Spring Break and Oxford

I am excited because today is my last day in class before spring break, and I leave this afternoon to start a long weekend in Oxford, Mississippi. I will be writing a travel article about what Oxford has to offer, and I have heard already from one of my travel companions that Oxford offers catfish. Wherever this place is will have to work hard to compete with or beat Fred's Fish House in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, but I am willing to give it a try AND be fair in my assessment.

I am traveling with my "oldest" friend, who has known me from the time we were in diapers, and my "oldest" friend from the newest part of my life - the part in Sedalia. I know the two will get along famously, and that we will have a good time.

At this point, I plan to write about the literary part of Oxford, which includes a very old book store, John Grisham, and most important, William Faulkner; however, I cannot leave food and drink out of the mix. I will be eating three meals a day, which will add inches to my waistline, I am sure, but what the heck? It's all for my fledgling writing career! Inches cannot be a deterrent!

Our plan is to trek down south toward my home town, Thayer, Missouri; then toward Memphis; and then into Oxford. We will be staying at an Oxford institution, and exploring the square. The funny thing about Oxford is that it is about the size of Sedalia - about 20,000 people. The University, I have read, doubles the size of the town to about 38,000. What is most interesting about that factoid is that Oxford has a town square that is vital and booming, whereas Sedalia has to fight to keep people downtown.

I have also read that Oxford has been rated a great place to retire. While I am not ready to retire (am I'm not sure I ever will be), I will be looking around to gauge the general age of the population. I wonder if I will find a pocket of young people (students) and a pocket of people older than I (retirees)? "Let it be a mystery. . ." (Up the Down Staircase).

The South has some fabulous old homes and wonderful gardens, and I hope that this week's warmer temperatures will let us have a beautiful trip as well as a tasty one! I will let you know what I find.