13 Welcome to Texas

Chapter 13 WELCOME TO TEXAS Coke and Pep had been sure their troubles were over. But that was yesterday. It felt like a dark cloud was gathering up ahead. If the coast was clear, why would anyone be sending them a mysterious message? "I have a bad feeling about this," Pep said. And her feelings were pretty much on the mark. Maybe it was just a meaningless, random message, Coke tried to convince himself as he struggled to go to sleep. Maybe it was meant for somebody else. He tried desperately to remember the voice on the phone that told him to look under his pillow. He tried to connect it with someone he had met in his life. But there was nobody. It was a familiar voice, but not one that he had heard

before. The twins awoke to the sound of USA Today being slipped under their hotel room door. It was July 15th. The usual wars, murders, and natural disasters were going on in the world. But when they looked out the window, all appeared calm in southern Oklahoma. Coke and Pep went downstairs to have breakfast with their parents, and then it was back on the road. Dr. McDonald merged onto Route 69 heading south. The first argument of the day had already begun. Mrs. McDonald said they needed to stop at a laundromat sometime during the day, because they didn't have a lot of clothing after the RV exploded in Memphis. Dr. McDonald said he didn't want to waste time doing laundry, insisting there was no reason why they couldn't wear the same clothes for two days. Mrs. McDonald, of course, found that idea repulsive. The argument didn't last long, because just a few minutes after they were on the road, they

crossed a bridge over a river and this sign came into view on the left side of the highway.... "Woo hoo!" Coke shouted at the top of his lungs, "The Lone Star State! Did you know that the Texas state mascot is the armadillo?" "I actually did know that," said Pep. "But did you know that armadillos always have four babies?" Coke was taken aback. He couldn't think of the last time his sister knew something that he didn't. He searched his memory bank. Never in his life had he heard anything about the number of babies armadillos had.

"You just made that up," he said. "I did not," Pep told him. "I learned that when we went on a field trip to the natural history museum." "Well, nobody cares how many babies armadillos have," Coke insisted. "Armadillos care." Mrs. McDonald dropped her Arkansas guidebook into the trash and pulled Amazing Texas Monuments and Museums out of her purse. "They say everything is bigger in Texas, you know," she told the rest of the family. "The whole state stretches almost eight hundred miles each way." "I read somewhere that the world's largest parking lot is at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport," Dr. McDonald said. "That airport is larger than the whole island of Manhattan." "That's quite a claim to fame," remarked Coke. "They have the world's largest parking lot!"

"It says here that you could fit two hundred and twenty Rhode Islands into Texas," said Mrs. McDonald. "They're always comparing the big states to Rhode Island," Pep said, rolling her eyes. "Why don't they leave poor little Rhode Island alone?" Coke turned around to see if any cars might be following them. The road was nearly empty. It would take a while to get through Texas, and both twins settled in for a long drive. But just moments past the state line, Dr. McDonald suddenly pulled off the road after seeing a sign for the town of Denison. It was uncharacteristic for him. In general, he didn't do things spontaneously. "What's the matter, Ben?" asked Mrs. McDonald. "Are you okay?" "Denison, Denison," Dr. McDonald repeated. "It rings a bell. I can't remember why." He maneuvered the Ferrari off the ramp. As soon as he saw a sign that said EISENHOWER PARKWAY, he remembered.

"Of course!" he said. "Eisenhower lived here!" Mrs. McDonald pulled out her laptop and quickly confirmed that the thirty-fourth president of the United States was born in Denison, Texas. He only lived in the town for the first two years of his life, but there's a monument dedicated to him. She directed Dr. McDonald to take the exit for Loy Lake, and soon they found themselves on Loy Lake Road, at the entrance to Loy Lake Park. And there it was—a sixteen-foot cement head in the shape of Dwight David Eisenhower. The statue had a blank expression on its face. "That is one gigantic head," Coke said, stating the obvious. "It may be the biggest head I've ever seen." "What did Eisenhower do, Dad?" Pep asked. "Oh, nothing important," replied Dr. McDonald. "He just organized the D-day invasion in World War Two. He liberated Europe from the Nazis. Defeated Hitler. Won