Fast Cars

We were discussing fast cars the other day - Camaros and such. This Cobra is being rebuilt by the Riggins boys in La Veta, CO. Jesse and her buddy, Lindsay, love to visit the Riggins who have four boys - not because they have boys, but because the boys have motorcycles and cars. They take the girls rock climbing and canoeing and hiking and skiing. In this picture, Joel is taking Jesse for a spin in the Cobra. Lindsay and another Riggins boy followed in a 280Z - just in case of breakdowns and to switch out passengers from time to time. I love the look on Jesse's face. It reminds me of when she was a little girl and we played hide-n-seek. She would get too excited and squeal long before we found her. I think she was pretty excited about riding in the Cobra. The downside of the ride is that she burned her leg pretty seriously on the side exhausts. When Jesse and Lindsay visit the Riggins, I don't always want to hear the "whole story". I just have to trust that the Riggins Boys will take good care of my baby.

Senior Year

These are some questions that I found over at Becky's.
Fill in the blanks about your senior year. The longer ago it was the better.

1. Who was your best friend? Mary June and I shared a locker
2. What sports did you play? Soccer, volleyball, softball,
3. What kind of car did you drive? 63 chevy pick-up
4. It's Friday night, where were you? Football game, Phideaux’s Pizza to play foosball
5. Were you a party animal? No,
6. Were you considered a flirt? Big time flirt
7. Ever skip school? No, my dad was a principal in the same school dist.
8. Ever smoke? No, and never wanted to
9. Were you a nerd? Why study when it was all so easy
10. Did you get suspended/expelled? No.
11. Can you sing the Alma Mater? Hail to our colors…
12. Who was your favorite teacher? Mrs. Holder made English exciting and made me want to teach
13. Favorite class? Drafting and art
14. What was your school's full name? Wichita Falls High School
15. School mascot? Coyotes
16. Did you go to Prom? We had a "senior dance" and yes, I went
17. If you could go back and do it over, would you? Nope- life just gets better
18. What do you remember most about graduation? Getting in my old truck with my 81 year old grandmother and heading to NM the next morning.
19. Favorite memory of your senior year? My buddies in journalism class
20. Were you ever posted up on the senior wall? What is a senior wall?
21. Did you have a job your senior year? Waitress at truckstop café on Hwy 287
22. Who did you date? Most anyone who asked
23. Where did you go most often for lunch? 2nd floor hall
24. Have you gained weight since then? ROFLOL.
25. What did you do after graduation? College, marriage, babies, more college
26. When did you graduate? 1976 – 30th reunion this summer
27. Senior picture:I was really cute with bangs feathered back

This summer I will attend my 30th class reunion - in fact, I am in charge! Right now, I cannot wait for the whole thing to be over.

Girl Talk

I bought a sports bra at Wal-Mart the other day. For those of you who do not want to hear about it, close your eyes. Thinking that with all my new sports mindedness (golf, aerobics, volleyball), I needed one. I happened to be on the phone with my little sister (miracles of technology) while I was shopping for the bra. The bra I picked out hooked up the front and said "low performance", but my sister said, "Why bother? You might as well get a regular bra." So I continued to shop looking for "high performance." It seems that the higher performance bras do not have hooks at all. Hmm, well, whatever. I really hate trying on clothes at Wal-Mart, and they have a good return policy. So, I bought the bra untried. It was probably a good thing. I won’t gross you out with details, but it was one serious wrestling match – that bra and me. I went in through the bottom, but it got me in a hold and wouldn’t let go. There I was at the house alone with my arms caught up over my head. It reminded me of the time I got a dress stuck on my upper body while at McClurkans. Jesse had to help me get out of that mess, but it took a while because she had to stop and laugh every few minutes. Those dressing rooms can be stifling when you have a dress over your head and you are laughing hysterically. It also reminded me of getting my bra hung up on the saddle horn while trying to dismount. My son was no help, but I had a good horse. Anyway, I stood in front of the mirror wondering what to do. It would be really funny except there was no one around to laugh with me (thank God). I rolled around on the bed and fought for a while eventually getting the bra into the correct position. I guess you could say that I won the wrestling match, but the hold that bra still had on me was something fierce. It made me wonder how and why women wore corsets in the other centuries. It also reminded me of when I was ten years old and my grandmother bought and made me wear a girdle (probably because she could not find a corset). I was horrified then and horrified now. There is just something wrong with this whole sports bra thing. All I can say is that it better improve my golf game.

