my entire life. Sallisaw is where my Dad, Floyd Neal, and all of his incredibly kind family was from. This is truly my Home away from Home. Let me please share a just a few of my highlights visiting this wonderful city and awesome people of Sallisaw, Oklahoma.

 

Family of Fantastic Furr’s

I had the great pleasure to finally meet, in-person, two of the most wonderful people to walk the face of this Earth; Tammye and Fred. They are the amazing furr-mommy and furr-daddy of 8 – yes, 8 – animals of all sorts from cats, dogs, horses and even a rabbit!

These two-wonderful people have organized, and execute, a beautiful Sunday morning service of prayer, education as well as just bringing people together for a local independent living facility. I was so fortunate to participate in one of these awesome events on the Sunday while I was there and the joy that it brought to the residents was so amazing!

Tammye and Fred are simply outstanding examples of decency and they deserve only the best in life. They are precious people and I’m so glad they are my friends. Love you both tons!!!

 

The decency of strangers

Old Sallisaw High School   Sallisaw High School was the root of many great stories. So many great people and awesome relationships were born at this wonderful place. Although it’s no longer useful as a school it is still an extremely useful historical landmark that helps share the terrific memories of Sallisaw history.

AOK Printing   I had a simple printing need while in Sallisaw and I happened to come-across AOK Printing which is a professional printing company. My particular request was easily satisfied and I would like to give a huge shout-out to the great folks at AOK. They can expertly fulfill any sort of major printing or marketing needs and I will certainly be calling upon them for their business services in the near future! www.AOKPrinting.net

14 Flags Museum   Sallisaw is certainly a city in transition between respecting old-school tradition yet allowing for modern growth. One of the old-school traditions that is quite prominent is Sallisaw is the “14 Flags Museum” which is beautifully displayed proudly on Main Street.   14 Flags is a historical landmark with a fantastic history as a gas station, stage-coach stop and authentic living quarters. It’s a really great place to visit if you are ever on I-40 between OCK and Ft. Smith.

General Sallisaw demeanor   Overall I would like to make a general comment about the folks of Sallisaw, Oklahoma. I would like to say that they are kind and compassionate people. This has been my opinion from years of experience of socializing within their community and it is always so wonderful to visit this great place.   I love this place like my Home and I feel a special kindship there. I have great hope that Sallisaw will also be a decent place of great humanity.

Dad’s Legacy

This was my first visit back to Sallisaw, Oklahoma since my dad went to Heaven on 4/21/2016. So, naturally, I wanted to visit his marker and pay my respects to a truly wonderful father.

Honestly, I visited this place several times in a few days during my visit to Sallisaw. Sometimes with family but many times without; it just felt like the right thing to do to be there. The Sallisaw Cemetery is really a beautiful place. You would think that a cemetery might be a grim or sad place to be but this one is anything but. The grounds are beautifully taken care of by the wonderful staff.

 

Delicious Dining and Stimulating Conversation

On my way back to the airport for my early morning flight, I was graciously invited to stay overnight with my terrific family in Tulsa, Les and Myla. Myla (with Les’s positive encouragement) had prepared the most scrumptious meal ever! I was the fortunate recipient for one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever experienced. After this great meal and some chit-chatty while eating it was time to discuss ‘real business’.

For Les, Myla and myself ‘real business’ consisted of nothing more than shooting-some-poop discussing a wide range of topics into the early-morning hours. I feel sorry for keeping them up so late but it was such a joyous time to get to spend quality time with such great people.

 

In summary, my Oklahoma 2016 trip was a beautiful experience. We shared great memories of the past and we also shared fantastic vision for the future. I am so proud to recognize my family and friends in Oklahoma because you are all so special. God Bless you, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Love,

Kevin