Road trip to Skedee

Maybe it’s all the Kerouac I’m reading or maybe it’s something else all together, but last week as I sat gazing out my 32^nd floor window at work I thought “I just need one day of freedom on the road.”

So I took the day off on Friday and gave myself just the adventure I was looking for. No plans until I was ready to head out. I hopped on Abandonedok.com and ran across a ghost town called Skedee, OK. Perfect. A short stop at QT for water, diet dr.p and a KIND bar and I was on my way. My favorite playlist cranked as loud as my ears could stand and the hot summer breeze whipping my hair to and fro made me feel like a new woman… the woman I’ve always dreamed of being… strong, determined, and mostly free.

Along the way I pondered the multitude of sites that caught my eye… an abandoned barn, a windmill, an old gas station.. “hmm.. what do you think? Worthy of pulling over?” Sometimes the answer was yes and sometimes a big “hell no, you want to get shot?” The few places I did stop at were worthy of a few clicks of my shutter.

A few hours later I made my way into infamous Skedee, OK. It’s literally an intersection of two main cross roads - a sad and sorry town. Smack dab in the middle of that intersection is a statue of an Indian chief and a white man. I parked close to it, took a deep breath and hopped out of my car to explore. A few moments later I have this strange feeling that someone is watching me. I can’t shake it and soon notice the little boy sitting in the shadows of the old gas station. He’s perched on a log that has been carved into a stool and he does not look pleased that I am wandering through his town.

“Hi there. How are you?”

“Fine and Dandy. What are you doing here?”

“My name’s Angie. I’m a photographer and I have this thing with documenting places and things that have been lost. I’m here to make sure this town doesn’t get forgotten.”

A slight smile crosses his lips and his eyes lighten.

“Name’s Andrew and there’s lots a things here that need to not be forgotten. Want me to show them to you?”

He jumps up and my heart skips a beat. This is awesome!! I couldn’t have asked for better. I ask why he was sitting at the gas station all by himself on such a hot day.

“It’s what I do. Place belongs to my grandpa, that’s him on the statue… Always wanted a picture with him. Think we can do that later? “

I assure him I’d be happy to take his picture anywhere he wants and we make our way into one of the four buildings. I send off a text to a few friends because I can’t hold in the excitement any longer.

Che reminds me to be safe and not go into any cluttered or unsafe places. As I get the text I am standing in the middle of a burnt down building surrounded by clutter. I chuckle to myself at how crazy I can be sometimes and send a message back that I am ok. I agree that I need to have my guard up and I do, but the kid is safe. I know it. Can feel it to my guts. But I can also feel other eyes on us and I know that I have to be careful. One thing is sure… I can capture as many images as I want but it is not ok to move or take anything with me. I can feel the spirits of many souls in this town and they are very protective of their things.

The kid pilfers through the clutter as I shoot and capture the things that catch my eye. He likes to find old spray cans and try to get them to work again. He also has a thing with finding knives. He’s eleven… what eleven year old boy doesn’t like to play with knives. But I tell him that I’m a lady and have to make sure I stay safe and would prefer that he keep those knives right where he found them. He gives me a little smirk and walks on leaving everything in its place.

We talk about the town and his family as we walk through the other burned building. He points out things he wants me to shoot… things that “need to be remembered.” He’s a lonely kid. Says he spends all his time walking around this place trying to find something to do. My heart goes out to him. I feel blessed to have the freedom I do have in my life and can’t imagine being stuck in a place like this.

We finish with the main intersection and I ask him if there is an old school or church around?

“Yes, but it’s haunted.”

“Ah. That’s ok. I’m not afraid of ghosts”

He turns and looks up at me with eyes I have not seen on him yet.

“What about demons?”

“Hmmm… well…. Can’t say I like to be around them, but I know how to protect myself from them.”

“You do??? Really? Can you show me?”

“You bet. Let’s go and I’ll talk you through it.”

 We make our way to the school a few blocks down the road and take a little break for me to shoot some pics of the old playground. It’s in sad shape. Leather seats are worn and broken. I can’t imagine playing on the metal slide in this heat either. We talk about the demon thing. I explain to him that I am definitely not an expert on the matter but I’ve seen enough and been around enough to know what works for me.

“I believe we have the power to control what can and cannot enter our bodies when we are conscious. If I sense something dark around me I say a little prayer to the light

…. surround my body with a protective bubble of light and love. Do not let anything enter or touch my body or spirit….
And if it’s really bad I ask Archangel Michael to come in and take care of those spirits. He can show them the truth and send them to the light. They have just been lied to and don’t know the way”

Andrew looks at me with wonder and I can tell he believes everything I’ve just told him, but he doesn’t say a word. He just walks up to the front door of the school and opens the door for me, waiting for me to come in.

At this point I’m a little mixed up inside. I am so freaking excited about getting to go into this school, but the spirits thing has me a bit worried and I’m also beginning to wonder about this Andrew kid. I mean where did he come from? I don’t see any houses around here that look livable. Is he a country boy that just likes to hang out here? I put the thoughts out of my mind and let the excitement of looking through the old school take over.

We walk in and it is so incredible…. Desks, tables, papers, maps, games, books, and awards still hanging on the wall. I am literally jumping up and down inside of myself. I catch the date on some old papers in a desk, 1950. What??? How could all of this stuff still be here from so long ago? The front of the building has two school rooms, one on each side. The back is a large open space that is used as a gym and an auditorium for a small stage on the very back of the building. The school rooms are great. Not a lot of bad energy, just a few lingering child spirits that are curious. But as I enter the gym and look towards the bathrooms I can see the darkness hovering there. I tell Andrew to stay away and he looks at me with a face that says “no shit”.

I’m shooting like crazy, trying to capture the feel of the place but feel so inadequate to do so. I wish I knew more about the people of this town, their story, what happened here to make them leave everything. Andrew has fun looking for more spray cans and knives and I gently remind him again that he can’t keep them. He puts them back in their place again and explores more with me.

We find another building behind the school, much newer but again filled with things long forgotten. I keep thinking to myself how strange this all is, but let it go each time.

We start to head back to my car and I see this beautiful old tree along the road. I reach out and put my hands on it to feel the energy. It is incredible, almost bursting into my palm. Andrew asks me what I’m doing and I explain to him that we can feel the earth’s energy through trees.

“It’s the same energy that makes you grow. It’s the energy of life. And you can absorb it through the trees and things in nature. I even know someone who didn’t have many friends when they were a kid and the trees became his friends. He would go to them when he felt sad and the trees would listen to his stories and give him energy to get through the hard times.”

“I don’t have many friends. Will you show me how to do it… to get the stuff out of them that will make me stronger?”

I show him and watch as he bounces from tree to tree along the road. My spirit feels alive like never before.

“Hey lady.. I mean Miss Angie… do you think if I do this every day the trees will make me get stronger and bigger? I don’t always feel so good but I feel really really good right now.”

“I think it wouldn’t hurt to try my friend”

We are almost back to the car and I ponder giving Andrew a little cash to thank him for showing me around.

“So do you get to Walmart or the store every now and then?”

“No. I’m here forever. My parents don’t have licenses or a car so we don’t ever leave.”

I’m thinking “do what? That’s crazy” and decide to not give him the money. Instead I offer him a bottle of water and a firm handshake. What a kid.

Andrew wanders back over to his log in the shade of the old gas station and I drive away.

It was such a great trip and I can’t help but think that somehow I helped Andrew as much as he helped me that day. The more I think about him, I wonder if he was a spirit himself. Or maybe he’s just an old soul trapped in a town that won’t let go and move on. Either way, it was an excellent adventure that I will never forget.