I played a character in a Ladie’s Tea skit in junior high and she STILL calls me by that name. And, I love it…because I love her. And right now I have a lump in my throat the size of a basketball.
Why? I just saw my dear friend on a short video for the Chickasaw Nation. She had helped with the Code Talkers project during WWII. Close to 100 years of age now, her mind is still sharp. And she was right there on my TV screen telling some of her story.
That video is probably just two minutes long, but commands such respect. And I’m so glad I have Chincie as a role model.
On February 13th, I’ll be making my first TV appearance on “Oklahoma Live” to talk about the Red Dirt Chronicles, some of the projects our contributors are working on, and answer questions about the blog. I’m slightly nervous about this opportunity.
But maybe not as much as I was before I just saw Chincie. If she can make that beautiful video over something so historic, I should at least be able to sit with a hostess and talk shop for a few minutes.
Thank you, Chincie, for showing me the way right when I needed it.
And, bless you Code Talkers, for helping our nation at such a critical time.
For me, of particular concern were the measures and indicators used re: important college majors to the agricultural industry. Therefore, I’m going to reprint in full the American Society of Animal Science’s response released yesterday.
Oklahoma needs agricultural majors of all kinds. And just so you know, Yahoo, your report really grinds my gears.
[kelly]
***
Official statement from the American Society of Animal Science Board of Directors. For immediate release – Jan. 20, 2012
Students in animal science programs learn skills that are vital in food production and animal and human health. Enrollment in animal science majors is increasing, and job opportunities for animal science majors continue to expand.
“I couldn’t disagree more with the recent comments in the media questioning the value of animal science degrees. Animal science departments across the country are nearly all experiencing not only growth but expanding placement rates of our graduates. Even during record global economic challenges, animal science majors have been in great demand,” said Dr. Margaret Benson, head of the animal science department at Washington State University and president of the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS).
Animal science is the study of farm animals, companion animals and exotic species. Animal scientists work to improve animal health and food production. Many animal scientists also focus on food safety and improving sustainability. Discoveries in animal science also increase understanding of human health, genetics and medicine.
According to Dr. Greg Lardy, professor and department head in the department of animal science at North Dakota State University, “Interest in animal science careers and enrollment in our undergraduate majors continues to expand. In fact, our enrollment is up 28 percent this year.”
Dr. Meghan Wulster-Radcliffe, CEO of ASAS, said about 90 percent of university animal science departments have seen increased enrollment in recent years. ASAS has also seen record membership, with over 5,000 academic and industry professionals currently involved in the organization. International and student membership has also grown in the organization.
“Employment opportunities for our majors include a variety of career paths, not only in traditional careers such as livestock production, but also in unique opportunities such as equine assisted therapy programs,” said Lardy.
Animal science has stayed strong during the recession. Data from the 2009-2012 American Community Survey show good news for animal scientists going into agricultural production. In 2009-2012, unemployment rate for recent graduates with agriculture-related degrees was 7.0%, below the national average of 8.9%.
Graduates with animal science degrees who responded to a recent Purdue University survey said they used their majors to find careers in animal production, zoos and the pharmaceutical industry. A degree in animal science also opens doors for additional graduate and professional training in areas such as veterinary medicine, research and education. Continue reading You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? (Entry 2)→
Ahhh, January is here once again! Snow bunnies are turning their minds towards the ski reports streaming out of Colorado and beyond; the snow birds have flown south for warmer climes. Alas, but not everyone can escape the ever-changing weather of an Oklahoma winter, so the rest of us make do with what we have at our disposal.
WARNING!!
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, DO NOT TRY IT IN THE QUARTS MTNS,
AND FOR SURE DON’T TRY IT ON A RED DIRT ROAD!!
The following story is true, but some names have been changed to protect the guilty and the innocent.
The opportunity for snow fun is a rare event in Southwestern Oklahoma, a place better known for F-3 (and above) tornadoes and hot, dry summers. Once every five to ten years, though, Oklahoma is blessed with several inches of snow, sometimes all in the same snow storm. The winter of 1978 was one of those extremely rare winters when snow covered the ground for several weeks, rather than the normal “if you slept in, you missed it” few hours of snow cover.
