Red Sky

Yesterday, we woke up to red sky at morning. Which reminded me of one of my favorite books, "Red Sky at Morning" by Richard Bradford. There was a movie made from the book in the 70’s, but it was not nearly as wonderful as the book. In fact, my first real date took me to that movie. I was so nervous throughout the movie, I do not remember much about it. I do remember that it did not catch the essence of NM. But the book was so perfect in describing life in Northern NM. It is a must read. There is a great line in the book when Josh starts his first day at the high school. He meets a girl who explains some of typical ways of thinking in Northern NM. She says something like this: There are only two sets of people here – the Spanish and the Anglo. See that black guy over there? He is an Anglo.

Having gone to school in Questa, NM back in the late 60’s, I would say that statement was very true. It is also interesting that George Orwell would use NM in his book "1984" as a reservation – a place that does not become modern – a place to take vacations – get back to the past. Through the years, I think people bought into that idea. For a time, maybe it was a place of the past – a simpler life. Things change, and Northern NM is no exception. People moved in buying up desert, building huge homes, changing the lifestyle, and pushing their ways onto the locals.

One day when I was teaching at Questa High School, I had had a really bad day. I felt tired of the whole "Spanish way of life". Toby took me to Taos after work to have dinner at the Taos Inn. As we sat there sipping our margaritas watching all the artsy hippies come and go, I was embarrassed by their oddities and rudeness. I was embarrassed by the nasty paintings on the wall. Suddenly I understood how the Hispanic people felt (lots of resentment) with so many Anglos moving into their little town changing everything. I was embarrassed to be an Anglo. So Toby took me back to Questa with a renewed spirit. I may have been the gringa teacher, but I had a better understanding of my students and loved them. Life in Questa was good, but it is not the simple life it once was. We moved on.

Artwork

The imitation Seurat painting that I posted yesterday is in Medicine Park on a building called the Blue Parrot Gallery. I had read about the painting and gallery in the local paper over a year ago and had wanted to see the painting and place. Unfortunately, the lady who painted the picture and had the gallery sold her gallery and painting to someone else. The new owner was a typical hippie-chick who had turned the gallery into a junk store (not a very good one at that). The hippie-chick gave us a little speech about Medicine Park being a "vortex" for artists while we listened politely thinking "what a weirdo". I am sure my art girls were "awed" by the hippie-chick – never having been around someone so odd. But Jesse and I have lived in NM (Taos to be specific) and this lady had nothing on Taos weirdos. In fact, if Medicine Park is a vortex for artists, Taos is a black hole.

So I was disappointed in the gallery, but not the painting. Buck mentioned Seurat as being one of his favorite artists and put a link to his favorite Seurat in my comments. I have to admit that I love Seurat or most anything impressionistic. Okay, I admit that I love all sorts of art. The OK City Art Museum has had some good shows, and so has OU. I have taken my art girls to a few of these shows. Once again we were awed especially with the Impressionists. When Jesse and I were in DC going through the galleries, we could have stayed all day, but we were kind to Jeff, our Air Force Captain escort who had been there-done that several times while stationed in DC. We did manage to see a special Picasso show while in Washington. I was thrilled by the artwork, while my cousin slept on a bench in the gallery.

The artwork in Italy was incredible. To stand in front of Michelangelo’s David was beyond describing. My family had to peal me off of the glass wall at St. Peter’s when I stood in front of Michelangelo’s Pieta. I did get sort of tired of all of the Catholic paintings before we left Italy. The domo in Florence was just downright scary. I think the Catholic artists do a good job of trying to scare the hell out of you (literally). Then we stumbled into a Cezanne show in Rome purely by accident. I think we were suppose to have paid or waited in line, but someway, we just walked into the museum and viola, there was the Cézanne show. I am sure it was the language barrier or the dumb American tourist syndrome that got us in. Whatever, I was impressed. Once again, my family had to drag me out. Although, I did have a fear of being thrown out.

Yeah, I like art, and I am easily impressed. What is really cool, though, is to see my art student’s faces when they see famous artwork. Better yet, when they complete a painting themselves, and they like their painting, that is good stuff.

You Asked

Here is a picture taken on my birthday earlier this month. Standing in the middle of such young pretty girls is probably not smart, but there I am. Jesse is on the right end, then Reagan, Me, Sarah, and Alyssa - my art students. We were dressed to do some plein aire painting, but the day was too cold and windy. We posed in front of a mock Serat painting. I tried to post this picture weeks ago, but I had some problems.

Circle of Life

After my exercise class, I went to WF to spend the day with Mom. We got her tax return in the mail - yeha! She showed me what she is taking on her trip to Birmingham. I happen to know that her friend, Nelda, is a snazzy dresser, but she will have some compitetion this time. Mom and I ate at Chedders (our favorite place these days) and then did some shopping at the mall (no need to mention Hobby Lobby because it is a given that I went there). We bought some much needed undergarments for Mom guaranteed to make her have that sexy look (glad someone in the family has it). Then we found a great pair of shoes on sale, and that is the reason we bought them. We couldn't have someone else buying them. Now we have a reason to do more shopping - in order to find something that goes with the shoes. It is the circle of life.

I will go back to WF on Friday and spend the night with Mom in order to take her to DFW on Saturday. I am sure we can squeeze in some more shopping then.