Helicopter Ride

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Jesse's boss was part of putting an new transmitter for a radio station on a mountain top near Quartz Mountain, OK. If you have never been to Quartz Mountain, it is a beautiful, interesting place. Oklahoma has all sorts of state parks, and this is one of them. It has a wonderful lodge and conference center. It is also used as an arts center. The mountains are not all that big (as mountains go), but they are full of huge boulders making hiking and climbing difficult (or fun, depending on you outlook). Notice the lake in the background and the boulders. The transmitter had to be placed at the top of the mountain, but due to the tower and guide wires, the helicopter had to land a little further away. You might also notice that Jesse's hair is blowing in the wind making it look wild. She was surprised by the wind the helicopter kicked up. Jesse took some great video of the helicopter bringing the transmitter and other large objects to the site. She also took some great photos of the area - both from the ground and from the helicopter. When she arrived at the resort on Sunday, she did some hiking around the lake. It really is very beautiful. You know Jesse - she was in the helicopter as much as possible. In fact, I asked her if she just buckled herself in to a seat and refused to budge. She answered, "Yeah, pretty much". She even flew with the pilot back to the Altus airport to refuel. She said that she may like the helicopter flying better than planes. The use of the helicopter was expensive, so it was only used for part of the day. Mules were used to get the electricians, technitians, workers, and tools back down. Jesse said she wanted to stay and ride the mules down, but she couldn't do it all.

Anniversary

On June 27, 1977, at 3:00 PM in the Community House in Red River, NM, I married Toby. Yep, we have been waking up together for 29 years. My cousin, Patti, was my bridesmaid. My brother, Craig, stood up as Toby’s best man. John the Baptist officiated the wedding ceremony while wearing a top hat and tails. TZ Wright sang The Wedding Song, which made me and Dad tear up while waiting in the back room to walk down the isle. Then we got tickled and started to laugh. My photographer, Ron Burnham (fire marshal for the Town of RR), stuck his head in the room and told us to "keep it down; they are trying to have a wedding out here!" and snapped a picture of us laughing and crying. Dad and I held hands as we walked down the isle because I always held my daddy’s hand wherever we went. He gave me to Toby that day, which had to be one of the hardest things he had ever done, but one of the best things, too. Toby pledged all sorts of things including sharing all his "worlly goods" – whatever that means, but it made me giggle at the time. The preacher said, "Do ya, do ya?" We said, "Yeah, Yeah." And we went to the party.

The party at the Motherlode was one of the most remembered wedding receptions of all time in RR. TZ and his band played "Faded Love" as our first dance song – because my dad could not think of any other song at the moment, and that is what he told them to play. I danced with my dad first, while Toby danced with his mom. Then we traded dance partners and started a tradition. Neil Young of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, happened to be in town, so he joined in with the band. My friend, Janetta, was in charge of the champagne punch. She was later found passed out in the parking lot. When Heglund, the owner of the Motherlode, handed us a bottle of champagne for the road and we started to leave, no one cared. They were having much too much fun to stop and send us off. The wedding partiers managed to pause in their play long enough to throw some rice. Someone had written an obscene message on Toby’s 1974 Camaro, but that was about it as for decorating the car – who had time with all the dancing going on? We drove to Santa Fe for our honeymoon.