What happens when you mix about 5-10” of snow with some small town/farm raised college guys and two sisters from the big city of Altus? A ski trip to the Quartz Mountains, of course!
Duane was a farmer/rancher, living on a large spread of land in Greer County near Reed, Oklahoma. The ranch included a private, red dirt road, complete with slopes just right for sledding, skiing, and other winter fun. He provided the setting for this adventure, along with a few instruments of fun, one being an old car hood. Turned upside down, it makes a great toboggan, especially when combined with a rope and a pickup to pull it up the hills.
Randy, Duane’s nephew, went by a ski rental shop in Weatherford to rent a pair of snow skis for the weekend. The plan was working quite well until the clerk asked him where he was headed. When he mentioned the Quartz Mountains, the clerk ended the transaction immediately with a terse comment along the lines of “Sorry, Pardner, these skis are only for real slopes, like what you’d find at Taos or Breckenridge, not some little ol’ pile of rocks outside of Reed!”
Betty Thompson, Miss Oklahoma and First Runner Up Miss America
Miss Kate Kirk spoke up in my Human Sexuality class last year. And I took notice. She was thoughtful, and not afraid to interject a comment.
Then she specifically came to me last summer and asked about a research internship related to strengthening marriages.
We drove all over the state conducting interviews to find out how youth in Oklahoma make decisions regarding the best age to get married. Oklahomans enter into their first marriages an average of 2.5 years earlier than the rest of the nation. One of the main factors found to determine marriages lasting through the first five years is the age of first marriage.
Kate typed transcripts of the interviews for hours and hours and hours. I wasn’t sure she was going to make it at times…but she finished the project. She turned in a report. And, when Miss Oklahoma State University won the Miss Oklahoma contest, Kate stepped into her new role as Miss Oklahoma State University (having formerly earned the first runner-up title).
Tonight, Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson won First Runner-Up in the Miss America Contest.
I’ll bet Kate knows how she feels. And, Kate also knows that sometimes First Runners-Up need to step into the role of THE representative.
What I know, however, is that the hearts and the minds of our two First Runners-Up are sharper and hold more promise than any evening gown will every afford them. I know that they are special because they work with children, they want to make a difference in our world, and they are genuinely kind people who care about those around them and who they encounter in their travels.
You GO, Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson, Now First Runner Up…good job! And, YOU go, Kate Kirk, Miss Oklahoma State University. You are in my heart and I love you. I love all my students, but I love you in a special research assistant-who-finished-her-work-and-did-a-great-job way.
Enjoy the night, Betty Thompson…and know that you are loved. And Kate, you already know you’re loved by me!
And hey, all you First Runners Up out there (literally and figuratively), you never know when you might need to step into that leadership role. So keep your crown polished!
Miss Kate Kirk, formerly First Runner Up Miss OSU – now the reigning Miss OSU
Editor’s Note: With Lucille’s in Mulhall now open, it’s time to go back revisit what was once a family restaurant-turned-now-biker-hangout. I’ve heard mixed reviews. I’m hoping that the place strengthens and grows, just like the original person (Lucille herself), and just like the restaurant that was there before it burned down a couple of years ago. We’d love to hear your take on how the new place is doing, and whether or not you would recommend it! Thanks.
***
(originally published June 18, 2010) When I was young, my brother collected comic books. He would purchase them in prime condition and wrap them in plastic bags made specifically for comics to keep them from being damaged. He filed them by issue number in white cardboard boxes and I’m sure he had a cataloging system of some sort. He collected X-Men, Superman, The Fabulous Four, a variety of DC and Marvel standards and all those other cool comics that are now worth a ton of money. Maybe two tons.
I, on the other hand, bought Archie and Peanuts comic books, carried them around with me wherever I was going, got them dirty, lost pages and dogeared where I left off reading. I also purchased Richie Rich, Daffy Duck, Uncle Scrooge, Mickey Mouse and Goofy editions. Every one of them was read several times and worn to tatters; eventually trashed or lost. If there are any left somewhere in my attic, I assure you they are not worth an “ounce” of money. Not even a quarter-ounce.