People from the Past

My dad was a school principal for thirty plus years of his life. Teaching and being with his students was his life. Education was everything. It did not matter whether you were a ditch digger or a doctor, he expected you to be productive and do something with your life. I can’t begin to tell you how many lives he influenced over the years. I can tell you that throughout my life, his students and friends came in and out of our home seeking Dad’s guidance. It was not unusual to come home from school and have my bedroom taken by someone needing a little help or have a several kids at the dinner table getting fed a lot more than food. Often he took whole a neighborhood of kids to the Friday night football game. Sometimes he bought clothes or groceries for families when on a teacher’s salary raising four kids of his own was not an easy task. He never passed an opportunity to teach, to share his philosophy of life, to push a student toward success in life.

With Dad’s death in December, we got several phone calls from people whom he helped over the years. There were so many of his students (all ages) at the funeral telling us what Dad had meant to them. We got emails from his students telling us how Dad had helped them– it was awesome.

A few weeks ago, a kid from our past looked up my parent’s phone number and called Mom. He did not know that Dad had died, but he had wanted to tell my parents what they had meant to him. We had not seen or heard from Dale in about thirty years (no longer a kid, huh), but it was great to hear from him. Dale had been like part of our family when we were little. Mom often said she wanted to "keep" Dale for her own. Dale said he had felt like he was a part of our family – that we had loved him like that. He even remembered how all the neighborhood kids would line up down the sidewalk when Dad got home from work. We took turns running to Dad who would pick us up and swing us around. It is kind of a funny thing to share your dad with other kids, but that is just what we did and thought it was normal.

Here is Dale’s email in his words:
Lou,
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know again how much I enjoyed hearing from you. Even though years have come and gone there are some people that touch your live in ways that last a lifetime. You and your family have always been in my heart. Even though we didn't communicate over the years I never forgot you guys and I'm grateful that you haven't forgotten me. If ever there would have been a family that I would have wanted to be adopted by it would have been yours. I never felt out of place in your home. Thank you for sharing a portion of your lives with me. I tried to convey to your mother the very same sentiment the other day. Some people go through live putting others first and never hear the effects they have had on those they have touched. I only wish I would have made that call to you mother sooner. Be sure to pass my e-mail address on to your mom and please keep in touch. Again it was a joy speaking with you, May God Bless and Keep you and yours!
Dale

Dad loved you too, Dale.

Personality

I didn’t blog yesterday. Just didn’t feel like it. I read through my favorite blogs and got caught up on some other correspondence. I don’t normally go to town on Thursdays, but Jesse was off work, and Toby forgot several things so we made the trip to town. We had lunch with Toby and still made it home in time for art class. Later in the evening, Jesse and I went to a Premier Design jewelry party. Nothing like a little shopping before bedtime to make the day perfect. The jewelry lady was interesting – very beautiful. In fact, she was model beautiful, but then she had that "hokie Okie talk" dropping her l’s. "Gold" sounds like "gode". "Jewelry" sounds like "jury". It did not stop me from having a great time and buying earrings for me and a ring for Jesse. The group of ladies at the party were all my good friends. We acted like we usually do laughing and telling stories as if there was not a stranger in the room. The jewelry lady played some sort of game making us stand in a circle. She had a gift-wrapped box that she handed to one lady. We were supposed to roll ("row" in Okie talk) dice. When you rolled doubles, you could start opening the gift. But the next person could take it away from you when they rolled doubles. The game got fairly physical. I wonder sometimes what other people think of us, but I don’t really care.

Speaking of personalities, I took the personality test mentioned by Buck. Here are my results. The test said I was a dynamic leader. Jesse said that it was just a fancy way of saying that I was bossy, and she could have told me that without my having to take a test

Intelligent Discussions

Toby called my cell phone the other day to ask if we had any plans for Tuesday. I told him we had no plans other than my art class. It turns out he had tickets to hear Colin Powell in OK City. He didn’t really ask me to go with him although he said I could if I wanted to. He wanted our son, Bo, to meet him in the City and hear Powell, have dinner – he said he wanted someone he could discuss things with. Hmm, now I know he did not mean that as it sounded, but maybe I should have felt insulted. Actually, I understood him perfectly, and I did not really want to go anyway. So he met up with Bo, and they had seats on the front row (said he was close enough to spit on them if he wanted). Later they picked up Sara and the Grandbaby and went to dinner. He said it was a great time, and he really enjoyed Mr. Powell.

Knowing that Toby was off in the City having a big time, Jesse and I went to Velma to eat at the Chuckwagon and then picked up a movie, "Pride and Prejudice". We had great discussions throughout the movie – how close did they follow the book, how was the casting of the characters, etc. We thought Keira Knightley was good as Elizabeth, but Mr. Darcy’s character could have been cast better. Mr. Bingly made us laugh because he was so ridiculous. We loved the portrayal of Mr. Collins. The movie was fun, but the book was better. Jesse and I were so intelligent, one wonders why Toby did not want to take us to hear Colin Powell.

Towards the end of the movie there was this very romantic scene with Mr. Darcy coming out of the dawn mist, coat floating on the breeze, walking to Elizabeth to declare his love. There was a close up of their faces and Mr. Darcy dramatically said, "I love (pause) love you." It sounded more like, "I luff, luff, you". It was so silly, that I had to mock it. Jesse said, "Did you see his eye twitch. I thought he was going to sneeze!" With that, we both fell into fits of giggles – no, it was more like belly laughs. Now I understand why Toby did not take us to hear Colin Powell.

