I spent the day in Wakita, Oklahoma yesterday and had a wonderful time. It was the 30^th anniversary of the original Twister movie that was filmed there and the fans were everywhere. I was there with 7000 of my best friends (that was someone’s estimate of the number of people in town over a two-day period.)  It was hot and crowded. It was noisy and crazy. And it was fun.

Martha Draper sold copies of the special edition of the Wakita Hearld from 30 years ago. Martha is from Wakita and her father owned the local newspaper. She still has copies of his old, yellowed newspapers and the Twister museum was happy to copy them and sell them to the public. I sold a few of my books set in Oklahoma.

There were actors from the movie and trucks that were in the filming 30 years ago. There was a costume contest and the lines to the T-shirt sales and museum were blocks long. I never did see the porta-potties or food trucks though they were there. There were at least 3 EMT runs with what I assume were heat related accidents.

They have this celebration every year but I’m sure the fact that it was the 30^th anniversary made things even more crazy. There is no ATM in the small town of Wakita, population 340, but there was cash everywhere. Advertisements in advance mentioned that cash was king. And it was.

When we had endured the heat as long as we could a nice man helped us get our stuff to the car a half-block away. The parking place was not bad and people were kind. It is an hour’s drive back home and there was not even a place to get a cold drink along the way. We brought our own and our lunch. It was fun, but I’m getting too old for the heat and sitting on a park bench.

Congratulations, Wakita, and I hope you did well with T-shirt sales and museum entries. I know you did. Who knows what it will be like at the 50^th anniversary!

What are you reading, writing, supporting, or creating this week?