Oprah vs. John Wayne

While doing the ironing, I turned on the TV the other day. Oprah was on. I am not a big O fan, but I occasionally watch if there is something that catches my eye. Being a rancher’s wife, whenever I say something about watching O, my husband says, "Don’t tell the neighbors!" About ten years ago we were in Chicago for a convention when a well-meaning friend took me to the Oprah show. It was fun, but I was amazed at how worshipful the women were. In this big holding room before the show, there were TVs mounted on the walls showing old O shows. The ladies would squeal and say, "Oh, I remember that one!" They were all so excited, it was comical. I was glad that the show that I attended was not controversial. I would have gotten up and left if had been something that I could not stomach – like the show that I just turned on while doing the ironing.

Oprah was interviewing the cast of "Brokeback Mountain". Hmmm didn’t she just get in trouble a few days before for promoting the book "A Million Little Pieces" and it turned out to be lies? Now she is promoting a movie that undermines and belittles marriage and family (more on this in a minute). It really bothers me that people (women especially) take what O says, believe it, and run with it. All she has to do is mention a book, and then it is a best seller. She makes the writer rich with just a word. Although she may very well be a nice lady (with lots of money to throw around) she is just an actress, journalist, TV host. Why should anything she says make a difference in our lives? Sometimes she may have something interesting to say or have someone interesting on her show, but sometimes she is just an irresponsible journalist speaking trash, and has no idea what fires she starts. Oh yeah, she is willing to take responsibility when she does something good for someone, and she did admit she was wrong about "A Million Little Pieces". But what about when she said, "I’ll never touch another hamburger" on her show and the meat industry took a real blow in the stock market? All of the sudden, she says that she does not have that kind of influence. Unfortunately, she does.

Now, what has she done for "Brokeback Mountain"? Will all of these ladies rush out and watch it just because O said it was a good movie? You bet they will. So here is a movie about to sheep herders (not cowboys) who fall in love, have sex, and then go and marry women and have families – yet they still get together for sexual relations up in the mountains. The movie is supposed to make us feel sorry for them. Here is what World Magazine had to say: "…Life with their families is all crying babies, demanding wives, and hard frustrating work. Gay sex with a kindred spirit in the glorious outdoors is portrayed as so much better. But the symbolism is all-wrong. The movie associates homosexuality with nature- magnificent mountains, big sky, clear blue water, teeming forests – as contrasted with the constraints of a tacky, empty civilization. But whether you are a creationist or a Darwinist, having children and struggling to survive are what’s ‘natural’. Leaving your family for escapist, sterile sex is literally ‘unnatural’."

It is not just the promoting homosexuality that bothers me (and that does bother me). It is promoting the "if it feels good do it – to hell with everyone else" attitude that bothers me. These sheepherders were cheating on their wives, and this movie wants you to think that is okay because they love each other. Is that what O is promoting these days?

I once heard Kirk Douglas say that years ago when he was going to play the part of Van Gogh, John Wayne came to him and told him it was not a good role, and that he should not play the part. Kirk D’s attitude was that he was an actor trying to play all sorts of challenging rolls. John W’s attitude was that actors had a responsibility to the public in what kind of people they portrayed. I think we need more John Waynes today.

Some of you will say, that you only want to see the movie to see for yourself what it is about, but if this movie makes money, Hollywood will use that excuse to make more of these kinds of movies.

Dreams

Last night I dreamed about my dad. It was not Dad with cancer, but the younger, healthier Dad of my youth. He was laughing. Then I remembered in my sub-conscience that he had died. You would think that would make my dream sad, but I was happy because he was there - in my dream. I had a chance to talk to him. I told him how much I missed him. I hugged him. Then I started to cry - crying like I never let myself do while he was sick. When you cry in your sleep, it tends to wake you up, because once again, you find that you are holding it all in.

