All posts by Guests and Former Contributors

Homestead and Garden, Oklahoma culture

Small Town: BIG Fun

2 Comments

Crickets.  Do you hear them?  That’s because I’m not at The Ranch.  I headed back to my hometown of Chickasha, Oklahoma for a 30 year class reunion.  A lot of times people head back to their childhood homes and think everything seems small.  That was not the case for me this week.

Now this is some summer fun!

You remember playing in the sprinker, don’t you?  The 100 degree temperatures were trying to dry out the grass on the sod farm.  I guess it just wasn’t going to happen today.  I had to drive out to the motor and get a closer look at this.  I think the neighborhood kids could be quite happy after lunch once this got turned on.

wind turbine
Wind turbines have moved into Minco.

Wind mills were never a rare sight in Oklahoma, but since I’ve been away, several wind turbines have moved into my home state along Highway 81.  The famous Oklahoma wind is going to be harnessed by these incredibly large “windmills” and turned into usable energy.  These turbines are growing in popularity and come in a variety of sizes.  The blades alone are about 116 feet long and are placed on top of a 212 foot tower.  The three blades cover about an acre of air space as they turn.  These two wind turbines in the photo to the left make the trees in the same photo look like shrubs.

pancake
I ate fifty cents worth of a $2.00 pancake.

Also in Minco located at the southwest corner of the stop light sits the Coffee Cup cafe.  That location has been some kind of restaurant since I can remember.  I stopped in to have a cup of coffee and a little breakfast one morning after checking out the wind farm.  I ordered just one pancake and some bacon.  When I spun around on the stool to face my plate, I was amazed! Continue reading Small Town: BIG Fun →

Man Cave

Manhood and Relationships

Note from Editor: Reposted in honor of Father’s Day, 2011

I read the following quote not too long ago in a book about NFL great, Joe Ehrman and I couldn’t agree more with his assessment of what being a real man is all about.

“Masculinity, first and foremost, ought to be defined in terms of relationships. It ought to be taught in terms of the capacity to love and to be loved. If you look over your life at the end of it… life wouldn’t be measured in terms of success based on what you’ve acquired or achieved or what you own. The only thing that’s really going to matter is the relationships that you had. It’s gonna come down to this: What kind of father were you? What kind of husband were you? What kind of coach or teammate were you? What kind of son were you? What kind of brother were you? What kind of friend were you? Success comes in terms of relationships.

And I think the second criterion – the only other criterion for masculinity – is that all of us ought to have some kind of cause, some kind of purpose in our lives that’s bigger than our own individual hopes, dreams, wants, and desires. At the end of our life, we ought to be able to look back over it from our deathbed and know that somehow the world was a better place because we lived, we loved, we were other-centered, other focused.”

–Joe Ehrmann (quoted from the book Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx)

Well said mountain of a man sir. Well said.

[michael]

Man Cave

Homegrown Talent Heading To The Big Leagues

Most batters don’t even see the fastballs that leave the hands of Owasso’s Dylan Bundy and Broken Arrow’s Archie Bradley.  Most pro scouts were left drooling as they watched Bundy and Bradley mow down the opposition and looked in astonishment at radar guns with readings in the high 90’s.  Most baseball fans will never see talented arms like these come through Oklahoma ever again.

Bundy is the three-time Oklahoma State Baseball Player of the Year. (courtesy bleacherreport.com)

June 6th, 2011 was a historic night in this state as Bundy and Bradley were both selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft.  Bundy, who just days before was named Gatorade National Player of the Year, was taken fourth overall by the Baltimore Orioles.  Bradley, fresh off a win in the state championship game, was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the seventh pick.

“Watching the NFL and NBA draft, you see all these guys and the excitement but you don’t fully understand it until you go through it,” said Bradley moments after hearing his name called and donning an Arizona hat. “Going through it right now it’s simply amazing and to be here in this moment with my family, friends and coaches that have helped me to this point, it’s unreal.”

Bundy’s older brother Bobby was drafted by the Orioles in 2008.  Dylan said he can’t wait to play alongside his brother and can’t think of a better place to start his professional career.  “I really can’t because I already know a lot of things the Orioles have to offer and with him right there by my side the whole time will be great.  Secretly, in the back of my head I was like I really want to go to Baltimore to be with my brother, that was my dream and it’s been a dream come true so far.”