Joe's Article

My Uncle Bob who fought in the Ia Drang Valley and is good friends with Joe Galloway emailed this article from Joe. I thought I would pass it on to you:

effective june 1 i am gone....
Legendary War Reporter Quitting KR Military Beat
Joe Galloway
By Joe Strupp
Published: March 16, 2006 11:45 AM ETWASHINGTON, D.C.
After 41 years on the military beat, covering stories from Fort Riley, Kan. to Vietnam and Iraq, Joe Galloway says he is taking a permanent leave. Come June 1, the 64-year-old scribe will give up his desk at Knight Ridder’s D.C. bureau and settle permanently in the bayfront cottage he owns just north of Corpus Christi, Tex.“I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world to have survived against the odds, to have had the experiences, the stories, the people that this profession has given me,” Galloway said this week during an interview in the Knight Ridder bureau. “And I got paid to do it, admittedly not much.”Galloway stressed that his retirement is unrelated to the pending purchase of Knight Ridder by McClatchy, which will include a merger of the two chains’ D.C. outposts. “My plans had nothing to do with that, nothing whatsoever,” he said, adding that he considers McClatchy’s takeover the best outcome that could be expected. “You didn’t want to end up in the hands of some Wall Street pirates.”But don’t think the legendary battlefield writer is retiring completely. He’ll continue to pen his weekly column and plans to write another book with Gen. Hal Moore, with whom he co-authored “We Were Soldiers Once&hellipAnd Young” in 1992.“That is a hellacious writing job and has to get done by the end of the year,” he said of the new book, which will be published by Harper Collins. (The previous book was made into a Hollywood movie starring Mel Gibson.) He also said he has three or four books planned after that. “I have a plan, but I will keep my hold cards down for now,” he added with a grin. “There is a memoir somewhere down the line.”After the project with Moore, Galloway also plans to finish a book for the late Iris Chang on the history of a Naval Guard unit that fought on Bataan in World War II. After Chang’s tragic suicide in 2004, her family asked Galloway to complete her work. “She had done a good deal of reporting and I agreed to take it over,” said Gallloway, who spoke in between sips of coffee in an empty bureau office. “They asked me to take it over and I agreed.”Still, even with his side projects, Galloway’s life will change dramatically with the retirement from beat coverage, he said. For someone whose combat reporting began in Vietnam with UPI, Galloway has had his hand in the trenches for nearly every major conflict since, including two stints in Iraq – the most recent ending just two months ago.He has turned increasingly critical of the Iraq war and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld's handling of it. A few months ago, he was invited to lunch with the Pentagon chief, but when they parted, Galloway informed Rumsfeld, “I want you to know that I'm going to keep kicking your butt, to keep you focused.”What drives Galloway? "It is always the soldiers, the Marines, the people you march with,” he said of his memories from four decades of G.I. tales. “They’ve always welcomed me and all other reporters for the most part. We’re pretty much the only people they see on the battlefield that don’t come from the big green machine.”In that time, Galloway has gotten his share of scoops and awards, and several years ago had an award named for him – the Joseph L. Galloway Award for Distinguished Journalism, given by Military Reporters and Editors, a group he helped found.He says the military’s relationship with the press has always been a seesaw battle, but fears it is on a downtrend because of this administration’s approach. “Military/media relations are like a pendulum on a clock. They swing from really good to really bad and back again,” he said in his trademark deep voice. “It is probably swinging back the wrong way.”But Galloway sees some hope for improvement, particularly with the embedding program that he contends was a success. “The ideal is free and open coverage,” he said of combat reporting. “But in this modern wartime, embedding is the next best thing.”Twice married and the father of two grown sons, Galloway will be relocating not far from where he first worked a reporting beat at the Victoria (Texas) Advocate. In between writing projects, he plans to continue his local hobbies of hunting and fishing.“It is a town of about 300, if you count the yellow yard dogs,” he said of Bayside, Texas, where his cottage is located. “I’ll probably do five books in 10 to 15 years, by then I’ll be decrepit.”

