Amarillo, Fate, and Happenstance

I was rerouted coming out of Oklahoma City by weather, just as I had found myself in Oklahoma City two years earlier due to weather rerouting me. It seemed fitting that my two-year excursion ended the same way it began, almost two years to the date. I arrived in OKC on April 10, 2023, and departed April 15, 2025. This was in no way planned. In fact, I had intended on traveling back east to visit friends in March before heading out west. As always, though, fate interceded and by not forcing the issue I avoided some terrible flooding in Missouri and Kentucky in March.

My original route out of OKC was to take me north to Topeka then out west on I-70. After looking at the storm prediction center's advanced forecasts, despite there at the time being nothing predicted for exactly where I would be, I chose to head west on I-40 instead spending Easter in Amarillo. Once again I ended up avoiding some very strong storms (although Amarillo would get hit hard just after I left) and I found another city that I grew to have great affection for that I never thought I would ever spend time in. 

Besides the wonderful accommodations at the Big Texan RV Ranch as well as the amazing food and drink at the Big Texan Steak House it was people at both places that won me over. Good, genuine people who could carry on real conversations without it devolving into politics is a rarity these days and welcome one at that. 

If you know me at all, you know being able to enjoy a nice drink and discuss things of a metaphysical nature is the way to my heart. Shockingly, that was my experience over two nights at the Big Texan Brewery inside the Big Texan Steak House. After enjoying a delicious 16 oz Prime Rib and an old-fashioned the first night, I heard one of the bartenders mention that she had to take an entrance exam for nursing school. One portion of the exam was algebra that she hadn’t taken in a decade. It was the only part she was concerned with. 

Upon hearing this, I chimed in that she shouldn’t worry about it. If her path included nursing school, she would surely pass it and that if she didn’t, it was because she knew in her subconscious that this wasn’t what she was meant to do. That if she just let things happen, she would put herself on the correct path. Now, this is not usually the conversations strangers strike up with bartenders. Having been on the other side of the bar for many years, I can attest that this is not normal. Surprisingly, though, it seemed to be what she needed to hear. 

The rest of my conversations with her, the rest of the bar staff, and the patrons over two nights focused on the concepts of fate, freewill, and happenstance. Reconciling freewill and fate is something that I spent many of my early years thinking about. I came to the conclusion that fate puts you at a crossroads and freewill allows you to choose your path. Every time I have been at one of these crossroads I have always had a nagging voice in my head telling me which path to take. Over the past two decades plus I have always followed that voice. It’s not always easy to do because often the right path is the most illogical one. Often though you have to just say “What the fuck and take a chance”. 

Looking at all the course changes I went on that led me to Amarillo over Easter in 2025 and what a spiritually uplifting experience it was tells me that I followed the right path. When I was younger, I always tried to force things to happen. It caused a lot of pain and torment. Once I learned to just let go and let the ride take me where it wanted me to go, things got a lot better. Sure, there are still rough times out here on the road, but those moments are fleeting. 

Life is an adventure if you let it be. So my advice to everyone is quit trying to control your world and just enjoy what it has in store for you.