Continue reading Homegrown Talent Heading To The Big Leagues →

Man Cave

Regret Prevention

1 Comment

A book I was reading the other night contained the following quote from, “Gift from a Hairdryer” by Mary Jean Irion. Although it’s from the perspective of a mom as she combs and blow-dries her seven year old daughter’s hair after bath time, it applies equally to fatherhood:

Comb and dry, comb and dry, Soon I won’t be able to do this any more, you say to yourself, knowing that the little straight bob must inevitably yield to grown-up coiffures and ugly curlers. What will she be like at fourteen? Where will her hair be blowing then? And sixteen and eighteen—you suppose boys will love to watch her hair blow as you do now. And some of them will feel it on their faces, and one of them will marry her, and her hair will be perfect under the veil, and there will be her hair spread out on his pillow… oh, you hate him a little and wonder where he is at this moment and whether he’ll be good to her… they will grow old together… the gold-brown hair will be gray, and you will be gone, and then she will be gone… this very hair that now your fingers smooth…

All the tears of the world swim for a second in your eyes as you snatch the plug out of the socket suddenly and gather her into your arms burying your face in the warm hair as if you could seal this moment against all time.

Needless to say, I immediately put my book down and quietly walked down the hallway to my daughter’s room where she lay sleeping peacefully in her crib. Without turning on the light, I tiptoed into her room and just stood over her crib for a bit. I listened to her breath softly in her sleep. I admired her tiny beauty. I stared down at her pajama pants and t-shirt and wondered to myself how in the world she’d already outgrown her infant onesies. When did that happen?

And how, might I ask, is she already 8 1/2 months old? It seems like just yesterday I was carefully strapping her into her car seat for the first time to take her home from the hospital. And yet here we are, just a few short months from her first birthday.

She’s been crawling for a little over two weeks now and I know that soon that too will be replaced by walking as she continues to grow and develop.

Deep down inside I know these days with her are fleeting, and the fact that there’s nothing I can do to slow them down is a sobering realization. Not a sad realization. Just sobering. Maybe even helpful. Continue reading Regret Prevention →

Homestead and Garden

Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: Bye, Bye,…..BUY (our goats)

5 Comments

Trailer
This trailer contains years of work, frustration, and joy, but it is time for these guys to go.

This week eleven goats waited patiently in two horse stalls to be hauled to the livestock auction while another family of three cruised the pasture.  We spent last week trying to catch them all and get them contained in one place eventually building a chute to guide them into the barn.

Three to go.

No wait.  What’s that?  Remember that big, mean brown goat that I managed to capture by the horns and guide into a stall?  The one that I eventually let out because he was crying?  I saw it walking down the fence row.  Wait.  And there’s another. And another.  I stepped up to the window and saw one of the barn doors on the ground.  Seven goats had escaped!

It was Thursday night.  The auction was Friday night.  We had work to do.  I can not put down the details of the three hours, but I am sure that any divorce court judge would side with me if I filed for divorce over the goat herding debacle.  However, after the long, humid evening, we had twelve goats locked in one horse stall.  The two that still eluded us were the twins, Susan and Elizabeth.  Their mother was with the other eleven, so we hoped they would come up to the barn on their own.  It didn’t happen.

Goats in Trailer
The goats receive number tags in the trailer before they are released.

Finally, auction night had arrived.  Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: Bye, Bye,…..BUY (our goats) →

Man Cave

The Rest of My N.U.T.s

2 Comments

Last night I opened what I consider to be one my great guilty pleasures in life, a bag of Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds. If you’ve never had a Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almond, you are missing out my friend. In fact, they are so tasty that they were the one food I chose to bring with me to the hospital for the birth of my daughter. I’d heard horror stories of wives laboring for 12, 15, or 20 hours with very little time between contractions for their poor husbands to leave the room to replenish their empty man stomachs. Although I now admit that I was probably a bit overly concerned about the struggle against hunger that I might face if my wife’s labor left me unable to leave her side for 12-20 hours, I will say that my snack food of choice (if it had been the only thing available to sustain and nourish me) would not have let me down. Those little bite-sized bits of delicious salty almond goodness came through for me in a big way last September.