***Greg Mitchell, E&P's editor, wrote a Nov. 3, 2005, "Pressing Issues" column about Galloway's luncheon with Donald Rumsfeld. It follows:***
It started Tuesday with ordering a tuna fish sandwich and ended more than an hour later with the guest/reporter telling the Secretary of Defense, “I'm going to keep kicking your butt.” And in between? Let Joe Galloway tell you.For at least two years, Knight Ridder military editor and columnist Joe Galloway has been one of the most persistent and harshest critics of Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld's handling of the Iraq war, and other military issues, from an informed position. Galloway is one of the celebrated war correspondents of our time, winner of a Bronze Star for valor during the Vietnam conflict, and co-author of the book “We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young.”About six weeks ago, perhaps recognizing Galloway's credibility and the growing chorus of criticism from others, Rumsfeld's office invited the correspondent to what it called “a private lunch” at the Pentagon. No one told Galloway why, but he didn't have to guess. “I knew they weren't planning to give me some kind of ribbon,” Galloway told me today.Asked if he spiffed up for the meeting, Galloway acknowledged that he did “put on a tie,” then took the metro to the Pentagon from his apartment on the Potomac in nearby Arlington, Va.Well, as it turned out, the lunch wasn't quite private, as the two men were joined by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, two other brass, and a Pentagon spokesman. “Five to one, they had me surrounded,” Galloway said. “I've been doing this for 47 years and it was the first time I had a command performance with an audience like that.”How did it go? “I had a fun time,” Galloway revealed. “I don't know about the rest of them.”They met in Rumsfeld's “huge” office around a conference table. Galloway had ordered a tuna sandwich on the way in and found that Rummy was also eating tuna, but salad style. When Rumsfeld noticed that Joe had eaten the tuna but left the bread he ribbed him about that -- imagine, waste at the Pentagon!Rumsfeld, Galloway related (in our interview and in a column he wrote about the episode today), was cordial and smiling throughout, but quickly demanded to know why he himself wasn't hearing all the negative stuff about the lack of progress in Iraq and the military grumblings that the writer was picking up on. Galloway reminded him that someone in Rumsfeld's position was not likely to get much bad news passed up the chain of command.Then Rummy questioned his sources, suggesting they were perhaps all retired generals far from the scene. Galloway replied that about half were active duty and many of them “not only active duty, but also work in the Pentagon.” Some might even be on Rumsfeld's staff.As the discussion went on, Galloway continued to raise issues about the state of our military, as the generals argued that “the Army was not broken and things were not going so badly in Iraq.” Rumsfeld occasionally took notes on a yellow pad. He “seemed to be enjoying it when I got into it with one of the other guys,” Galloway told me. “He would lean back in his chair with a grin and watch us go at it. I had the impression he was listening very carefully to everything and here and there he heard something that might need follow up. I suspect he will shower a few snowflakes [memos] down on them, maybe starting today. “The Knight Ridder columnist asked whether the U.S. could figure out a better way of fighting the war than sending our troops down the same road only to be blown up by IEDs. Rumsfeld claimed he agreed and had ordered that our emphasis shift even more to training Iraqis.Galloway also pressed him on one of his pet issues -- military “bill collectors” going after ex-soldiers who maybe had lost a limb or two in Iraq. Rumsfeld blamed it on the Pentagon computer system but said steps were being taken to address that.When Rumsfeld took issue with Joe's most recent column, in which he charged that the Pentagon, a la Vietnam, was pushing “body counts,” Galloway stood his ground, saying, “If you don't want to do body counts then stop doing them.”After more than an hour, the Pentagon spokesman told his boss, “sir, we are way out of time,” but Galloway thought the meeting could have gone on for another hour or more. As he headed for the door, Rumsfeld guided him to an anteroom to show him a framed letter he found in his late father's belongings. It was written by Defense Secretary James Forrestal to the elder Rumsfeld, thanking him for his service in the Navy during the Pacific War. Rumsfeld, of course, has never served in combat himself.On the way out, the defense secretary said, in parting: "I want you to know that I love soldiers and I care about soldiers. All of us here do." Well, one would hope so.In parting, Galloway told me, he informed Rumsfeld, “I want you to know that I'm going to keep kicking your butt, to keep you focused.”Rumsfeld replied, “That's okay, I can take it.”Two days later now, I asked Joe about Rumsfeld's central belief -- that he was getting the true story on Iraq and the state of the military and Galloway was not.“Besides talking to people, I get a tremendous amount of e-mail from people in the military and in the Pentagon who read my column and react to it,” he replied. “They are concerned. What I'm hearing is that 99% of these readers are 100% in favor of what I am writing, and ask me to keep at it. Unfortunately, if I am right, the military is in a lot of trouble.”Anything else you left out of today's column, I wondered? “I got a peek at the bathroom in his office,” Galloway said, deadpan, “and he has a bank of cartoons posted there.”

Rain

It started raining on Friday while I was driving Jesse’s Scion TC to Lawton to have the oil changed and do a few errands. I love driving her little car – as I said before, it just makes me feel young. It is just so sporty compared to my Camry and the gears seem to be tighter or something – easier to shift And yeah, I listened to her music (I’m wild). The rain was light, but the sky was dark all day. On Saturday, the sky opened up and rained steadily all day, then all night, and into Sunday. It has been great!

On Saturday we went to The City to kick around and do some shopping since we could not really get much done here at the house (it’s a farmer thing to go to town when it rains). We made a stop at the BMW motorcycle shop just to look and drool. We ate lunch at a funky little Mexican café – good food. Then we did our kayak shopping. We have been contemplating getting a kayak for about a year. We have stopped and looked (kind of like the motorcycles), but this time we bought one. We have done some canoeing, but not kayaking, so this will be a little new. It is Jesse’s kayak, but you have to understand that her father is in cahoots with her on the boating thing. Me, I am just glad it is not a motorcycle. Golf clubs would be okay. I am not too sure of the rock climbing thing or the scuba diving. Mothers have to give and take here and there. We can’t be fretful or negative all of the time.

The rain poured all day long. Every farmer, rancher, fisherman, and bored soul was at the Bass Pro Shop in The City. Anyone who was not there was probably at the mall which we avoided. The sales men were not so great at the Bass Shop, so we ended up at a Sun and Ski store. They had a sales man who actually kayaked and had lots of advice. He also offered Jesse free lessons (yeah right). Actually, we may take him up on the free lessons, but we will send Lindsay along to make him crazy and keep an eye on him. Of course, we went by to see the Grandbaby. She entertained us and let us watch her Pooh movie.