I did, however, purchase a couple of comic books back in the day that I kept in better condition than the others. I loved, Loved, LOVED Wonder Woman comics. When Linda Carter began starring in the 1980s TV “Wonder Woman” show, I was elated. It was so cool to see her invisible plane fly, watch intently as she removed and tossed her boomerang headband with dead-on accuracy and witness her powerful golden lasso in action.
However, TV shows eventually get canceled and the youngsters who watch them turn their attention toward other interests. My attention was turned toward college, boys and starting my independent life. Years later, I watched my own children grow up with various heroes of their own: Power Rangers, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a Shannon Miller Olympic Gymnast phase, and then in junior high they liked the boy bands. They may, however, be currently superhero-less as they are now 18 and 23 years old. I should ask them. I might be surprised by their answers.
Top to bottom: brown, blue/green, quail, duck and turkey eggs.
All I wanted was a dozen eggs from the farmer’s market.
But then I saw they had both brown and blue eggs. “Oh well,” I thought. “I can always use a couple dozen eggs. Heck, I could probably go three and be just fine.”
The words, “…just fine” were still hanging in the air of my psyche when the farmer asked, “Have you ever tried turkey eggs?”
My eyes got a little wider, I glanced at my daughter who was standing beside me, grinned, then looked back at him. “Well, nooooo…do you have turkey eggs for sale?”
“Oh yeah,” he smiled. “We’ve got turkey eggs and duck eggs.”
He bent over and started looking around in the coolers below him before I could protest.
“Duck eggs? Are they weird? What do they TASTE like?” I was talking to myself in rapid-fire when he popped up with a half-carton of turkey eggs…with only five, beautiful, perfect, lightly brown speckled good size beauties nested in the cardboard.
“These are $3.00 a half-dozen, so you’ll have to do the math.” He placed a carton of duck eggs on the table as he was explaining to me that I was going to be calculating my own grocery tab. My son-in-law got out his phone, opened the calculator app and I breathed a sign of relief.
Well, we were set. Four different kinds of eggs with words of preparation from the farmer: “Have you ever eaten turkey or duck eggs before? [he waited for all of us to nod our heads “no”] Well, okay. Then I won’t tell you what to expect. I know what I think about the differences, but come back and let me know what YOU think.” I really liked that guy. If he only knew how impressionable I am, then he would understand how much he saved me from preconceived notions about these eggs.
About the time he finished his comments, an idea hit me. I decided right then and there that we needed to have a Brown, Blue, Duck and Turkey Egg Throwdown. My daughter volunteered to help judge, then so did my son-in-law. Okay, we were going to DO this!
But then I found quail eggs from another producer…so I bought them too.
I was loaded up with almost $20 worth of eggs and felt giddy. I thought of my friend’s phrase, “Yippee, skippy!” and my feet did a slight jig on the way to the car. My kiddos and I set the time for the throwdown, parted ways and headed to our separate destinations. When I got home, I opened all the cartons again, looked at the beautiful differences of the various varieties and smiled. I couldn’t wait until the following day!
Guest Oklahoma Culture Author and Cross Country Runner
Click photo for larger view.
I admit it, I am a running junkie. Roads or trails, it really does not matter. But on the trails, out in nature is where I really prefer to be…and one place I love to run is at Greenleaf State Park near Braggs, Oklahoma.
The park has overnight camping, showers, fishing, swimming and a boat ramp for those not into running or hiking the trails. Overnight camping is also allowed on the trails, but you have to carry everything in.
My preferred starting point is the trailhead section of the park. For your safety, do not forget to sign in and out. This part of the trail is really gentle and from this start point, the round trip to the swinging bridge is about 5 miles.
There are some rocky areas and some roots so you need to watch the trail – which can be hard because of the beautiful scenery! If this is as far as you go, do yourself a favor and cross the bridge where you can sit, rest, and see things from a different view.
Across the bridge you can go either left or right, I have always gone left. The next waypoint is Mary’s Cove, about 5.5 miles from the trailhead.