Ski Fashion

After Dancing with the Stars things got plum silly last night. The show goes off at 8:30 which is too early for bed and too late to start a movie. Most of the time, we spend the evenings reading. Last night Jesse entertained us with a fashion show of the clothes she had bought for her ski trip. She may not have enough money to actually ski, but she will look really good standing around on the slopes. First she came out in a new ski jacket that she had bought for $12.00. She was quite proud of herself for finding such a great buy. As she paraded around the room in her jacket and airplane pajamas, she did look lovely. She pointed out that the inside of the coat was removable – so it was like buying two jackets – another real deal. The tag actually said four coats in one, but she could not figure out the other two. She said, "You can find really good deals if you are willing to wait until the end of the season." Then changing her voice to her sweet Southern drawl she added, "and if you are willing to wear something slightly less stylish." The coat was white with some light, lime green stripes. She put the hood up and said, "I wish it had fur – then I would look like one of the evil skiers on James Bond." It reminded me of when she was a little girl and she begged me to buy her some lacy white gloves. She immediately took them out of the package and put them on in the store. Spreading her fingers wide and wiggling them around she said, "Now I can steal something."

Next she put on a lime green vest that she bought for $4.88 – another real deal. Toby asked her if she bought clothes just to keep other people from having them. He got the silly giggle in response. The vest was cute also. She pointed out how it would go with the jacket. Toby asked if it were reversible. She said, "Why yes" (Southern Drawl). Then she took it off and put it on wrong side out with the tag and seems showing. "See," she said, "some people could wear it this way, but the pockets don’t work too well." Once again the vest looked really stylish with her airplane PJs. Toby and I were entertained. As we began to get ready for bed, Jesse went off to her room. We could hear her playing her harmonica (I should say learning to play her harmonica). Toby looked at me and said, "Do you think our daughter is going to prison?" I live with a bunch of smart alecks.

Computer Problems

If someone gave a computer IQ test today, I am afraid my score would be very low. I tried some new things…things that should have worked. Back in the good old days when I had DSL at the farm, things were so much simpler and a lot faster. My computer was networked with Jesse’s and I could easily print things or email pictures. Receiving and sending pictures did not take hours. I could even scan my computer for viruses and download updates in a matter of minutes. Now, I am on dial-up. Things take forever. My computer is no longer networked with Jesse’s. Her computer has all the pictures and the printer. My computer has the Internet. I have had to learn to use floppy disks to move things from one computer to the other. Then, when I try to send a picture it is huge and takes forever to send. Several times today just as the computer almost had this one email sent, it would blip and show that the email was still in my outbox. I finally gave up and went to town to do Wal Mart.

While I was shopping, I realized that Jesse would be getting home from work and might try to check her email on my computer. If she did, that stupid, huge email would try to send again before I had a chance to work on it. So, I tried to call her, but I got no answer. I tried her cell phone – no answer. When I finally got a hold of her (Okie-talk), I asked her where she had been. She said, "No where." I asked her why she had not answered the phone. "What phone? I’ve been on the computer." Duh! Then she asked why I had called. "To tell you not to get on the computer." I could see her in my mind - rolling her eyes. I explained about the big email and how it would not send. She said that she had noticed the same thing (yeha! I’m not crazy after all). By the time I got home from Wal Mart, she had put our Easy Share program on my computer. Maybe I will be able to email pictures easier now (after all, they call it Easy Share). Jesse worked with me to teach me how to do a few things. She did laugh and make fun of me (gotta get her kicks somewhere).

Now if I can just get someone to make the pictures work on my blogsite. But don’t hold your breath, because I am still hoping for kitchen cabinets, a barn, storage room, and a yard. And my ego needs to recover from Jesse's teasing.

Writing

I have been catching up on some correspondence this morning. I love it when I get emails from people whom I know and love and not just spam. But in order to receive email, one must write email. I also received an email and a call from my big brother this morning – bless his little heart. He certainly leads an interesting life – one I could write a blog or book on, but won’t. He mentioned that he had heard a radio interview with a lady who had written a book dealing with conversations between mothers and daughters. I think he said the title was "You’re Wearing That". I told Craig that Mom use to say that to me all the time. Then I would say, "What’s wrong with it?" to which she would reply, "Nothing". Then I would say, "Then why did you say that?" Again, she would say, "Oh, nothing" - it made me crazy. Craig (in awe) said that I had just repeated the first lines of the book. I repeated some other things Mom has said to me, and Craig was just amazed saying, "That was in there too!" It seems that I have missed my chance to write a book and make a million dollars. Hmmm, maybe I will write that book about my brother after all.