Sunday morning Jesse got up and stared out the window at our pond. She turned and said, "It didn’t fill up yet." But it rained all day Sunday so maybe it will be full soon. We love the rain and are very thankful for it, but with this kayak sitting in our carport, we will be antsy for a warm sunny day to try it out. I’ll let you know how it goes.

The Snubbing

After reading about Jessica Simpson’s snubbing the President, I was embarrassed for her – embarrassed that she was from Texas – embarrassed that she was a blonde. I guess it just shows where life in Hollywood will lead you. But it did remind me of another snubbing of a different President.

Back in Clinton’s second term during all of the Monica-gate stuff, my older brother and his wife had been invited to perform at the White House for some Clinton gathering. My older brother is the hippie/liberal/lawyer from Austin. He also managed his wife’s music career, and did entertainment law for penniless musicians. His wife (now his ex-wife) is a popular Hispanic singer from the Austin area – her name is Tish Hinijosa – she sings folk, blues, and country type stuff. I have to admit she really is a good musician although she was not a good wife. Anyway, she was big buddies with Henry Cisneros so she got invited to DC a couple of times to perform.

This time, my brother invited my parents to attend the White House party with them. My dad who is a Yellow Dog Democrat called me to tell me all of this. He was not excited – just mater-of-fact. I was excited even though I am a Republican. I told him he had to go – he could not pass up a chance to see the White House and meet the President. He said that he thought Mom would get too tired. I said, "Are you kidding! She would love it!" I told him, "Dad, it is not every day you get invited to meet the President and see the White House. It’s a chance of a lifetime. DC would be a great place to visit…" I argued till I was blue in the face. Finally, he said, "I may have voted for Clinton, but I don’t like him much." This was pretty much the end of the debate. I did tell him at this point that I did not vote for Clinton, didn’t like him at all, but I would go to the White House party. Dad stood his ground. Funny, my brother did not invite me.

Cowgirls

It has been a few days since I have posted a picture. This is Lizzie, me, Goldie (Bo's old roping horse), Ranger the rat terrier, and Rita the cowdog. Mama Lou is training Lizzie to be a cowgirl. Notice the dry OK ground. It is beginning to green up just a little.

Traveling in Style

All is well in Wichita Falls. Mom is getting ready for her trip to Birmingham to see old friends. She has been shopping. Yes, she has been shopping even though I have warned her that she and Nelda will do lots of shopping when they get to Alabama. For Mom's birthday/Christmas present, I gave her a set of luggage to encourage her to travel. It is hard to know what to do with luggage when for years you've only packed in plastic trash bags. You think I am kidding? When our family traveled to NM every summer, we all packed in sacks. When I traveled with Mom and Dad to different doctors around TX, I was horrified that their hang-up clothes were just in the cleaner's bags. I even said that I would bring them a hang-up bag, but they said they had one - they just didn't use it. I figure the airlines would frown on this. I have told her to take one suitcase and check it on the plane. She can check her hang-up bag too, but she needs to take one empty case just to bring back all her new clothes and treasures she buys with Nelda. She just laughs at me.

My mom is a classy lady. She comes from the generation where you dress up to go to the doctor (even though you are going to take your clothes off, and he will never see them). She has whole outfits - things you put togther matching and looking sharp - not the t-shirt and jeans that I would do. She can do that too, though. I have always been impressed with her sense of style. The fact that she is tall and slim and can wear great clothes is my dream and goal in life (okay, I realize that I will never be tall). But when it comes to travel, I am like my dad (not the trash-sack thing). I just want to go with the essentials and travel lightly - jeans, t-shirt, tennis shoes, etc. When Jesse and I traveled to DC a few years ago, we each had one small suitcase and shared a hang-up bag. I thought that was pretty good for nearly a week in DC including a banquet. In fact, I have taught Jesse well. Once, when we were pulling out of the driveway on a long trip. I asked her if she thought she had everything. She said, "I have my money and my underwear. What else do I need?"

Torturing the Hubby

According to my husband, when the lights go out, my mouth goes on. He says there seems to be a direct link between the light switch and my mouth. Actually, when I try to go to sleep, I think of all the things I meant to say to him during the day, but forgot. Toby, on the other hand, is asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

Yesterday, he had made some facetious comment about the clip in my hair holding my bangs out of my eyes. The clip was not meant to be attractive. I knew it was not a "good look" for me, but it was very functional while teaching art and working around the house. It was so nice to have my bangs out of my eyes, that I forgot and just left it there until bedtime. Since I was thinking about my hair at bedtime, my thoughts came out my mouth. "You know, maybe letting my bangs grow out is a bad idea." Silence from Toby. "Maybe I just look better with bangs" More silence. "You know, no one has said that my hair looks good this way" Nothing from Toby. "Even you have been very silent on the how my hair looks". Toby was still quiet, but I knew he was struggling with just the right words. Finally he said, "You can cut your bangs if you want to."

"Wrong! Not the words I was wanting!" At this point, I knew he was really working to figure out what I wanted. The whole thing made me burst out laughing which of course made him start laughing too. When our giggling subsided, he said, "I think if you just give your bangs a little more time to grow, they will look very nice."