Understandably, when I think about A) how delicious those almonds are to begin with and B) how I now associate them with one of the most joyful and meaningful experiences of my life, it’s no wonder I harbor such a strong affinity to them these days. The problem is that once I start going on those bad boys, I find my own personal willpower and restraint begins to wane. Continue reading The Rest of My N.U.T.s →

Homestead and Garden

Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: Well, CHUTE!

7 Comments

Holes in the fence
The grass is NOT greener on the other side.

It all began with two goats.  Before we knew it, there were fourteen.  Everything seemed to be moving right along until one day we noticed a couple of the goats were on the outside of the fence.  Our fence had a hole.  Upon further inspection, we notice several holes, one in almost every fence section.  The cause? Roxy, our newest horse, was taking her front leg and pushing the fence down, so she could lean over and eat the “greener” grass on the other side.  This daily practice has ruined about 800 feet of fence.

Goats in the Garden
Hoof prints in the mud.... a dead giveaway.

We knew what was happening.  Every day about lunch time, the goats would go to their favorite spot and venture out into the neighboring field to graze until their heart was content.  They managed to migrate over to my garden at least twice where they ate not only the strawberries, but also every single leaf leaving only stems about one inch long.  Yes, I complained, but I knew repairing the fence was going to be an expensive and time-consuming task.  We are still building a barn, and now it’s gardening season; we had to prioritize the tasks around the ranch, and the goats grazing outside the fence was not a priority until the inevitable happened. Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: Well, CHUTE! →

Man Cave

All I’m Asking For Is A Little Honesty

I wasn’t the most angelic child in the world.  I was mean to my sister, fought with my brother, spilled paint on the carpet, tried to run away from home (more than once), threw plenty of tantrums, and frequently talked back to my parents.  I got punished…often.  As bad as some of my deeds were, the discipline was always worse when I tried to lie.  I wasn’t very good at lying, and I had established such a bad track record of bending the truth, that my level of credibility was almost zero.  My sister took great pleasure in turning me in to the proper authorities, and it took me way too long to realize I was only making it worse on myself when I tried to hide the truth.

But lying was always easy, and it just felt right at the time.  It sure seemed better than admitting anything.  These days, there are plenty of prominent sports figures who are finding out the hard way that lying only makes things worse.

Tressel's lies played a huge role in his demise (courtesy AP)

Just ask Jim Tressel.  The Ohio State football coach, who portrayed a squeaky clean schoolboy image with his sweater vest and tie, resigned this week after lying to the NCAA about his knowledge of his players receiving improper benefits.  Last year, Tressel was alerted to the fact that several of his players had received tattoos in exchange for Ohio State apparel and memorabilia, a clear violation of NCAA rules.  Instead of informing his athletic director or anyone else in the athletic department, Tressel kept quiet.  In September 2010, he signed a compliance form saying he had no knowledge of any violations.  When Ohio State began its own investigation, emails were uncovered which indicated Tressel did indeed have knowledge of his players behavior.  Even though the school handed Tressel a five-game suspension and a $250,000 fine, the mounting pressure from the public and the media led to Tressel’s resignation on Tuesday.  If Tressel had exposed his players’ transgressions from the start, Ohio State may have been slapped with violations and suspensions, but its unlikely Tressel’s job would have been in jeopardy.  A lie is the reason Tressel is unemployed, and the NCAA doesn’t take kindly to lying.

Continue reading All I’m Asking For Is A Little Honesty →

Cents and Sensibility

Financial Ed 101

3 Comments

There she is, in all her high school senior Glamour Shot glory, in desperate need of "Financial Ed, 101." Champagne taste and a caviar budget!