OFGs

As I was leaving WF yesterday, I realized it was coffee-drinking time for the OFGs. I told Jesse that we would twirl into Ronnie’s Café and only stay a few minutes, but I really wanted to check in with the Dad’s buddies. For those of you that do not know what OFGs are – they are the old men who meet to drink coffee every day. This particular group all went to high school with my dad. They were his pallbearers at his funeral and a special group of men. They all seemed genuinely happy to see Jesse and me. It probably helps that Jesse is so pretty, and they remember her as a little girl in RR at the reunions there. Flossie said he was glad that I had dropped in – that the conversation really cleaned up with me there. They quizzed me on how Mom was doing. We talked about all the paperwork involved in Dad’s death, but that Mom was well taken care of. We discussed the fires and drought. Then the conversation turned to the pigeons that roost on the eaves of the café. Joe said that they poop all over the sidewalk at the front door. At this point I told the men that we had to go – now that the conversation had turned to poop. They all got a kick out of that. It was great to see them. I was proud of myself for not tearing up in front of them.

The Wedding

The wedding was beautiful. The bride was glowing and giddy. The groom was grinning from ear to ear. The preacher (and father of the bride) made it through the ceremony with only a few sniffles. The bride sang to groom and made everyone else sniffle. My granddaughter sat in my lap and was an angel (but devoured a 6 pc. Bk chicken strip dinner soon after the ceremony). My son and daughter-in-law were the best looking couple in the room. My daughter was by far the prettiest single girl at the wedding. Toby and I were the best dancers on the dance floor. No prejudice here! Too bad the picture thing on my blog site won’t work or I would show pictures. Maybe I will email some out if anyone is interested.

I should probably warn the world that Jesse, Lindsay, and Reagan (Lindsay’s sister) are headed to CO to visit relatives and go skiing. You know how they love a road trip. They leave next week and will be gone for a week. Anyone in the path of this tornado, consider yourself warned.

I am headed to WF today to do more paper work with Mom (I will try to be serious and intelligent). Jesse will be with me – she needs to do some shopping - no brainer there. It should be a good day.

Kids

Toby andI babysat last night for our grand-daughter and her two cousins while the parents and other grandparents all went to the rehearsal dinner. Patty gave me a card before she left, and I assumed it was a thank you note and stuck it in my purse. This morning at the breakfast table, I opened the card to find a fifty dollar gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse (does she know me or what). Jesse's mind began to click and wheels turn figureing out when "we" could go and what "we" could eat. I pointed out that she went to the rehearsal dinner, therefore; her dinner had already been bought. Since she did not babysit, why would she get to go to Outback? Without missing a beat, her tuned changed pretty quick. She started by saying she only got baked chicken. Then she pointed out that we should not accept the gift certificate since Ernie does so much computer work for us. She continued on how we should only babysit out of love (like we have told her). "Okay, Okay, I give in; we will take you too!" Could I deny her anything?

Reunions

Last year we attended the 39th annual Ia Drang Valley Vets reunion in Washington DC with my uncle and his family. Meeting and talking with these Viet Nam Vets is an awesome experience. My cousin, Jim, who is a Marine captain joined us at that reunion as well as Capt. Jeff from the Air Force. The dress blues and shined shoes were impressive. It was hard to tell who was more excited - young soldiers meeting old soldiers or old soldiers meeting young ones.

Jim is now in Iraq (soon to be home in Feb.). He sent this message about running into Joe Galloway who writes for Knight Ridder and was reporting from Iraq recently. I thought I would paste Jim's letter on here today because Uncle Bob sent an article Joe had written from Iraq (you can find it at Knight Ridder). You can't find Jim's letter on the internet, and it makes a good story too:

Uncle Bob,

Figured you'd be thrilled to know that I ran into Joe Galloway this evening at the chowhall at Camp Fallujah. Definitely the highlight of my week!!! My 1stSgt looked across the chowhall and said, hey Sir, isn't that the reporter that knows General Moore! I spun around and there he was surrounded by his escorts...a bunch of motivated Marine NCOs. I said to 1stSgt, "knows General Moore...are you kidding me?!? He stood side by side with LtCol Moore in the Ia Drang in 65!! and lived to tell about it!!!" I went over and introduced myself...of course at the mention of ''Bob Barker'' he lit up like a Christmas tree. He said that you'd told for him to be on the lookout for me during his travels here.