Once at Santa Fe, the desk clerk at the La Fonda handed us three keys and let us pick our room. I think the room cost us something ridiculous like $36.00 a night. We chose a room with a tall bed that looked inviting. The room also had a balcony, and the bathroom had an old clawfoot tub. The bed turned out to be hard as a rock. I nearly knocked my self out when I ran and jumped on it. I had gingerly stepped out on the balcony (well-concealed balcony) naked. Toby said, "Is that man over there watching you?" and I ran and jumped back in bed. There was no man, and Toby got a big laugh out of his joke. The next morning the sun came pouring through those same balcony doors and woke us up. I tried to order coffee, but room service told me that I had to wait until 6:00 AM. Neither of us had a watch or a clock, but you know how bright that New Mexico sun can be. We kicked around Santa Fe all day, washed the car, and headed home.

29 years later, Toby still teases me and makes me laugh. Not all of our years have been easy, but we were both raised to commitment in marriage. I knew that Toby was the man for me because I just liked being with him all of the time and he laughed at my silly jokes. Some things never change. There was also that lust thing which eventually turned to love. Although love is suppose to be something you feel (and you do), I believe love is something you choose to do – every day.

The Weekend

Saturday morning Toby and I headed off to The City on a little shopping excursion. Toby had decided that I needed a new set of golf clubs. My old golf clubs are probably older than I am. My Dad had picked them up at a garage sale years ago so that I could learn to play golf and keep up with Toby. Dad was like that – always finding some sort of useful junk at garage sales to send home with us – Toby could never say "no" to him, and we have collected some interesting junk. But the golf clubs served their purpose. At one point, Toby sanded down the woods in order to repaint them. He never got around to repainting them, and in their sanded down state, they were extra ugly. He placed in the money at a little golf tournament in Angel Fire one year and bought me a pink bag, but even that has seen better days. Now and again, Toby gets into his golf. I encourage the golf, because I figure it is safer and cheaper than a motorcycle. Does that mean he has given up on the motorcycle? Nope, but it does get pushed further down the line for a little longer.

I love our little trips together. It gives us a chance to visit and talk without The Girl along. Most people think that Toby is a very quiet person, and he is, but he also has a sharp sense of humor making me laugh at his silly wit. We stopped in Chickasha to get some more caffeine and yes, check out the motorcycle shop. At the convenience store, I could not decide what I wanted, but I needed something. Toby looked at some high-energy drink, but I wasn’t so sure he needed that much caffeine, besides, it cost over $2.00 for a little bottle of the stuff. We finally opted for coffee. As we continued on our trip and I took several drinks of my coffee, I said, "I don’t think coffee was what I needed either." Toby replied, "If you had let me get the snake juice with venom in it, we would be kicking butt right now. It made me laugh.

We stopped by the motorcycle store and looked at the used cycles not really finding "just the right one". He did like this little yellow Suzuki, but I know nothing about bikes. I told Toby that if he would take me back to Italy, we could buy an Italian bike and cruise around Italy rather than renting a car. Then we could ship it home. Sounds fun to me – anything to get back to Italy – he just shook his head. Later, we got up on the turnpike toward The City, set the speed at close to 80 mph – because we can – and passed a couple of motorcycles. Toby ogled them as we passed. They were fancy new BMWs. One of them had compartments on the rear-sides. I said, "Look Toby, do you think we could fit all our clothes in those compartments when we tour Italy?" He replied, "Yep, if we sleep naked." – made me laugh again.

The rest of the day was just as much fun. We looked at the European motorcycles in The City. Then we did some shopping and had lunch with The Grandbaby. Bo, Sara, and Elizabeth joined in the search for golf clubs. We were in separate cars due to the car seat. At one point we decided we all needed something cold to drink. Bo phoned and said, "At the corner of Memorial and 63rd, there is a place that sells Tecate." I said, "I don't think your father needs a Tecate right now - a coke will be just fine." At the next stop, Bo pointed out that he had not said "Tecate", but had said "Ducati" - an Italian motorcycle. I felt pretty silly. Eventually, we picked out some golf clubs. They were not expensive like the salesman said we needed, but for me, they will do well. We did not get home until dark – much too late to check out the new clubs. We decided that we would play golf on Sunday afternoon.