When I was a teenager, I could not wait to get my driver’s license. I had glorious visions of myself: sunglasses-clad, stereo blasting, out on the open road with the wind whipping through my hair, free at last from the confines of Mom picking me up and dropping me off. However before I was allowed the luxury of driving, I had to take Driver’s Education Class. Our dauntless high school football coach would load several of us into the car each week, put his life into our sweaty palms and let us practice our lane changes and three-point turns. Of course, if we started to swerve out of our lane, he was there with the brake on his side of the car to keep us from crashing. I was forced to read driving manuals and watch graphic movies about the horrific results when bad driving happened to good people. Finally, after hours of practice and study, I made my way to the DMV to take the ever-important driving test. My examiner was kind and I was well prepared so- except for a failed parallel parking attempt- I passed. All of those hours of learning to drive left me pretty well equipped for whatever came my way.

Not too long after I became master of my driving domain, I started receiving credit card solicitations in the mail. I had glorious visions of myself: sunglasses-clad, stereo blasting, out on the open road to the mall with the wind whipping through my hair, free at last from the confines of having to pay cash. To my relief, there was no Credit Education Class that I had to take. No manuals to read. No movies to watch about the unfortunate souls on the brink of financial ruin. No coach to put on the brakes before my spending swerved out of control. No ever-important credit education test. No examiner to make sure I knew when to park my credit card. I had a license to charge and I had never been taught how to avoid crashing. Continue reading Financial Ed 101 →

Homestead and Garden

Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: We’re Back!

It wasn’t until I had lots of empty ground to fill with my choice of plants that I learned the difference between annuals and perennials.  Now, that we are starting on our fifth summer in our own house in the country, we are enjoying the fruits of our labor; the perennials are back and they’ve brought friends.

Perennials on the bank
Our Junipers are filling in the sunny part of the bank. The Snapdragons on the right come back and had a little color right before the shaded Vinca Vine.

The bank has been challenging to landscape.  Part of the 200 foot long bank gets full sun while the rest is shaded by a tree line.  When we add in the factor of a steep slope, we are limited in the choices that will thrive in that environment.  We have been experimenting with several varieties of shrubs and vines for the last five years.  Just this year I have noticed how much our perennials have grown and spread.

It takes some work.  I spend the early part of the growing season checking on the placement of the new branches of the Junipers, so I can get maximum coverage.  I also placed some rocks in the banks to prevent water creating ditches in the bank.  I am not always successful.  This morning I noticed a couple of missing plants washed away by the recent heavy rains. Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: We’re Back! →

Man Cave

Let’s Not Get Greedy Thunder Fans

2 Comments

Remember the best date you ever went on?  As the night grew late, and the hours slipped away, you knew it had to come to an end.  You held on as long as possible, maybe even talking in the driveway in your truck for another hour.  But eventually, you parted ways and there was that immediate feeling of disappointment that something so fun, and potentially so special, had to come to an end.

Well, Thunder fans, your team just treated you to the best season of your life.  Even a few days later, you’re still thinking about each incredible moment, every amazing victory, and how you just didn’t want it to end.  Naturally, you’ll also let your mind wander to what could have been.  The close calls, the near misses, and the wasted opportunities will replay in your mind again and again.

If only the date could keep going.  If only the Thunder could take the court one more time.

Harden is a consistent performer off the bench and key piece of the Thunder's future (courtesy fantasybasketballbreakdown.blogspot.com)

Trust me Thunder fans, momentary disappointment should soon give way to hopeful anticipation.  You can be upset at losing the series, maybe even a little angry at the inability of the Thunder to close out games in the fourth quarter.  You can question some of the shot selection and the plays drawn up in the final minutes of those nail-biting playoff losses.  It’s all part of the fan’s necessary healing process.

What you can’t do is call this team a bunch of underachievers.  In no way are you allowed to dwell on the negatives, when the positives are so blatantly overwhelming, and it’s definitely not okay for you to be calling for widespread changes to the roster or the coaching staff.

Look, in three short seasons, this franchise has put itself in a position no one thought possible.  From 23 wins in the first year, to the playoffs in the year two, and now a run all the way to the Western Conference Finals.  How could anyone possibly be upset with this progression?  How could anyone possibly think this team isn’t right on schedule?  Championships in professional sports take time.  Successful franchises are built one block at a time, and the process is usually much longer than three seasons.

 

Continue reading Let’s Not Get Greedy Thunder Fans →

Man Cave

N.U.T. #5 – I don’t raise my voice in anger.

A real man rarely raises his voice and when he does, it is never out of anger.

