By Mike Pound

mpound@joplinglobe.com

It was a nice day for a drive, so about 11 a.m. Wednesday, I left the newsroom and walked the short block or so to my car.

I wasn’t sure where I was headed. I just knew that it was a nice day for a drive. When I pulled out of the parking lot, I decided it was also a nice day for a cheeseburger. To be honest though, it’s pretty much always a nice day for a cheeseburger. Since I was headed west, I considered my options. After considering my options for a second, I decided that a cheeseburger at Waylan’s Ku-Ku in Miami, Okla., sounded pretty good.

Hey, sometimes even a blind hog can find an acorn.

Once I made my decision, I dialed up the National Public Radio station out of Stillwater, Okla., and headed to Miami. I didn’t feel like taking the interstate because it just didn’t feel like an interstate sort of day. I took the back way. The route that runs west on Apricot Road, past PJ’s Bakery and eventually takes you to Baxter Springs, Kan. From Baxter Springs, I drove through Quapaw, Okla., past the road that used to take you to Picher, then through Commerce and on to the Ku-Ku at 915 N. Main St. in Miami.

It was a nice drive. On the drive, I listened to “The Story” with Dick Gordon on NPR. I like “The Story” on NPR. Basically what Dick does is let folks come on his show and tell their stories. On Wednesday, Dick had two of the grown children of solar energy pioneer George Lof on the show. Lof, who was 95, died last month. Lof’s children talked about what it was like growing up in the 1960s in a home in Denver, Colo., heated entirely by solar power. They talked about their dad and how far ahead of his time he was. I had never heard of George Lof, but now I want to learn more about him. The folks on the show mentioned that Lof had a hard time getting folks in this country to listen to him. But, they said, folks in Europe were quick to recognize that he was onto something. I thought that sounded sort of typical.

I pretty much always listen to the radio when I am driving to get a cheeseburger. The past several years, I’ve opted to listen to stations where folks talk instead of stations where folks play music. When I was a teenager, I listened to music on WHB radio out of Kansas City when I went to get a cheeseburger. Later, I worked at WHB. Now WHB isn’t a music station; it’s a sports talk station. I don’t listen to sports talk radio much. It always seems to me that folks on sports talk radio care WAY too much about sports.

When I was working in the oil fields in Oklahoma and living in Pawhuska, I ate a lot of cheeseburgers. Mainly, back then, we listened to a hip FM station out of Tulsa. Later, when I moved to Joplin, I pretty much listened to whatever radio station was playing the sort of music I liked. Now, there aren’t many radio stations that play the sort of music I like, so I listen to NPR.

When I got to Waylan’s Ku-Ku, I walked in and looked at the big menu board. It took me about 1.5 seconds to make up my mind.

“I’ll have the Giant Double Cheeseburger,” I said to the nice woman behind the counter.

I also ordered a large side of fries and a glass of iced tea. I would have preferred a beer, but they don’t sell beer at Waylan’s, and my bosses sort of frown on me having a beer for lunch. The tea was good, though.

The nice woman said my number was 82 and wrote it on a Ku-Ku business card. By the way, I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I have ever typed the words “Ku-Ku business card.” After about 10 minutes (I think at a good burger place, you should have to wait at least 10 minutes for your burger), someone called my number, and I walked up to the counter and picked up my order.

The Ku-Ku Giant Double Cheeseburger lived up to its name. It was big, is what I mean. It also lived up to its reputation. The Ku-Ku Giant Double Cheeseburger is a mighty fine burger. It’s the sort of burger that makes you want to say, “Pack my clothes and send ’em on up. I’m going to heaven.”

The fries were tasty too. While I ate, I noticed that someone else ordered onion rings. They also looked tasty. Someone else ordered tater tots with melted cheese on them. I was uneasy with that. I’m OK with ordering a Giant Double Cheeseburger, but I think I’ll draw the cardiac line at putting melted cheese on my tater tots.

Call me a health nut.

After my meal, I walked back to the car and headed back to the newspaper.

On the way back, I listened to “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross on NPR. She was talking to the actress Jane Lynch. I decided I liked Jane.

All in all, it was a good day for a drive. And a good day for a cheeseburger.