Along this portion you will have some beautiful views of the lake. There are a couple of small streams to cross if there has been much rain, but nothing to worry about. Keep your eyes open for the abundant wildlife. I have seen many deer, coyotes, and a fox among other things.
At Mary’s you have a choice and most will take the cut-over trail on the right; this choice will make for about a 12.5 mile trip. A few will try the entire trail loop and continue on straight into the most difficult and technical part of the trail which spans about 18.3 miles. Either way, from this point on there are good hills and challenging but beautiful terrain.
Old Warwick. Possibly the mechanics at the original DX station?
The deal was done. I had schemed with my parents’ next door neighbors to collect intel. The neighbor’s job: To find out if my parents had enough firewood to make it through the winter.
Word from the bird was, “They do not. Christmas present idea is a roger, Dodger.” (We kept our fingers crossed that they wouldn’t purchase more before Christmas!)
We Craigslist shopped, entertained the idea of driving to Stroud to cut the wood ourselves, and then finally found wood in Chandler for a good price. Next task: get the wood. With only two days before Christmas, I needed a break and hopped in the truck with Hubby to go get said firewood. And, was so glad I did.
Why? Because a Route 66 treasure known as the “Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum” needed to be visited by me. Well, that’s what I told Hubby on the way back from Chandler. Anything having to do with motorcycles piques my interest. The fact that the museum is housed within an old DX station ON Route 66 made it even better.
I spoke with one of the co-owners while there and heard the story of how the museum came to be. Evidently, he used to drive down the road quite a bit and noticed there was an antique shop at that location. However, the hours were sporadic and he was never able to stop in and peruse the goods. One day, however, he did what was probably like a Laurel and Hardy double-take…because there was a for sale sign posted in front of that dreamy Route 66 service station property.
I added the dreamy part. Notice none of that sentence is in quotation marks.
Curious, he stopped in to see the building. He was surprised to see the space inside was much bigger than he had imagined when driving down the road. Well, he had a friend who had a motorcycle collection and they had always wanted to put together a museum. See where this is going? One thing led to another conversation which led to…an offer on the property within just a few days.
Two years later, however, the doors opened. And, they’ve been open for about 18 months. Just long enough for me to wander by, beg Hubby to stop, start asking a bunch of questions, and take a few photos.
OKC’s Russell Westbrook was all over the bad decision making tonight. He also had about four beautiful redeeming moments, but it was hardly enough to erase the small question mark in the back of fans heads about whether he should even be starting.
Dallas’ Jason Kidd never gives up, is always consistent and was a thorn in the side of the Thunder all night long. He didn’t loose his cool once. Not even a tiny bit.
Dirk Nowitzki, however, lost his cool all night long – his acting job continued as he plead for any foul favor he could get from the officials. He pushed too far, however, in the third quarter by telling an official that a call against him was F*ing B*Sh*t, and paid for that with a technical. The reaction from the crown was primal as they booed him and took pleasure in watching the “T-hammer” come down. He’s Dallas’ crown jewel, but I just don’t like his style.
James Hardin came through with tricky, slicky lay-ups that brought the crowd to their feet on four different occasions. OKC fans yelled “Fear the Beard” as he ran down the court with a grin on his face.
The game was give and take, get ahead then fall behind, up and down the court for 48 solid minutes of team-on-team full body play. But in the end, a beautiful and timeless moment in basketball sealed the win for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The score was 102-101 in Dallas’ favor and the game was about to end.There was only 1.4 seconds left on the clock and people were putting on their coats to leave. The Fans who headed for the exits will rue their decision for a long, long time. When they thought the Oklahoma City Thunder had lost the game – they were wrong.
Kevin Durant “told Thabo [Sefolosha] to give [him] the ball.” Durant, who now has more 30-point games than any player since the 2008-2009 season, got the in-bounds pass, turned to his left, and planted a beautiful 3-point jump shot that drained the bucket in perfect fashion.
Yes, the crowd went wild. Yes, everybody danced. And that, my friends, was some drop. Dead. Gorgeous. Basketball.
In 2007 Mike Gundy made an ESPN “Decade In Sports” moment when he reacted in a primal and protective way about a quote in a newspaper article covering one of his players.