A real man’s influence comes from the gravity of what he has to say and the character he has built over time. He lets his words stand on their own merit without resorting to amplifying his volume and furrowing his eyebrows to get his point across.

A real man knows that to raise his voice in anger, is to lose control of his emotions. When a man loses control of his emotions, his emotions then control him, and a real man is not controlled by his emotions. A real man realizes that screaming or yelling in anger or to get a point across is the vice of the emotionally weak. He is not afraid to express his emotions, but he is not controlled by them. A real man knows that yelling, though somewhat instinctive, is reactive and a real man rarely reacts… a real man acts with intention.

A real man knows that he when he raises his voice, people often tune him out and miss his message. And yet, the opposite happens when his voice is calm, cool, and collected. He finds that other people actually begin to lean in closer to hear what he has to say. They tune into his message and (if what he’s trying to convey has merit) he is able to persuade or influence them appropriately.

A real man sees that yelling as a form of persuasion or influence simply does not work. Not only that, but he also realizes that his yelling gives everyone around him a headache and makes him feel incompetent. Continue reading N.U.T. #5 – I don’t raise my voice in anger. →

Homestead and Garden, Man Cave

Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: A RE-Purposeful Life

2 Comments

Trailer of trash

Our pile of junk had been sitting in the pasture for seven years.  It was a mixture of plastic, metal, and old wooden posts from a variety of sources around the ranch.  It had evolved over time.  If we needed a certain material for a project, the junk pile would be our first place to look to see what we could use out of it. Once I found an old door that we installed on the goat shed when we created a room addition for our new baby goats.  I still remember the thumbs up my father-in-law gave me when I propped it up for him to see.  Unfortunately,  I noticed the goats and horses spending a lot of time close to the pile, and I worried that one of them would get tangled up in something and hurt.  It was time to take this pile of treasure to the landfill.

We hooked up the trailer and started loading the accumulation of seven years of destruction.  Mixed into the pieces of roofing, gutters, batteries, and brass candlesticks were landscape timbers that had been used for a small round pen built by my father-in-law in 1997.  Hmmmm. Why had he used landscape timbers for a fence instead of fence posts?  Had they been left by someone else?  I was intrigued.  Even though it was time consuming, I removed only the staples that held the remaining fence in place, put the old fence on the trailer, and set the wood aside.  It took quite a bit of time and effort, but I loved the idea of salvaging one last repurposed item from the pile.  Transport heavy equipment easily with our spacious 14ft utility trailer.
Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: A RE-Purposeful Life →

Man Cave

Giving Back With Golf

 

Four years ago, Major Dan Rooney was on a commercial flight shortly after finishing his second of three tours of duty in Iraq.  As the plane touched down, the pilot made an announcement.  “Ladies and gentleman, we have an American hero on board – Corporal Brock Bucklin – and his brother, Corporal Brad Bucklin, is accompanying him home from Iraq.  As a sign of respect, please remain seated while Corporal Bucklin’s family receives him in his final homecoming.”

Rooney, an F-16 pilot with the Oklahoma Air National Guard, looked out the window as a casket was carried off the plane.  Behind a fence just beyond the tarmac, Rooney could see Corporal Bucklin’s family members and a four-year old boy who would grow up without a father.

Every passenger on that flight was moved by what they witnessed, but Major Rooney was also inspired.  He couldn’t get the image of that little boy out of his head.

Back home in Broken Arrow, Major Rooney decided something had to be done to help the children of America’s fallen soldiers.  He founded a charity called the Folds of Honor Foundation with the aim of providing college scholarships to the spouses and children of service members disabled or killed as a result of their sacrifice to our nation.  Rooney chose the name to represent the 13 folds that form the triangle shape of an American flag that is folded at a soldier’s funeral.  Corporal Bucklin’s son, Jacob, received the very first Folds of Honor scholarship.  Four years later, the Folds of Honor Foundation has awarded 2,000 scholarships and raised $8.5 million for the dependents of America’s fallen and disabled soldiers.

Continue reading Giving Back With Golf →

Man Cave, Relationships

N.U.T. #4 – I’m involved in the life of my children

1 Comment

Editor’s Note:  If you are just now catching Michael’s Man Cave series on N.U.T.s, please note the guide to all previous posts at the bottom of this essay ~ Thanks.