We had a great chat. I don't think the young NCOs really had a clue who Joe was, but he didn't care. We chatted away for about 30 minutes. He told me all about the 40th Reunion. He said there were 1100 folks there and that it was a great event. He mentioned that he and Gen Moore are going to write another book this year.

He's pretty amazing. Full of you know what and vinegar and of course, some great stories. We both vowed to give you grief for sitting at home while we're both over here in a combat zone!!! HA! That's a laugh.

Anyway, all's well here. We're about 5 weeks out and we're working hard to finish our work here. The Marines are doing very, very well. Please keep up the support from back home!!

Love ya Uncle Bob. I hope we can hook up when I get home.

God bless,

Jim

Fire and Stuff

With the warm windy winter we are having (great alliteration), the fire danger has been very high. Yesterday evening we could see smoke from the Ft. Sill fire (northwest), the Ryan (south) fire and the Ratliff City (east) fire. The first big fire was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. This one was only about three miles east of my house. Sixteen homes were burned in that fire. The government is willing to give disaster money to people whose homes were destroyed by fire starting Dec. 30, but not before. What’s up with that? Since that first fire, probably over 50 homes have been burned and one small town. It has been amazing. If it were a normal wet winter, some ranchers would be doing controlled burns on their property anyway. Burning grass and brushy areas is not a bad thing. The land will come back green and beautiful next spring (if we have rain), but the homes and barns and such that have burned has been awesome and a bit scary.

Change of topic: The big wedding is this weekend. The bride is just bubbling with excitement. It has been fun to watch her as the wedding draws near. The groom has been waiting for this event for five years. It should be the wedding of the year. The groom’s mother has a cold – so pray for her. Toby and I are babysitting during the rehearsal dinner – pray for us. The bride’s father is performing the ceremony – pray for him. I will tell you all about it next week.

Another change: Read One Marine's View www.shepherdaway.blogspot.com It is really great.

Shopping

"Shop til you drop" is not my idea of a good time, although it has its moments. My sister, Mom and I went furniture shopping yesterday. Mom needs a new breakfast table and chairs. I think the current table was bought when I was ten years old. Chairs seem to go faster, and these are about gone. It seemed like a good idea to shop for new ones. How can three people be so much alike and so very different? We all knew what Mom needed, but had different ideas of how to get there. Poor Mom! At 70 plus years of age, she should be able to get whatever she wants, but there Kathy and I were discussing and arguing (and laughing and teasing) over every table. It was actually a good time. One salesman told Mom that he would see her later - after her daughters went home.

I took Mom home to put her sore foot up and rest, Kathy went back to Amarillo, and I went to the mall to look for a dress to wear to this weekend's wedding. This is where the real marthon shopping took place. I really hate shopping for myself. Nothing fits my short, round body just right. Compromise is the key. Trying everything on is a must. I really needed someone to be there with me to say yea or nay to the outfits, but I hate to put anyone else through the ordeal of shopping. When I finally got close to finding something, but needed a little help, two young sales girls standing around complaining about their jobs nearly sent me over the top. Don't they know that I am a hormone crazed grandma who is depressed about her weight and has been needing a good fight all day? I ended up just ignoring them and walking across the store to find an older sales lady to give her opinion on the outfit. I was not sure the size was just right (had to compromise), but I bought it. Since I had Ranger with me, I had to get back to the car. I walked him around the parking lot and let him tinkle on some tires. It made both of us feel better.

The Entertainer

The Grandbaby was here this weekend entertaining us. At church she had her little baby Bible. When she came to the picture of the manger, she found the cow and began mooing. She seems to get louder when her parents try to quiet her. Then she came to the picture of Daniel in the lion’s den – big cat. She began to make her cat noise, which sounds something like a siren. Her parents do not let her sit with me anymore as if I might make her misbehave. I have news for them. It’s not me that causes her behavior (although I guess we could debate that since she seems to be a lot like me). I just tend to think her behavior is funny. I see her other grandmother laughing too – so it is not just me. In fact, I saw several people snickering as Lizzie marched down the aisle with her diaper - headed to the nursery.