Holding the paper up for all to see, he started a rant that included his now famous statements such as, “Come after me! I’m a man, I’m 40!” and “This is garbage…It makes me embarrassed to be associated with athletics!…Makes me wanna puke!”
The gloves were off. The female sports writer of the article to which he was referring was in the room, and she didn’t say a word. There wasn’t really anything she COULD say.
Gundy had stated in front of a room full of national and local media that she needed to “get her sources straight.” And perhaps she did.
After a mixed, then elated, then raucous reaction over the next few hours, “I’m a man, I’m 40!” became a pop-culture phrase known across the U.S. It was so well known that later Justin Bieber revealed he had downloaded the rant as his personal cell phone ringtone.
Adding to the smiles, it was later revealed that Mike Gundy, in response to Beiber’s ringtone, downloaded some of Bieber’s music for his own phone.
A few years later, pop culture got a big dose of “Gundy-dom” once again when a camera caught footage of “The Gundy,” a celebratory dance the coach does in the locker room after a big win. Less than a day after the footage was released, a re-mix of “Teach Me How To Gundy” began to spread across the internets.
Last Thursday I was approaching my office door with keys in hand, briefcase in tow, and quite a few care packages tucked under my arm. As I tried balancing my latte on my French-style door handle, I was rewarded for this very bad decision by my drink plummeting to the freshly waxed linoleum and spreading in a four-foot oblong pattern across the heavy traffic area of our hall.
Returning from my second restroom trip with twenty yards of paper towels flowing behind me, I was met with this image…
A young male student with strawberry-blonde curly hair held somewhat in place by a hippie-style, braided headband was on his hands and knees. His gold-rimmed, 70s style glasses were slightly odd-angled on his still-pubescent face and he was working diligently, cleaning up my mess.
As I approached he greeted me in a very “duuuude” voice, “These paper towels aren’t very ab-sor-bent.”
We mopped together in silence for a minute, he left and then returned again with a huge wad of toilet paper.
“THIS stuff was made for ab-sor-bency, riiiight?” He held out the wad of toilet paper as though he had just bagged a trophy.
I grinned, agreed, and we had everything cleaned up in another minute.
With the last few finishing swipes of a wet rag to clean up any sticky residue, I looked up and said, “Bless you for all your help (I almost ended that statement with “,dude”) – I really appreciate that.”
He stood up, shifted his huge backpack and said, “Yur wel-come…have a guh-rate week.” After adjusting his glasses and flashing a lopsided smile, he walked down the now dry hallway.
I found myself parroting his voice in my head as I watched him leave: “That dude is paying it for-ward.”
It feels good to be in the Farmer's Market District again. Thanks, Urban Agrarian.
I’m going to tell you a little story about how you might achieve that “all is right with the world” feeling. Pay attention because the instructions are specific.
First, you need to drive to the new Urban Agrarian storefront location at 1235 SW 2nd. It’s important the trip is planned sometime between Wednesday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Otherwise, you’ll miss that good feeling I’m telling you about…well, because the doors will be closed.
Once you pull up to the old Farmer’s Market Building and see the “Urban Agrarian” signage outside, you’ll already begin to understand what I’m trying to describe.
Hanging from the ceiling above the wooden entrance and walkway, words like “Meats,” “Greens,” or “Jams” let you know a bit of what you’ll find inside. Those featured products and so much more greet you when you swing open the door and step at once both back in time, and into the future. Continue reading The Old is Brand New: Urban Agrarian Opens in Farmer’s Market→
Here in the United States, we take water for granted. We turn on a faucet, out comes water. Flush a toilet, more water. Need to wash your clothes, not a problem. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case in a lot of the world. In many places, water, while being a necessity, isn’t an on-hand commodity. Many times, it has to be lugged from a well that could be a mile or two away…daily. There isn’t running water in the home or even close to the home. Women and children are the main people who have to do the lugging as part of their daily life. A lot of times this means that some children can’t even go to school because they have to help bring water to their home which could mean many trips to the well with whatever container they have to haul it in. It’s not a picture we like to think about but one we really shouldn’t ignore.
