With My Sister-In-Law Shopping In Wichita Falls

Text message, yesterday, on the final day of August, from my all-time favorite sister-in-law, David, Theo and Ruby's mama, Kristin, with the text message saying...

Wichita Falls is a shopping mecca in the book I am reading!

The above is a phone photo Kristin included with the text message, snapped from the book she is reading, which makes mention of the Wichita Falls shopping mecca.

This book is set back in the previous century. At some point in time, back last century, I believe Dillard's and Penney's were located in downtown Wichita Falls.

When a mall was built, near where I live in Wichita Falls, opening a few decades ago, called Sikes Senter, Dillard's and Penny's moved to the mall.

Dillard's left Sikes Senter back during COVID. Or was it before that? Penney's is currently in the final stages of closing and leaving Sikes Senter.

Wichita Falls is quite a glitzy town. Recently a Hawaiian cuisine restaurant called Hawaiian Brothers opened. I don't think spam is on the menu, but all the Hawaiian plates include macaroni salad, which is Hawaiian Island standard fare. I've learned that from Magnum P.I. and Hawaii 5-0.

Wichita Falls has famously showed up in a movie a time or two. Have you watched The Last Picture Show? The movie which made Cybil Shepherd and Jeff Bridges stars.

In that movie Cybil gets talked into going to a pool party at a house in Wichita Falls. The pool is not an outdoor pool. The pool party was a skinny dipping party, in which Cybil eventually, famously, got the courage to participate. 

Last Picture Show is set in Archer City, a town about 20 miles south of where I am sitting right now. The kids drove to the big city for the pool party, which took place in a house a short distance north of my abode, in the neighborhood I refer to as the Beverly Hills of Wichita Falls.

The Last Picture Show was one of author Larry McMurty's works. The story was inspired by his experiences growing up in Archer City, apparently including going to wild pool parties in Wichita Falls.

I have been in Wichita Falls several years now and have yet to be invited to a skinny-dipping pool party...