Tia Jess took some great pictures of Lizzie and the puppy. You can't take a bad picture with those two models. Jesse has also taught Lizzie to box. When she comes at you with her little dukes, she is just pretty funny - and a little bit mean. The dog has a healthy respect for her and the puppy is learning quickly. The cat shows no fear and actually boxed Lizzie back. Everyone learns their place.

I am headed to WF today to do some paper work with Mom. Just the thought of insurance and taxes makes my eyes roll back in my head. It is a good thing she does not need me to talk futures commodities. With a husband who is a CPA, a brother-in-law who is in insurance, and a brother who is a lawyer, you would think that one of them would handle this sort of thing. But no, they are all willing to let the artist do the paper work. Hopefully, someone will offer to take me to lunch.

Dancing

We have been watching "Dancing with the Stars". Don’t give me any grief. I know it is a faddish reality TV type show. But hey, I like it. I like seeing guys like Jerry Rice doing the quick step on the dance floor instead of the football field. My favorite contestant is probably George Hamilton who is not that great of a dancer, but he is really entertaining. My least favorite is the rapper dad, P something or other. He is like Frankenstein in gangster clothes. He refuses to wear the dance shoes and then says things like "I’m just doing this for the victims of Katrina" or "I want to show my people in the hood that they can do anything they want". Last night after Mr. P did a little better than last week, but still really bad, he said, "I’m not a professional dancer." No kidding! Isn’t that the point of the show – to put non-professional dancers with professional dancers and let them compete? I was glad when the emcee lady pointed out that none of the contestants were professional dancers. After each dance the emcees interview the couple and ask what they think of their own performance. I nearly fell over when George Hamilton said, "Well, I’m just doing this for my people in the hood" making fun of Mr. P. Then smiled that charming smile he has.

The really best part of the show is just the dancing itself. It would be so great to be able to dance like that. Toby, Jesse, and I are ready to take lessons, but where in OK can you do that? Jesse and I danced around the house after the show taking turns dipping each other. We did a pretty good quick step, but our rumba needed lots of work. Last week, Toby and I danced down the aisle at Home Depot – the smooth flooring and wide aisles made a good dance floor. The checkout lady got a good laugh. She told us they (the employees) dance there all the time. Yeah right!

I’m all for taking lessons. It reminds me of something my sister-in-law once said about her boys (when they were little). "I’m taking them to Karate lessons. When they imitate Karate fighters on TV and kick the stuffing out of each other, they will do it right – that way maybe no one will get hurt." I feel the same way about ballroom dancing – lessons are needed.

Surfing

I am running late today because I have been blog surfing. I found some great reads and great pictures. I will try to put the link here for a picture that I found http://officersclub.blogspot.com/2006/01/picture-of-day_06.html

Hopefully in my blogging illiteracy I can make this work - check it out.

Jesse Update

Jesse’s job is going well. She seems to like working with Janice, her boss. Janice is the president of the Duncan Art Guild, and she runs a frame shop/art gallery and also sells special coffee. One of Jesse’s jobs is to make coffee every morning for customers to sample. One day, she put in too much coffee, and it went everywhere. She told Janice that she felt like "I Love Lucy". Janice got a real kick out of that rather than being upset. She has also been patient with Jesse when Jesse cuts a mat wrong. I think Jesse is hard enough on herself when she messes up although she usually makes light of it. Jesse likes to do things right the first time. Toby asked her if any hunky guys ever came into the art gallery. The eyebrow came up and a silly laugh came out and she said, "In an art gallery? I don’t think so."

She got her first paycheck yesterday, but she had already spent it last week while staying the night in Edmond with Lindsay. She had to have a new outfit for the wedding shower since she had not packed anything special. When I arrived (late) to the shower, she was sitting there in a new sweater, skirt, and really cute pink high-heels. My eyebrow came up. With her new job, she probably won’t get to go skiing (no snow is a problem too) so she might as well spend some of that money burning a hole in her pocket.

Last night when Toby came home from work, he had two XL T-shirts from the Oklahoma Blood Institute. The OBI gives great shirts when you give blood. He gave one to me saying that he did not actually give blood, but they stuck him twice so they gave him two shirts. Jesse said, "Why didn’t you get one my size? Did you ask them to stick you a third time since you have a daughter too?" Always the clothes hog!