I wasn’t really crazy about going to do a story on the demonstrations being done about how to dig water wells in other countries. It was a very cold morning and I didn’t know what to expect. What I found was a group of people who were very dedicated to solving the world’s water crisis. They were very passionate about it and many of them had seen first-hand just how bad the need really is. My heart became softened as I realized just how big the problems really is and how many people it affects…especially children. Without clean drinking water, many children become sick and die. It’s a shame really because the need is really about the ability to drill for water and filtrate it to make it clean.
And that’s what this week’s video blog is about, some solutions to drill for water and clean it up in remote areas and as one person put it, available clean water equals people freed up to go to school and learn equals peace in the world. All because of clean, drinking water. My hope is for you to realize the need and that you, too, can help.
Well, for Pete’s sake! What are you doing here? Let me guess, you Googled “red dirt road” hoping for a close encounter with Brooks & Dunn, but instead found yourself meandering down a narrow lane just off the information highway. May I kindly suggest that you tune in your favorite music player to a round of Kix & Ronnie? Crank it up and let it provide the background music for this little trip down a red dirt road in Jackson County, Oklahoma.
Southwestern Oklahoma is home to farmers and ranchers, air force pilots and army generals, city folks and country folks, the Quartz Mountains and the Wichita Mountains, lakes and rivers, and yes, four-lane divided highways and a few red dirt roads. Nestled between the Quartz Mountains and Wichita Mountains are a lesser known range, the Navajo Mountains, located in eastern Jackson County, north of US 62 about 3 miles and east of Altus about 6 miles.
Seeking a good dose of red dirt therapy, I recently set out on a drive down the red dirt road that ends at the western base of the Navajo Mountains. For Pete’s sake, I stopped at the Navajoe Cemetery. My cousin Jacquie told me about the town of Navajoe, and my other cousin, Jackie, told me about the cemetery. There is also the Navajo School, but I’ll save that for another story. Both had mentioned the historical marker located in the cemetery that documents the town of Navajoe. The vertical marker is made of red granite, similar to the that of the surrounding mountains. Navajoe the town fell by the wayside years ago when the railroad went thru Headrick instead of Navajoe. The cemetery and memories are all that remain of the town.
Students camping in Gundyville, ensuring a good spot in the line for Bedlam.
1. The participation in this week’s “Gundyville” camp out was huge. Gundyville is a designated area on the North side of the stadium where students vie for the best spots in line at the first come, first served ticket gate. Even bigger was the line of students to get in the game. But the best part? No fights, no pushing, no shoving, and no hassles. The pre-game mass simply waited their turn and eventually all entered the stadium with time to spare before kick-off. Two thumbs up, students!
Students waiting to get into the game.
2. The OSU Defense played most likely their best game of the entire season. I was personally empowered just by being in the stands watching the defensive magic. A serious game-changing event pulled off by the defensive group happened when Jamie Blatnick scooped up a fumble and took it down to the one yard-line. The celebration in the stands lasted for several plays past that moment. (See highlights video, 1:24 time-stamp).
Sam Presti is going to the Home Depot. I don’t know what time they open, but the Thunder GM is likely perusing the circular for David Stern’s recently announced post Lockout “Buy Now Pay Later” free agent sale.
"Young pup," Sam Presti - OKC Thunder General Manager, image by NewsOK.
It was not that long ago that Presti, the young pup that he is, sat on the sofa listening to old Poppa NBA and the trophy wife Momma Players Association fighting like there was no tomorrow. Presti’s siblings, the NBA fans, sat and cried next to him while Momma and Poppa called each other every name in the book and yelled that the love was gone, likely forever.
Then, cooler heads prevailed. You see, Mom and Pop remembered what it was that brought them together in the first place. Was it love? Not hardly. You see, the kids control the trust fund, and without the family staying together and the kiddos seeing the old couple playing kissie kissie nice, there ain’t no money for nobody.
So, here we are. A new Route 66 lies before us, courtesy of the proposed reduced game reconciliation schedule.
Will we, the kids, agree to go along for the ride? I assume we will. Why? I don’t really know. Pops is all about practicality, but Momma is kinda fun to watch once the party gets loud.