***

What does it mean for a man to be involved in the life of his children? A book I’m reading right now called, “The Heart of a Father,” by Ken Canfield offers a pretty good description:

My friend Paul is an involved father. He works forty hours each week, and in fact chose a job that allows him to be home each night and each weekend. At home, he likes spending time with his daughter Susan. They play Chutes and Ladders on the living room floor, and he reads her a story before bed. Cindy is a bit older. With her, involvement means driving her to gymnastics and cheering at her meets. It means sitting down next to her at the kitchen table when she lays out her math homework.

Sometimes Paul has his own work to do, his own errands to run. “I’m going to the hardware store,” he announces. “Anyone want to come along?” Occasionally Cindy or Susan will join him. The youngest child is Jacob. Among all the things that involvement means for this toddler, it also means changing diapers. Paul participates in the daily activities of his kids.

Call me boring, but I read those two paragraphs and I can’t wait to be able to play Chutes and Ladders on the living room floor with my little Izzy in a few years. Continue reading N.U.T. #4 – I’m involved in the life of my children →

Homestead and Garden

Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: We’re Growing More Than Tomatoes

Cherokee Purple
This indeterminate tomato variety was said to have originated from the Cherokee over 100 years ago.

Springtime has a way of promoting growth in so many ways.  We see the results of growth in plants as our surroundings turn from brown to green, and we see the growth in people as they try new things.  My friend and co-worker Shannon came to me one day and told me she wanted to plant tomatoes, but she had never grown anything….ever.  I had just found out that our Master Gardener speaker for April was a man known for his fabulous tomatoes.  We made a plan to attend together.

Our speaker, Sputt Garnett of Yum Yum, TN, explained everything we ever wanted to know about tomatoes.  I never really understood the difference between determinate and indeterminate, and I had certainly never seen tomato varieties like Black Prince.  We were especially enthralled with the idea of the heirloom variety tomato, so we each purchased one Cherokee Purple tomato plant at the end of the workshop.

I explained to Shannon that I only had one growing season of tomatoes under my belt.  I had planted them from seed last year during my first garden experience and had good success.  Our excitement over tomatoes surpassed our need for dessert, so we headed next door to Wal-Mart to look at some plants.  We explored the varieties but left the store with a $5.00 purchase: one envelope of Rutgers tomato seeds and one Jiffy Seed Starter Greenhouse. Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: We’re Growing More Than Tomatoes →

Man Cave

Get Over Yourself Tulsa

1 Comment

A few weeks ago, the Tulsa World published this article about how more Tulsans are embracing the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Overall, the tone of the article is positive.  It cites increasing ticket sales and rising TV ratings from the East side of the state.  However, if you read the article and read some of the comments, you’ll quickly realize just how ignorant, jealous and petty so many folks are about the Thunder bearing the name “Oklahoma City.”

Tulsans don't need to go to this extreme, but you get the idea. (courtesy bleacherreport.com)

I don’t want to admit this is true, but having lived in Tulsa for almost seven years now, there is an inferiority complex for too many people when it comes to competition with OKC.  These are the same imbeciles who need something to be offended by, something to rant about on sports radio, and who cling to the past like it’s keeping them alive.  The ridiculous sentiment of this pathetic crowd is, “They’re not the Oklahoma Thunder, so why should I care? They don’t market themselves to Tulsa or play games up here, so why I am going to support a team that doesn’t acknowledge me?”

Really?  Sometimes you people sound like too much like the kid who gets picked last for dodge ball.  Did you ever think it’s because maybe you’re not good enough?  Instead of whining and complaining just get better.

The BOK Center is a start, bust more downtown renewal must follow.

Let’s face facts here; Oklahoma City had a vision back in the mid-nineties.  The MAPS project was executed flawlessly and now OKC has transformed itself into a big league city that is deserving of a professional franchise.  Tulsa is a fantastic place to live, and offers plenty of things that OKC doesn’t, but it just isn’t on the same level when it comes to being ready for pro sports.  Sure, Tulsa has the BOK Center downtown.  It’s a beautiful facility and it’s a huge step in the right direction.  But Tulsa also has a city council that squabbles incessantly, excruciatingly slow development along the river, and surface streets that make this town the perfect place to open up your own alignment shop.  What takes Oklahoma City ten years seems to take Tulsa 25 years to accomplish.  Believe me, Tulsa is changing and improving, but it’s not there yet.