Letters

While in WF yesterday Mom gave me a letter that she had received from one of Dad’s old buddies. Neil worked with Dad at Tasty Bread company on weekends (Dad drove a bread truck to make ends meet). Neil’s letter was very interesting. People just don’t write letters like they used to. His was two pages of hand-written bits of his life. He said that he would have called, but his hearing was shot – probably from his days in the Korean War which he went on to tell about. Neil wrote about his family and even threw in some politics – my dad would have loved it and written Neil back immediately which is what I will do.

I remember Neil very well. He was a big German man with a very German last name. He had married a tiny Chinese woman and had two big sons, Tai and Tsu. Tsu went to school with my brother and me. He was a huge guy like his father, but very oriental looking. With a name like Tsu (Sue), you would think he would have been pretty tough, but he was a very gentle young man. He played football with my brother and went on to play football for West Point. Tsu died a few years back, but I do not know the details. He always seemed an amazing guy whose life was way too short.

One of my military bloggers is about to come home from Iraq. His last posting is a must read. This guy has a way with words. http://thunder6.typepad.com/ Read and enjoy.

Birthday

Toby turned forty-nine over the weekend. His sister called and said it was his last good year. His mother sent him fifty dollars – so we went to WF to spend it. We were suppose to have a big day shopping and running errands, but the day just seem to get away from us. We did not get to do all the things we wanted before it was time to get back to OK. I had a wedding shower to attend, and then we were invited to dinner at some friend’s house and watch the play-off games. I was late getting to the shower because I did not read the invitation completely. Thinking that I knew where it was being held, I went to the wrong house. Then I had to call my daughter-in-law and admit that I was lost. When I finally got to the shower, everyone was waiting on me to arrive before they started the Bible study part of the shower. All the ladies were sitting quietly in a circle as I walked in – great! Nothing like making a quiet entrance when you have done something stupid! By the time the Bible study part was over, it was time for me to leave and go to the dinner party. The host of the shower wanted me to stay and play one game – I really was having a good time and hated to leave, but time was just going much too fast. Someone at Toby’s office told him that life was like a roll of toilet paper. As you get toward the end of the roll, it just goes faster. It certainly feels that way lately.

We had a birthday dinner for Toby on Sunday after church. The kids were all there, and we cooked steaks out on the grill. As we prayed before the meal, Toby started saying "the Lord’s Prayer" instead of the usual "Barker prayer" or just praying. We tried to follow him, but then he when he got to the "give us this day our daily bread" he became confused and stumbled over the words. Jesse snickered first, and then we all lost it and started laughing. Being Baggetts we all started teasing Toby showing no mercy. Bo (with tears in his eyes as he laughed) said, "What prayer are you trying to say?" I told him it was probably just his age that caused him to not remember the prayer. Jesse was just rolling with laughter. I am sure Sara thought we were all crazy or at least irreverent. But you see, there is a tradition in the Barker family that you better say the prayer right. One time when Craig and I were little, Craig could not remember the prayer at dinner. Dad jerked him up and spanked him right there at the table. Then Dad turned to me and said, "You better be able to say it tomorrow night." You better believe I practiced that prayer all day with lots of anxiety building up. That is why today if someone messes up the prayer, we all hoot and holler – it means he or she gets a spanking or at least a good ribbing.

More Memories

My friend, Anny that I heard from recently, put me in touch with another old friend. While Anny and her family were in RR, they stayed at a huge cabin in the Upper Valley. She said that one morning people came up on their porch and looked in their windows – fortunately Anny and Bear were dressed (actually Bear is an old window flasher from way back, but I will save that for another blog). They invited the people into their cabin and found out that the people were old Red Riverites that knew the Barkers "way back when".

Way back before my parents built the cabin up Bitter Creek, they stayed in town and worked at the Green Mountain Lodge in RR. Mike’s family owned the lodge, and his grandparents had a sporting goods store next door. Mike and his brothers were teenagers then, who came to spend the summers with their grandparents. My brother and I were just two and three years old at the time. These teenage boys, who had never been around babies, were put in charge of Craig and me. I am sure Craig was an angel to take care of (the dead bird and other things he put in his pockets were a bit of a mess, but Mom was the one who dealt with those things). According to Mike, they had some problems with me. You would think that Craig would be the streaker in the family, but it was me that liked to undress myself on Main Street. Mike tells that he and his brothers were constantly gathering me and the clothes that I just shucked and carrying us to my mom. Mike told Anny that his family still uses the word "nicketts" for napkins because that is what I use to call them.