Several things happened after church Sunday. We gave away another puppy to our good friend, Terry Dennis, whose grandson named it "Angel Baby". Then a man called wanting to buy our old Dodge pick-up. Not only did he buy the truck, but he took two puppies also. It was kind of bitter sweet. We really needed to sell the truck – it is not like you can just let them die of old age in the pasture like your favorite horse (although some Okies find this acceptable). The Dodge was like a part of the family. We had had it since 1991. It was a ¾ ton, Cummins diesel. It was one heck of a truck. It had taken me through some serious snowstorms and hauled some kids to rodeos. I hated to see it go. I felt the same way about the puppies. Then, Toby took me to the golf course. We walk and play – of course. The new clubs were a hit (pun intended). It is amazing what technology can do. My clubs included a new "hybrid club". It worked great. My game was much better than I expected although never consistent. We played 18 holes until it was too dark to see. I won’t bore you with all the golf-talk (as if I could talk golf). It was a great evening! Toby even had a few shots that did not pass the ladies tee box…

Where was Jesse during the weekend? Saturday she had a quilting party she had to attend. Her group had made many quilts and were drawing numbers to see who got which quilt. She said she enjoyed the trading that went on after the drawing more than anything (like her Papa Hub) and finally ended up with a red quilt called "hugs and kisses." Sunday, she went to Quartz Mountain Resort near Altus. She was meeting her boss and his family there. She went by herself, walked around the lake, and kicked around on her own. Today her boss is putting up a transmitter for a radio station using a helicopter to place it on some mountain. Jesse is hoping to ride in the helicopter. She may have missed the trip to The City, but she never misses an opportunity to fly.

Vacation Picture

This picture was taken after our amazing funyak trip down the Rio Grande. Our guides, Barry, Tony, and Alexa - Jesse, Lindsay and me. We took more pictures - and if they ever dry out, maybe we can get them developed :) Did I mention that our sunscreen did a great job. One little thing you should be aware of, though, sunscreen only works as well as the applier. The top of my feet burned to a nice toasty brown and beyond. I look like part of the Blackfoot tribe. It was all worth it. We had a wonderful time. Our guides were as smart and helpful as they were cute. Alexa was having her 25th birthday party and invited my girls to attend. It was to be a disco party complete with shining ball. The boys invited the girls to play volleyball with them "if you are not easily offended". Now what does that mean? My girls had to pass on both parties since they were headed up to CO.

If you go to www.losriosriverrunners.com you can learn more about the raft trips. Cisco, the owner of Los Rios is an old friend. He is first generation Mexican/American whose parents worked in Los Alamos while he grew up playing on the river. Cisco is now a father of two, but in his day he was something unique. He sported a long, black braid under his cowboy hat. He usually wore jean shorts with his cowboy boots (which was amazingly a good look since he had great legs). His eyes were the bluest blue, and he could ballroom dance. The girls loved him. I only looked (and occasionally danced).

Life after vacation (no matter how short the vacation) is difficult to get back into. Catching up on laundry and house cleaning was no so bad, but going back to aerobics, well, it was not so easy. Today is aerobics, again, and I will go. Once there, I usually enjoy myself. It is the "making myself go" that is my struggle. I will also make another trip to WalMart while I am in town (yeha). I think I need to hit the used bookstore again – trade some books. Yeah, now I am perking up. Just the thought of crawling through the packed aisles of the bookstore gives me pleasure. I can even put up with the old couple who run the store and charge different fees each time I go. I finished my James Patterson novel, "First to Die", although the murder at the beginning of the book was so grisly that I was not sure I could make it through the rest of the book. I did, and it was interesting. I felt the same way when I read "Absolute Power" by Baldacci. The opening murder so took my breath away, that I had to put the book down for a while, but I continued on and loved the book. Now I am a big Baldacci fan. I am just not into horror or crudity - I'm a wimp. In my search for new authors, I also bought Stephen Coonts’ "Flight of the Intruder" but I am struggling with it. First of all, the flying lingo wears me down, although I think I can deal with it. I am eighty-plus pages into the book, and I am not sure I like the main character or maybe he is just not well described. Maybe if I continue reading, his character will become more developed (or not). This was a best seller, but will it get better? Any suggestions out there?