Continue reading Get Over Yourself Tulsa →

Man Cave

What ever happened to masculine rites of passage?

The Lion Hunt Masai Warrior by David Russell

Though rites of passage have been around since the dawning of time, as a general theory of socialization the concept (and the term) was first formally coined by the French social scientist and anthropologist Arnold van Gennep.

In his book Les rites de passage, Arny (as I’ve taken the liberty to call him) used the phrase to denote rituals marking the transitional phase between childhood and full inclusion into a tribe or social group. Having not read the book myself, I will have to rely on my trusty internet information steed, Continue reading What ever happened to masculine rites of passage? →

Homestead and Garden

Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: The Mother of All Garden Tools

Garden Tool
This little tool saves hours in the garden, so I can spend hours away from it.

It’s been said that the right tool makes every job easier.  I say, that, my friend, is a fact.

I spent many hours on Mother’s Day relocating my last year’s garden.  I discovered that mowing around it was a problem, so this year we decided to make a few adjustments.  Creating a new garden is easy enough, however, filling in the former garden spot with grass (not weeds) can be tough.  I had been working diligently relocating Bermuda grass when I remembered a garden tool I bought a couple of summers ago.

My husband calls this the “Weed Twister.”  It was purchased  because I refused to use weed killer in my yard.  We had finally begun to see some grass growing on our property, but it was accompanied by a monster weed that was virtually impossible to dig up.  I was spending ten or fifteen minutes digging up each weed.  I was not getting very far.  This tool helps get the job done.  The key is the claw at the bottom.  The claw is attached to a long pole so the gardener does not have to continuously bend over.  Simply stand over the weed, pound the tool into the ground over the weed, and twist. Do it again.  That should loosen it enough to get even the toughest weed out of the ground. Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: The Mother of All Garden Tools →

Man Cave

Coaching IS Worth It

My team and the people I'm most proud of.

A few months back, I wrote an article detailing all the reasons why people shouldn’t go into coaching.  You can read here about all the stresses and frustrations coaches have to put up with.  The pressure to win is overwhelming, rarely is anyone satisfied, and at almost every level of coaching you have someone telling you how to do your job.

Well, call me a flip-flopper if you want, but I have to disagree with my past self.  I think I was letting off some steam when I wrote that piece.  In fact, I know that was the case.  Truth is coaching has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life.

Why the sudden change of heart? Our high school tennis team had its year end banquet the other night and I always give a little speech about each one of my players.  As I was writing my remarks, I found myself smiling at all the stories, the inside jokes, and the closeness of our team.  I’m not going to remember our record, or where we finished in the conference standings.   Laughing with those guys on the bus rides and poking fun at each other on the practice court, those are the irreplaceable memories that take the work right out of the job.

How can I forget one of my sophomores asking, “Coach, will you take us to eat at Hooters? I promise we won’t tell anyone.”  How can I possibly describe the satisfaction of talking to one of my volatile freshman about maturity and character, then having him be the one to ask if he can stay after practice and if he could organize off-season workouts?  Of course, parents complained and sometimes the effort level in our practices wasn’t what it should have been.  There were several difficult days.  The kind of days when I lost my cool and I wondered if I was really having any kind of impact at all. Then there was the day when my lone senior told me how he hated tennis his first two years, how he thought about quitting because the team had no chemistry.  He said, “I’m so glad I didn’t Coach Loeber.  In these last two seasons, I’ve had more fun than at any other time in school.  I love this team, and I’m gonna miss you guys.”

And that’s when it hit me.  This is all worth it. Who cares about backhand technique or doubles strategy? In the end what matters are the friendships, and that’s why being a coach is one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done.  I have a connection with a group of guys that will last forever, and they’ve made me a better man along the way.  The best part for me is watching them become young men with drive, passion, and integrity.

So I guess I get it now.  I understand why coaches go gray and lose their hair, Continue reading Coaching IS Worth It →