Mike now has a cabin in RR and I see him from time to time. He always hugs me and treats me like a little sister. I love that feeling. Of course, I do not remember when I was two years old and Mike took care of me, but I do remember he and his brothers as I got a little older. They all joined the military (different branches) like their dads. I thought they were handsome, but maybe it was just that they always paid lots of attention to me even when I was just a tag along kid. Girls like that sort of thing.

I have lots of good memories from the Green Mountain Lodge. My parents bought the lodge years later, and we lived there. Maybe I will blog some memories of the lodge next.

Dancing Memories

Yesterday I received an email from an old friend. She said that recently they had taken their 19-year-old daughter to Red River for fun and relaxation. Although they used to live in RR, their daughter had not lived there since early childhood and now knew no one her age there. She said that her daughter did not have fun going to the Bull of the Woods like we used to do. My friend then reminded me of the days that my dad would take us all dancing.

It was pretty normal for parents to take their kids into the bars in RR for dancing and fun. The age limit was actually 21, but if you were with parents, no one cared. It was just pretty family friendly. On one occasion Dad took me and about four of my friends to the Bull (back then it was called Kate and Gary’s). We were all about 15 years old and there was no one to dance with near our age. Dad then went out on the street and started getting young men to come in and dance with us. He stopped several jeep drivers whom he knew since they worked in RR. He flagged down another jeep with three young men – one of whom he knew and the other two were from Philmont Scout Ranch. In all, he brought in about ten plus young men and told them all that if anyone asked, there name was "Barker". Technically, anyone under 21 had to be with a parent – not just any adult -so Dad was to be their dad too. The bar was full of young people under 21dancing and having a great time. At one point, I turned to the guy sitting next to me and asked him his name. In all innocence he looked at me and said, "Brian Barker", and in all innocence I replied, "Hey, that is my name too." Brian was studying to be a preacher at Hardin Simmons and confessed that he had "never been in a place like this!"

That night actually started a tradition of going dancing with Dad. Dad often said that he raised his own dance partner. My friends were all impressed with my dad who would take us all out on the town. My friend Anny was a part of those days and those were good times.

The Cabin

Soon after my parents married in 1955, they started building a cabin in Red River. The cabin was setting on the side of the mountain up Bitter Creek Canyon (the forest service had sold 99-year leases). The cabins up Bitter Creek were not the mansions that people build today. Mostly these cabins were places to camp out for the summer. There were about 10 to 20 cabins lining the mountainside – all built in the late 50’s to early 60’s. For a long time there was no water or sewer to the cabins. Each cabin had an outhouse situated slightly up the hill from the cabin. As a little girl, I thought the outhouses were like community property. If one was full, you could use your neighbor’s. If you were out playing or climbing on the mountain, you could just stop and use someone’s outhouse – very convenient.

We hauled water from town in several big jugs and containers. I remember filling the bottles with my dad at Frye’s store. We had a big galvanized tub for bathing that would hold two kids. I assume it held one adult, but I was always bathed with another kid – saving on water and time. If there were lots of friends or family staying with us, the adults would put all us kids out on the porch to play and bring us in two by two to bathe us. Once again, I do not know what the adults did while other adults were bathing, but they were not out on the porch with us. The water was heated up on the stove and used over and over until all were bathed – hmmm I am glad the kids went first and I was a kid.

I can remember when the cabin had no electricity, but we did get that soon enough. I can remember swinging from the rafters. Dad would set Craig and I up there and let us swing from one to the next like monkey bars showing off for visitors. There was no TV or telephone. We had books that we read through the summer. Craig and I fought over a biography of Sam Houston. We were allowed to roam all over the mountain at a very young age. We had trees that served as a car, a helicopter and just a plain old swing. We had forts and hideouts everywhere. The neighbor had an old cook stove out back that was perfect for making mud pies. The driveway served as a super ramp for our little red wagon (actually a bit dangerous). We could fly down the driveway sometimes crashing before we got to the road – sometimes flying across the road to land in the creek-bed. We had traps to try and catch chipmunks (the cat and a box worked best because the cat could catch the chipmunk and we could catch the cat).