"That’s what I needed to hear. Thank you, honey and good-night."

Fear of Falling

Last summer Toby took the brush hog (for those of you who do not know farm equipment, a brush hog is about a six-foot lawnmower on the back of the tractor) and cut a trail that runs around our property. It makes a nice little hike for us – about one mile. Sometimes he rides his bike on it, but I am doing good to walk and stay upright much less ride a bike on this trail. Yesterday, Toby rode the trail and then did some work on his bike. Then he told me how he thought that riding that nature trail at Lake Murray would be a blast. I had to break it to him gently – there is no way in Hades he is going to get me to ride my bike on a narrow little trail. I explained to him that I get sort of claustrophobic riding my bike in narrow, rutted places. I much prefer smooth pavement for my riding. I told him that I had a real fear or panic that I could not explain. He said, "You mean the fear of hitting the ground with something besides your feet?" Yes, that explains it very well. The truth is that I have fallen quite a few times on our little trail usually tripping over small tree stumps or roots or my own feet. The thought of falling off my bicycle at a high rate of speed…well, I would just as soon not. I am a fairly brave person – game for most anything. Being fairly athletic, I like most sports and am fairly good at sports. But you gotta draw the line somewhere, and I draw it at trail-riding bikes (and that includes riding motorcycles with a bunch of crazy Okies – refer to last blog).

Speaking of our walking trail. Yesterday, Jesse was out on the trail when I heard her scream (one of those screams that makes a mother stop and look for her child)Toby and I just happened to be outside. He did not hear her (he would not hear a cricket sitting on his shoulder in a dark car, but that is another story). I immediately hollered her name. She yelled back. She was okay, and I could see her across the field. It turns out that our herd of dogs rousted out an armadillo. The dillo ran straight at Jesse and hit her leg causing her to scream. She felt rather silly for screaming, but I think it was a surprise to have an armadillo hit you. After all, this is a girl who has caught a mouse in her gloved hand and fed it to her chickens – but that is another story too.

Lake Murray

The trip to Lake Murray was wonderful. Oklahoma has quite a few state parks including Lake Murray. All the land around the lake apparently belongs to the park. The CCC built the entire park between 1933 and 1940. The lodge is not as wonderful as I had hoped, but it was funky in an old sort of way. Our room was nothing fancy – just a room with a bed, closet and bathroom. I think the cabins would be the way to go next time. They were also old, but much more interesting with lots of windows and screened in porches and some fireplaces.

We walked around the lodge and out on to the pier. Then we headed down the road to the Fireside Restaurant. The meal was excellent. I had prime rib while Toby had the salmon. I can cook a pretty mean salmon myself, but prime rib was a treat. We finished off the meal with a huge slice of cheesecake with three different toppings to choose from and a cup of coffee. As we left the restaurant, a storm was blowing in. We went back to our room and turned off the lights and lay across the bed watching the lightning show over the lake. All that thunder and lightning, but no rain!

The next morning we tried one of the hiking trails. Being off-season, it was not well maintained or marked clearly. That was okay; we got our walk in and headed back for breakfast at the lodge. Later we drove around looking at the cabins and then around the whole lake picking out future spots to visit - maybe camping is the way to go. The lake has lots of camping sights, picnic areas, and boating ramps – all at different prices. As we looked over the different camping areas or cabins, we kept in mind how the grandbaby would do there or could Jesse launch her kayak. We tried another walking trail that was also a bicycle trail. We probably walked three to four miles. Toby thought it would be great to bring our bikes next time – yeah right! We also checked out the ATV area. I was horrified. There were four-wheelers and motorcycles of all sizes along with people of all sizes and ages. Some vehicles had whole families piled on. Others were wearing their full racing outfits with helmets. All were roaring around making jumps and such or stopped just to visit in this one large area. It looked like an Okie accident waiting to happen. Toby loved it.

After exploring the lake we headed in to Ardmore where we ate at Polo’s. It has the best Mexican food in OK. Then it was back home for us. We managed to make a quick trip into Duncan to see the grandbaby before I completely collapsed from exhaustion. It was really a great weekend and a perfect birthday.

Art Girls - Farm Girls

Although the day started out cloudy and cold, the sun did come out and shine. My art girls and I decided not to try and paint in the cold and the wind, but we did go to Medicine Park for lunch and then kicked around the river walk. We took some silly pictures that I cannot seem to post, but will keep trying. We also went into Lawton to Hobby Lobby - just what an artist wants on her birthday. The best part was laughing and being silly with my girls.

Jesse gave me another birthday present. She gave me a new purse and wallet. She said that she had started to give me a BB gun. But according to Jesse, "A purse is a gift that you don't usually buy for yourself, but a BB gun you can buy any old time." When she told her brother that she was thinking of buy me a BB gun, he said, "Who are you buying this for - you or Mom?" The funny part is that I would love to have a BB gun. Jesse and I are such farm girls! In fact, the other day we were driving in town when a pick-up truck with a low-boy goose-neck trailer pulled in front of us. It was a small trailer, but it had a huge load of concrete rocks as if someone had busted up pavement. As the trailer went by us, both Jesse and I said at the same time, "Wow, did you see those tires? There gonna blow!" It was funny that we both recognized too heavy a load and bad, bald tires. We decided to stay well away from that trailer. Of course, that comes from using old tires on lots of our farm equipment or hauling Toby's bulldozer on an old trailer. We know when it is time to stay way back.