Hockey

After supper, Toby asked what I wanted to do that evening. I said, "I have to watch hockey so that I can tell Buck that I did it." And so, we watched the Stanley Cup final game from beginning to end. I have to admit it was intense, and I really enjoyed the game. Although I have not seen a lot of hockey (being a Texas girl), I have never seen two teams play harder than last night’s game. There was no reading a book or playing crossword puzzles while the game was going on. If you looked away for just a second, you missed lots of action. Yeah, I could get into that sort of thing. Thanks Buck, for a great night of entertainment.

I am a little worried that I am beginning to speak and think of my favorite bloggers as people I know well. I find myself quoting someone or repeating their opinion as if I speak with them personally. I have to go to certain blogs and check on everyone daily. It reminds me of when I read Tommy Frank’s book, "American Soldier". After finishing the book, I felt like I knew the man fairly well (isn’t that part of the purpose of writing the book?). A few weeks later I saw where he was going to be in Lawton for a book signing at WalMart. I had to go. I had to meet Mr. Franks in person. I stood in line for over an hour. When I finally got up to where he and his wife were signing books, I realized that everything I had thought of to say sounded just stupid. Of course, we were being rushed at that point, and maybe I was a little awe struck, but mostly I realized that although I knew him well, he did not know me at all. It makes for a one-sided friendship, which is no real friendship at all.

As for my favorite blogs, I do realize that as I read them and comment, they read my blog (some of them anyway) and comment and we have a fairly good friendship. Yet, it is a whole new level of friends. Net-friends. I like it. But I do have to remind myself that not everyone cares to be net-friends. Just because I read their blogs, does not mean I really know them or that they want to know me. And there are those things that I withhold from writing so that I do not "freak people out" or lose friends. Maybe that is the way of all friendships.

Quiet Weekend

We had a nice quiet, restful weekend. We watched a lot of sports, took naps, and recovered from our vacation. Saturday we watched World Cup Soccer – Americans vs. Italians. I could watch soccer all day long. Unfortunately, the local weatherman, Chicken Little, kept breaking in with thunderstorm warnings – like people in OK don’t know what to do with a little rain. I realize it has been a while since we had thunderstorms, but jeez, it was just rain and wind – not a tornado. Chicken Little had to show the map and radar of the storms and track them slowly as if we did not know what county we lived in. It was enough to make a preacher cuss. The good news is that we found the soccer game on a cable station with Japanese announcers. Soccer is soccer no matter the language. It reminded me of watching Italian TV when we were in Italy. They watch a lot of old movies and sitcoms. If you have never seen Little Joe on Bonanza speak Italian, then you have missed something in life. Anyway, we got a kick out of watching soccer with Japanese commentators. Jesse even stayed home to watch the game. My son was not so fortunate. He chose to watch the game at his brother-in-law’ house on a big screen TV, but no cable. He was very frustrated watching the game and the weather reports. He totally missed some of the red cards being given out. Suddenly the Americans were playing with nine players. I guess when you live in OK, weathermen think they are more important than soccer. Now if it had been a football game…someone would have been fired!

I wanted to watch hockey one night so that I could tell Buck I had been watching, but Toby wanted to watch college baseball – it is the World Series you know. I like baseball pretty well, and did not raise a fuss. Sunday night, when Toby wanted to watch basketball, I tried to be good. Being Father’s Day, I hated to complain, but I find basketball boring. I worked a few crossword puzzles and read my Stephen Coonts novel. My computer had modem problems or I would have been on it. Toby fixed my computer (yeah Toby!) so that I could blog this morning. It really was a quiet weekend.