Thunder Up.
The metaphorical "Poppa and Mama" of this post ~ NBA Commissioner David Stern with NBA Players Union Leader, Billy Hunter. Image by TheMajors.Net.
Finally, not only is he starting to believe the news but an adrenaline wave of an embattled player feeling victory rushes out:
“Mannnn im bouta to get a ratchet tattoo on my ribs that say “survived the nba lockout in 2011”
He was feeling it. We’ve ALL been feeling it, but I think KD deserves to feel the victory just a little more sweetly than most. After all, he hasn’t been just a spokesperson for what he described as a “sickening situation.” He’s been ambassador.
For Kevin Durant, basketball truly never stopped. Case in point? This recently released video sponsored by Nike. A classy way to make a crystal clear point:
I’ve always wondered why someone hadn’t taken the Tom’s Shoes idea then enhanced or expanded it into other areas. Silly me…doubting the veracity and ingenuity of Okies, eh?
Enter: Tyson Baker, founder of Reach Clothing located in Collinsville. I thought perhaps for your Black Friday moment of pause, (that exists, right?) you might want to learn about a cool story. A story cool enough to potentially guide your holiday shopping. Here are his own words…
In April of 2010 I heard about a third grade student who was being bullied for wearing the same shirt to school every day. Still in high school at the time, I knew bullying went on at the upper levels, but never realized it stemmed down to such a young age. Admiring the TOMS Shoes business model of “buy one, give one” I thought: Why could I not take this same simple business idea and put it to clothing to help kids in the U.S?
With 16 million children considered homeless within the U.S. and 1 out of every 3 kids projected to be bullied at some point, we are trying to break that cycle. If I can give a child a new stylish shirt to help the bullying, or a new sweatshirt to stay warm in the winter I know I am doing my job.
How Reach Clothing gives back – After every 250 shirts we sell, we then partner with local non-profits to distribute the clothing from their area. In 8 months of business we have donated 500 brand new shirts to children in need, and we have met our next goal so in December we will be donating another 250 to an OKC non-profit. I am just trying to change the world.
Our products are now in Whole Foods Market, the OKC store and the Tulsa store. We are working to place inventory in Texas stores in the upcoming month.
My last donation drop was an amazing and emotional thing for some of the volunteers at Reach Clothing. Check out the new blog about my experience there:
http://blog.reach-clothing.com/?ci=23323 (Editors note: I strongly encourage you to read the story – it’s a cool, cool thing).
I experienced two brand new phenomena on Friday, November 18th.
First, I chose to turn on “The Sports Animal” talk radio mid-morning after I heard the OSU plane crash news. I promise you, that’s never happened before. Although I’ve been a “victim of the environment” wherein my husband listens to sports talk radio with me in the car, and I choose not to throw a fit “because this is ridiculous and endless ranting about mindless nothingness,” I’ve never made a conscious decision to listen.
Second? I heard grown men crying openly as they called in to “The Sports Morning” host, recounting the sadness of having two plane crashes impact the OSU Athletic Department and community within ten years. One man couldn’t finish his comment because he was crying and simply hung up. Responding to the following caller who was happy and excited about some other BCS Bowl possibility, the radio announcer said, “I wish I didn’t even have to work today. This feels weird and wrong to be doing this kind of show right now.”
This is a re-do. I submitted basically the same piece for Memorial Day.
When I was young, I cut my teeth on WWII movies where war was glorified. John Wayne in The Green Berets made me zealous for militarism.
On 11/11/11 I remember — again — the day I learned that war was not the glorified world of the movies. The very first funeral I ever attended was for a son of Apache, Oklahoma. PFC James McClure was killed on May 2, 1967, the day before my 11th birthday. He was 19.
Once again I reflect. I recall the message I delivered to an over-flow crowd of mourners in the early spring of 2008. The governor of Oklahoma sat on the front row, along with a young widow and her toddler son, Gage. As I stood before the men and women gathered at that funeral, I found myself confronted with the very real issues of honor, duty, courage, and sacrifice that Veterans Day represents.