Although Dad never finished the cabin, everyone always seemed to be having fun there. All my memories of the cabin have family or friends or sometimes strangers staying with us. I thought about the cabin today because I live in an unfinished house again. I haul drinking water in big jugs from town (the water here tastes yuck). Although we have electricity and TV, we still tend to read books. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have lots of company crowded around my table. It is a lot like the cabin in RR. When I get crazed by the little inconveniences of an unfinished home, I will think of the cabin and all the great memories there. I am very thankful for running water and a shower, for sheetrock on the walls and ceiling, and for electricity and all it brings in modern technology. I am thankful for good times.

Resolutions

The holidays are over. Toby went back to work today. Jesse starts her new job, and I need to do some grocery shopping. As in each New Year, I need to get serious about my diet and exercise program (the story of my life). Resolutions! I hate to make them and break them, but it is a good time to evaluate life and things and see what needs improvement. I would like to be more organized. I would like to be thinner. I would like to spend more time with friends. I would like to paint more. I would like for this house to be finished (sort of falls under the "organization" heading). I would like to love like God loves. All of these are attainable goals. Maybe writing them down will help.

We did get the fence finished yesterday. It was such a good feeling to have that behind us. It encourages me to get more things done. We have had such warm weather this winter that you would think that we would get more done around here. It is that wind that has been the enemy. It is enough to make a person mad. It is also very dangerous with the drought conditions. The wind is not encouraging (excuses, excuses).

I did hear from an old friend yesterday. It was an interesting conversation. She had called to see how I was doing since Dad's death (very thoughtful of her), but she seemed to have someone else in the room that she was talking to and she yelled at her dog a few times. It was like having a conversation with someone who has turrets. "I am really sorry to hear about your dad. STOP IT! STOP IT! I know you will will miss him." At one point she said good-bye, but apparently was not talking to me because she then continued to talk. It was confusing and crazy, but it gave me a good laugh. What was that about wanting to spend more time with friends?

I am glad the holidays are over. I am ready to move on. I feel like it is time for some changes. Hold me to it!

New Year Day

Happy New Year to all! We got lots done around here on Saturday including some fence mending and some hay hauling to friends. The hay hauling was an act of love to friends who need hay for their horses, but do not have the means to haul it easily. The fence fixin was work, but we are one step closer to having the job done and an end to an era in our lives (the Morgan place).

We got home in time for Jesse to dress for the New Year’s costume party. She dressed as a person on a safari. Bo and Sara dressed as Hawk-eye Pierce and Hot Lips from MASH. The paratrooper dressed as a paratrooper. Actually, he had been working on some sort of camouflaged outfit, but it did not work out at the last minute. They all went to the party together and had lots of fun. Another couple went as King Cong and his woman. Someone took a great picture of Jesse standing over King Cong with her foot propped on him holding a toy gun – pretty silly.

Toby and I stayed home and kept the grand baby (who was grand). She sleeps through the night and wakes up so sweetly. We sat her in bed with us while we drank our coffee and threw dog treats to Ranger. She was quite enjoyable. Later, while trying to eat breakfast and get ready for church, we let her play in the dryer. (Don’t tell her mother.) Lizzie would climb in the dryer and make cat noises. Then squeal and giggle when Toby and I would "find her". She wanted us to put Ranger in the dryer with her – which we did although Ranger was not thrilled. She was just pretty cute sitting in the dryer giggling. What is it about cubby holes that kids just love?

We made it to church on time with Lizzie and all her stuff. After church we went with Sara and Bo and the Adkins and the paratrooper to eat pizza. The wind kicked up to 35 plus mph winds making outdoor activities no fun. The paratrooper heads off to NC tomorrow. It was nice to have him around. After lunch, we came home to have a nap – grandbabies can make you a little tired.

Jesse starts a new job this week working at Celebration Frames which is an art gallery, frame shop and coffee house. It should be a good job for her. The new year started off quietly, but very enjoyable. I hope that is a sign for the rest of the year.