Good Things

It rained last night along with thunder and lightning. It would have been perfect, but the wind was howling again. I’m not complaining; we could use whatever moisture we can get – wind or no wind. And today is my birthday. Yep, another year older. Toby surprised me with a new watch this morning. It is very elegant compared to my Mickey Mouse watch I have been wearing. Does that mean I have to be grown up? I keep waiting for the day when I feel like a grown-up. It hasn’t happened yet.

According to my mother, I was born on a Sunday night after "Bonanza" was over. She said her doctor had been working on his ranch and had manure on his boots while delivering me. Maybe I was destined to be a cowgirl. Maybe that explains my partiality to men in cowboy boots.

My family has never been big on birthdays. Our big tradition is to try and remember to call on the sibling’s birthday. It is a race to see who can call first and get to say "nanana booboo"to the others who forgot to call. We are doing good to just remember and call sometime during the week or even the month. Since I am online right now, it will spoil anyone’s trying to call me early- hah!

Today, my art girls are taking me to Medicine Park (north of Ft. Sill) to do some plein aire painting. I love my girls (but will miss Lindsay). Medicine Park is a great little town on a river. The entire town is made of cobblestones and is very artsy. We will have lunch either there or Meers (another funky place). Both towns are bordering Ft. Sill and a National Game Reserve that has buffalo and elk. It is a great place to paint - not to mention all them fine army boys from Ft. Sill.

Tomorrow Toby is taking me to Lake Murray to spend the night in the lodge there. We are hoping to do some biking or golf or just check out the lake for kayaking later in the summer. This is going to be a real treat. In April, I will get my last present. I am going to take a watercolor workshop with George Kountoupis. You know, birthdays just keep getting better.

La Veta

Here is another picture for your viewing pleasure.
Jesse is on the left with Reagan and Lindsay.

Mama Lou

The wind has been howling here. I am rather tired of it. Jesse came home wanting to turn on the air-conditioner. No way! It is only March! So we had windows open and art stuff flying around the room during class. It was a great way to clear off all the pictures and papers from the fridge. And it was still hot.

I have a new soldier from Soldier's Angels. Mama Lou will probably mother him to death. He comes from a big family, so maybe he will be patient with me. It reminded me of a story - thought I would share it with you.

We were at a junior ski race in Taos Ski Valley when Jesse was eight years old. When it came time for lunch, I could not find Jesse anywhere. She was not with any of the coaches or racers. We were suppose to meet at the bottom lodge for lunch - no Jesse. If any of you have ever skied Taos, it is a big place and a litte scary. While skiing back to the bottom lodge, one of the parents pointed out, "That is the run where that kid was killed last week." Great, I was already a basketcase worrying about Jesse. After lunch when everyone met back up at the racecourse, I found Miss Independent. She had gone off with some parent and had lunch at the Phoenix. My head hurt from worrying, trying not to cry, and from trying not to kill her once I found her. Bear Britton, a long time best friend, pulled me over into his lap while we sat on the side of the mountain to watch the race and began messaging my neck and shoulders. I became a puddle of butter. We were sitting that way when some man came by and said, "Hey Brian, that's not your wife!" Brian put his arms around me and said, "No, but if it was, we would have ten kids and be really fat."

What a thing to say, and so perfect and true! I should have had ten kids and so should Bear. But we didn't, and we are fat anyway.

My Monday

Jesse and I went to WF yesterday to see Mom. I helped her find a roundtrip flight to Birmingham to visit friends. She is really looking forward to this trip. We had to do some shopping while we were there - she will need new clothes for her trip, of course. We ate at Chedders, and then did more shopping. Mom is still looking at breakfast tables, so we went to Ashley's. The young salesman was very attentive and helpful - we will take Jesse more often. I thought he was going to follow us to the car. He was kind of cute in a hairy sort of way.

Speaking of Jesse, she has a funny way of seeing things or understanding things like no other person that I know. When she was younger, she called the hazard lights on our car, the "tragedy lights". She is always close to the right words, but doesn't quite get there. She has been reading some book (I think it is "Lord Vanity" by Shellabarger, 1953)in which the character has a peculiar talent - "slight of hand". Yesterday she was talking about the character, but could not think of the right words. She called it "shorthand". Makes perfect sense if you think about it.

"Whoo-Hoo I'm Two" Party

We celebrated my granddaughter’s 2nd birthday yesterday with pizza and a Pooh cake. She was quite the entertainer and hostess. Someone gave her a package of sunglasses in assorted colors. We all wore the glasses and had our pictures taken with Busy Lizzie. Tia Jesse and her new aunt Yah-Yah pushed her around in a toy-shopping cart - secretly wishing they could get in it themselves. Her great-grandparents called to sing happy birthday to her. They were wonderful – even I was a little jealous. When asked, "How old are you?" Lizzie responded with a high-pitched "Two!" which sounds a lot like three, but it is difficult to tell for sure. She then holds her hand out for you to help her with her fingers because she has not figured out the right hand sign for "two." At the end of the afternoon, she kissed us all good-bye wearing her new sunglasses. She then signed "I love you." She does not really have this sign down very well either. Sometimes it looks like the sign for "bathroom" and sometimes it looks like a sign for something that she is not suppose to say. For those of you who are familiar with sign language, you will know what I am talking about. It was a great afternoon. I will post pictures of the birthday girl later when I have access to Jesse’s computer and the camera.