NM Fun

For the most part, the family reunion/vacation was a great time. There were a few incidents that made things stressful. There is always someone willing to be a jerk and ruin someone else’s good time. In this case, the manager of the Riverside Lodge in Red River was a real pain. He was rude and unfriendly for no apparent reason. Then he yelled at me because my rat terrier was on the property when a simple explanation of the rules would have been sufficient. It turns out that the week before our reunion the manager had been rude to someone from the NM governor’s office. Not that I care about Bill Richardson, but in a resort town, it is best not to run off your customers. This customer will not ever stay at the Riverside Lodge again.

Being with my family was great fun. The Ohio cousins turned out to be a real treat. My cousin, Julie, married a young man who is an Ohio National Guard, a pilot, a singer, and just a fun guy. He was quite a hit at the local bar when he got up on stage and sang with the band. He was a real heartthrob and hit of the reunion. While at the reunion, we did find out that my USMC cousin, Captain Jim (soon to be Major), will be heading back to Iraq in October. He has moved his wedding date up from late August to the first of July, and from Texas to the East Coast, which means we will not be able to attend. We wish him and his new bride the best.

Now for the best part of the trip – rafting down the Rio Grande in funyaks (a kayak raft)! On Sunday after the reunion, I took my daughter and her girl friend over to Taos to float the Rio Grande. The water was too low to float the Box (which is the best whitewater), but we took an all day trip in raft/kayaks down what is called Racecourse (south of Taos). Jesse and Lindsay were in a double funyak while I was in a single. We had three guides with us – two guys and a girl who were great fun (Los Rios River Runners). There were also ten men from the Deep South on the trip. They ranged in age from about early thirties to early forties, and they were all a bit nerdish (engineers, accountants, etc.) Apparently, they were college buddies or coworkers who take a canoe trip once a year together. This time, they had the trip of their lives because they were with the wild girls from Oklahoma.

The trip started off peaceful enough. Then one man paddled up close to Jes and Lindsay. The girls attacked him by splashing him with their oars. He, of course, fought back. J&L stopped splashing and acted horrified that someone they did "not even know" would splash them. The man was dumbfounded until he realized the girls were teasing him (laughing at him). After the first initial splashing, the war was on, and friends were made. Dousing each other with water was the norm. Flipping someone out of his or her funyak was the goal. During one particular slow part of the river, a big battle took place. Lindsay flipped one of the men out of his kayak -who then tried to flip the girls out of their kayak. But the girls fought back. More of the men joined to battle trying to flip the girls over. They were eventually successful and a cheer went up from the men. I watched all from a safe distance and gathered paddles and debris floating in the river. I asked, "How many men does it take to flip two little girls from a kayak?" One of the men turned to me in all seriousness and said, "Six!"

That was not the end of the battle. J&L climbed back into their kayak, but this time Jesse was in the front of the raft while Lindsay was in the back – I knew something was up since Jesse was normally the guide in the back of the kayak. Lindsay took off paddling hard toward one of the men. When she got up behind him, Jesse stood up in the kayak, took two steps, and lunged across the water at the other kayaker. She wrapped her arms around him and took him cleanly off his kayak and into the river. It was a sight to see. The men hooted and hollered – clearly impressed by the flying tackle. The man never saw it coming. It was perfect! I just shook my head at my two dainty girls - competing with grown men and kicking butt.

I think the men had a great time. They certainly had never met anyone like my girls. The truth is that J&L are pretty special. Not only are they both beautiful and dazzling, they are smart and godly. I wanted to tell the men that J&L had been homeschooled and taught to be homemakers. They can sew and cook and take care of a home. Currently, they are both working out in the world – doing quite well. They make life exciting wherever they go and with whatever they do. Instead, I just kept quiet and let the men be impressed with what they could see. I heard two of the men talking. One said to the other, "Why can’t we meet girls like this back home?" Sorry guys, you won’t meet girls like this just anywhere, but you were lucky enough to meet them on the Rio Grande and have a grand time.

