WANDERLUST l 77 COUNTIES
BRYAN COUNTY
Karma, Oklahoma F
By M.J. Alexander
or years I’d looked at the dot on the map
quor store on the Oklahoma side. I walked up to
and figured it was a magical place, a hid-
the window to ask the 60-something couple who
den treasure waiting to be discovered. It
ran it where Karma was.
sat modestly in the far southern border of the state,
past Durant. It had a good vibe. How could it not?
dirt one at that.”
It was Karma. Karma, Oklahoma. And it was
The woman smiled. “Karma’s a road, and a The man looked puzzled. “Is that where Jack-
calling my name.
ie lives?”
Finally finding a day free, I decided to an-
The woman nodded. “Who do you want to see?”
swer. Headed south, I drove by way of Centraho-
I wanted to see Karma, the town. I took out
ma and Coalgate and Grant, stopping at promis-
the map and pointed, helpfully.
ing locales along the way: True Value Hardware
in Stonewall, the busiest store in town, frequent-
north about a mile, and it’s the next dirt road on
ed by men with pickups loaded with mysterious
the right.”
rusting equipment and NOBAMA stickers. The
Double Vision Liquor Store (and taxidermy dis-
longer. I took the turn and drove a couple of miles,
play) in Lehigh, complete with tall glass bottles
past two farms on the right and one on the left.
in the shape of Uzis filled with wicked red liquor.
A detour to the famous Showman’s Rest sec-
etted against a patch of bright blue sky. It tottered
tion (with headstones like “Elephant Boss Man,”
atop a silver pole, just out of reach of a tangle of
“Queen of the Trick Riders” and “The Amazing
dried grasses, where the dirt road intersected
Humberto!”) of the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Hugo.
with an even dustier road.
But Karma beckoned. It looked to be a mile or
Sure enough. Karma.
two north of the Red River. I peered at the map
The wind blew and the dead grass rustled. I
now and then as I zig-zagged my way closer and
walked around and took a couple of photographs
closer, until I found myself over the bridge and
as the directions from the Kwik Stop echoed
into Texas.
back. I realized I’d found what I was looking for
Wait – what happened to Karma?
after all.
I doubled back and wheeled into the Red Riv-
er Kwik Stop, the drive-through-window-only li-
“There’s no Karma here. Just a road. Go
So I did. If a sign had once been there, it was no
Bumping along, I spotted a road sign silhou-
It’s not a place. Karma’s a road, and a dirt one
at that.
Editor’s note: In this continuing series, author and photographer M.J. Alexander chronicles the sights and experiences that have left lasting impressions during her extensive Oklahoma travels.
114 slice | october 2012
77 COUNTIES l WANDERLUST
october 2012 | slice 115