Speaking of computers, mine is a little slow lately. It may be time for Dr. Ernie soon.

More on the Fire

After my exercise class this morning, I went quilting. The ladies at our church make a wedding ring quilt for each young coulple that gets married. We have an upcoming wedding, therefore, we are making a quilt. These get-togethers are great fun even though I don't sew. I can sew, but I choose not to for the sake of those around me. Usually, I cut material, piece together material, and iron. And best of all, I laugh and visit.

We had several good discussions today. I was able to hear a little more on how the fires affected different people. One of the ladies is married to a Duncan firefighter. She said that he was fighting fires south of Duncan in an area called Empire on Wednesday. Her husband estimated that over 50 homes were burned. He said that the fire was moving so fast due to the wind that it was difficult to keep up. One house was fine; then the next minute the roof was on fire. Before they could get the hoses to it, the fire had burned through to the attic, and the house was a gonner. He also said the "smoke tornadoes" were bad causing severe visibility problems. A sheriff's car was following a fire truck, but had to swerve to miss the truck when it stopped. The sheriff's car hit a telephone pole and was soon on fire. Another young firefighter from our church said the fire went under the camper he lives in burning everything, but not catching the camper on fire while homes all around were destroyed. The Kiblers's Hat Top ranch was pretty much burned up. The house and barn were saved, but the deer are in bad shape (they raise white-tail deer). The land looks so barren and black. It will come back beautiful and green this spring, but the loss of homes and businesses is awesome.

There were other stories, but those were the ones I thought would interest my blog readers. It was good to be with my friends and hear what was going on in their lives even if I did have to cut pieces of material just to sew them back together. Pray for rain.

Interesting Reads

I read an interesting article in "World Magazine" which is a Christian conservative magazine. The article had to do with press bias and how the bloggosphere is helping get the truth out. It is a good article.

Another good article called "Mudslide Vigil" told about our military efforts in the Philippines. I like it when the media puts out good news about our military.

Wind and Fire

Around noon yesterday the wind kicked up out of the west with temperatures in the low 90’s. Toby and I were having lunch at the park in Duncan, but it was just pretty miserable in the wind. When I took him back to work, we noticed two fires. One was very near Halliburton right in Duncan. The other fire seemed to be north of Duncan – maybe Marlow. There were actually several fires in the Duncan area, but the MSM did not explain that very well. Toby works at one of the many Halliburton buildings on South Hwy 81. It was not evacuated or in any danger, but just a mile east, the Family Dollar Distribution Center was evacuated. The town of Meridian south of Duncan was on fire too.

By 4:00 PM, from my house, I counted at least four different smoke plumes – three to the east of us and one huge on to the west. The huge one to the west was Meridian. The east fires were at an area called Sugar Loaf and Hat Top Ranch which our good friends the Kiblers own. They were evacuated. Their home and barn seemed to be okay last night, but the fate of the deer that they raise was questionable. The fire fighters managed to save the Williams’ home (one of my art students and good friends), but the fire burned right up to their foundation. I heard that their animals were okay. Another fire to the east of us was in Loco area. The whole town of Loco (which is small) was on fire. I know of one friend who lost his house. As of last night some of our other friends were still battling for their homes in Loco.

The Marlow fire was actually started at Terry Dennis’ home (a very good friend). It was reported that an electrical transformer exploded near his home set things on fire. His home was saved. The skirting on his son’s home was burned, but the house was saved. His father’s house was not so lucky.

As we left church at 9:00 PM last night, we could see flames north of Velma. The wind had quieted and these fires seemed to be under control. The ash and smoke were horrible in Velma as we walked to our car. We drove around getting a closer look at the fires, but staying well back and out of the way.

This morning, the news did not tell nearly the whole story. Yesterday’s fires were huge. It was just amazing that there could be that many fires all around us. The MSM is reporting that there has been an arson suspect arrested. I have not heard any news there, but I am thinking the electric company may have some explaining to do. I will find more definite news today – lots of rumors flying right now. Be in prayer for these fire fighters and people who have lost their homes.

Old Dogs Do Learn

Last night Alan, the Computer Guru, came over and gave me some lessons in using my blog better. He showed me some interesting things about links. It only cost me a little roast beef dinner. I wonder what he would do for enchiladas? Maybe he would network my computer to Jesse's. I might have to make dessert for that. Jesse warned him that I would blog about him and probably misquote him - maybe give him credit for something he did not do. Critics! Now I can refer to someone's blog and I will eventually have a "favorite links" list. Alan put Buck on my list as an example for me to follow. I will have to put others on the list on my own.

So what provoked this interest in learning links? After a year of blogging, I was still ignornant. Then Phil asked me to link him at his Militracker News site where he spreads good news about our military. This is a great website and should be earmarked to your favorite's list. If you have come across any good news, you can send it to Phil for him to post. I want to show my support of the troops any way I can - this is just a small way of doing that. With the lack of good news in the MSM, Phil is doing a great job of letting us know what goes on with our military all over the world.

There is still so much for me to learn about computers - bear with me. In the meantime, support our Troops.