Birthday Boy

Since I am leaving today for the mountains and not knowing if I will be able to blog this week, I will say happy birthday to my son today. Bo was born when we were just babies ourselves. My husband and I were still in college living in the married housing. There was very little money to do things - having a babysitter was not an option. We carried Bo with us where ever we went. If we went to play pool and have a beer after Toby got off work, we took Bo with us often setting him on a pool table. He was a big hit on the campus. Later when Toby took his first big job in downtown Dallas, Bo and I would pack a lunch in his diaper bag, catch the bus downtown, and picnic with Toby. It was just the three of us. Bo was our little man. He was a serious little guy, but still had a silly sense of humor and was always fun. We joined a bowling league one year. Bo was the only two-year-old around. He had all of the bowlers playing "imaginary baseball" rather than bowling. He was smart and serious about everything he did. He finished his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at OSU in Ag Econ - all in five years. Some might say he had an "old soul", but I think he was just part of the "big people" he hung out with. Being my first born, he was my baby, my buddy, my first love. My memories of his childhood are strong.

On the day that Jesse was born, I remember standing at my hospital room window watching Toby and Bo walk across the parking lot to the hospital. Toby was doing one of those "man things" where he was not holding Bo's hand (like a mother would do). Bo was running along beside his dad keeping up as best he could. Although he would be three in just a few days, he didn't look like a baby anymore. I had the distinct feeling that he was no longer my baby, but he was a big boy - it made me catch my breath and hurt my heart. But God has a plan. He gives you new babies to fill the heart. He gives new responsibilities to the growing child. Life moves on. Bo always took his responsibilities seriously. Bo became a wonderful big brother. He was a wonderful son. Now he is a wonderful husband and father. He still has a silly sense of humor, and I still love being with him. Happy birthday, Bo!

A Bridge Too Far

Jesse and Toby had this great idea to kayak down the Red River. They schemed and planned over the map deciding how best to do it. They decided to put in at the bridge in Waurika and get out at the bridge in Terrell. They calculated how long it would take them, and even thought if they went fast enough, they might be able to make it to the next bridge further down the river. They needed someone to drop them off and drive around to the next bridge to pick them up. That became my job. They packed their lunch, sunscreen, bug spray, and any other necessities that came to mind. They chose Jesse’s birthday as their day of departure.

On Sunday we all got up early and got ready. I drove them to Waurika and helped carry the kayaks down the river. We probably had to carry those boats a half mile through deep sand to get to the river from where we had parked the truck. Then with high hopes and dreams, they paddled off down the river while I drove back to Duncan and went to church. At noon, I checked my phone messages. They were still doing great, but thought that the trip was taking longer than they had expected. I went to the potluck after church and enjoyed playing with the grandbaby, not to mention the good eats. They called again at 1:00 and said it was still taking a long time and pushed the pick-up time back another hour. They called again at 2:00 saying the same thing. I relaxed and visited with friends, although I was a little worried about the time in the sun and water for my family. At 3:00, I jumped in the truck, picked up the dog, and headed to Terrell. I stopped and picked up some drinks since their next phone call said they were out of water and drinks. When I got to Ryan, OK, Toby called to say that they had seen signs of civilization and had gotten out of the kayaks and were walking up a pasture road. They were not sure where they were, but they thought it was Ryan. I pulled off in Ryan and asked a local man how to get to the river. He pointed down Main Street and said to keep going west (stop and open some gates) and I would come to the river. I headed west. When I got to the first gate, and was debating on what to do next, Toby called. They had found a house. I was only a few farmhouses away from them.

I found them at 86 year old Eileen Johnson’s house. She was showing them through her photo albums – grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. Toby said when they walked up to the house and rang the doorbell; no one answered for a few minutes. Thinking that no one was home and being really thirsty, he got down and was getting a drink out of the hydrant. Mrs. Johnson opened the door and said, "What are you doing?" Toby said, "Getting a drink of water." Mrs. Johnson said, "Well, come in the house and I’ll get you a cup." You got to love Oklahoma and its people.

