18. Stillwater Daily Minutiae

Every day coming back from dropping my son off at school I see an elderly Indian woman on her morning walk. I always look forward to seeing her beautiful saris.

Stillwater takes its school zones seriously, which I respect. There is a school zone at the top of the hill where our street meets the larger street, McElroy. And I’ve seen some unfortunate speeder getting a ticket on that stretch every single day since school started.

Persimmon seems to have achieved some sort of détente with the two dachshunds in the yard behind us. But all three raise holy hell when the Doberman mix a couple of doors down comes outside.

The sun is brutal here. I’ve never needed sunglasses just to go get the mail before. Maybe I should cut back on my vitamin D supplement.

When I first moved in, I was surprised at the apparent number of UPS deliveries the neighbors across the street were getting. Every day I saw the brown truck in front of the house! When he made a delivery to our house one day and introduced himself, I realized it was just our neighbor, coming home every day for lunch. He and his adorable wife and child moved out last weekend, to a bigger house for their expanding family. I will miss watching their son ride his bike up and down the street, practicing his newly-learned skill.

If you see roadkill on the street here, chances are it’s an armadillo.

Urban planning is not Stillwater’s forte. For a town with a population of under 50,000 people, the traffic is ridiculous. And it’s not just in the university area.

These people are serious about their football. The best time to run errands is during an OSU football game.

Crepe myrtle bushes are everywhere, with deep pink flowers that last all summer and into fall. Magnificent.