The kayakers were tired and slightly sunburned in places they had missed with sunscreen, but they were fine. Later that night after food and showers, Jesse said that she did not think she wanted to kayak for a while. Jesse did not like the sand bass that jumped out of the water, startling her. She said that there were some huge fish and one even hit her kayak. Toby said the first three hours were great. But then it got hot and slow. They thought they had just miscalculated and planned a bridge too far.

Birthday Girl

My baby turns 24 tomorrow. Here she is past and present. The past picture was taken on her third birthday - notice the three fingers held up. She was pretty sassy. Now, she is just pretty special. When we call her the "princess", she informs us that she is the "queen".

Reality TV

Yesterday while I was ironing (yes people still do that), I was watching the History Channel. It was some sort of deep-sea diving show where they find hidden treasure and "solve the mystery". Although it was interesting, it was also a bit hokey. Just the presentation and dragging out the story to make it more mysterious bothered me. It reminded me of another time I watched a similar show that was suppose to be truthful, but in fact, was not.

Several years ago, our friend Capt. Jeff Donnithorne of the USAF was stationed in Idaho and doing some training there. He emailed that he had been chosen to participate in some sort of exercise put on by the Air Force that was going to be televised by a cable TV show called "War Games". It would involve a mock air battle – I believe the game was called something like "white flag". Each branch of the military would put on their own version of battle and rescue in four different episodes. Of course, Jeff wanted us to tune in and watch. Then he emailed back and said that he had been scratched from the exercise once the TV people found out that his unit had a woman pilot. The TV people thought it would make things more exciting if the woman pilot participated rather than a man. A few weeks later, we gathered around the TV to watch "War Games." We watched as the F-16’s buzzed around in mock battle. We also watched the Marines do a daring rescue at sea. It was all very dramatic and exciting. The next day we got another email from Jeff. He explained that none of what we saw on TV concerning the Air Force had actually taken place. The whole "white flag" exercise had been scratched. What we had seen was all fake – pieced together films of F-16’s flying in the Idaho desert. Even the enemy pilot that was pictured was not truly a pilot. He was a mechanic for the Air Force. The interview with the woman pilot was real, but the rest of the show was not. What a let down! The whole thing made me wonder how often TV people make things up – cut film and edit interviews to make them say and do what they want.

Yesterday’s deep-sea dive also seemed so fake, so dramatic, that I wondered how much of it really took place. It just reminded me that nothing you see on TV is what it seems. Our mass media can doctor anything and change the whole story to suit their needs. Kind of disgusting isn’t it.

Vacation

One week from today, I will head to NM for a family reunion. It will mostly be the first cousins of the Barker Clan. The two remaining Barker brothers will probably not be there which is very disappointing. My mom and my Uncle Paul will both be there although technically they are in-laws to the Barkers. There are fifteen first cousins and about that many second cousins - some married and some not. Some will come from West Virginia and another from Ohio. The Louisiana cousins are the most fun, but I doubt they show up - another disappointment. The rest of us all enjoy each other greatly - lots of type A personalities - but still fun. Last year's reunion was fun. The Town of Red River made June 11th "Otto and Bonnie Barker Family Day" for the fun and goodtimes the Barkers have brought to RR.

It will also be a good vacation. Just being in the mountains brings a certain type of peace to the soul. It is like going home again. I loved growing up in RR. I have good friends there. It was like a dream life - certainly not reality. When you live in a resort town, you meet people from all over the country who come on vacation. You could be whoever you wanted to be with the tourist - they would not be there for long. Maybe life in the pines was helpful in finding out who you were and who you wanted to be. It is also a very harsh life. Life is seasonal - work is seasonal. You only have a few months out of the year to make your living - pretty tough when the cost of living is so high. Family life is hard. Divorce is the norm. Taos County has the highest alcohol realated deaths per capital in the US. Drugs and alcohol are abundant - after all, it is a party place. Still, I love RR. I loved living there. I love going back, but I am glad that I live in OK now.