All posts by Red Dirt Kelly

Faith

How Do You Worship? How Do You Pray? How Do You Live?

I was in church the other day and was thinking about how my 47 years within the independent Christian Church family in Oklahoma has shaped my view.  I was also thinking about highly enriching visits I had made to other churches such as the local St. Elijah’s Orthodox Church or St. Mary’s Church in Oxford.   Then my mind flipped over to a conversation I had with a family member about the “church within which my daughter was getting married.”  They were surprised it wasn’t our home church, the one in which she was raised.  I wasn’t surprised at all, however, because she is my daughter.  God is bigger than one church (I John 3:20) and is realized in more than one way (Psalms 8), and His church is bigger than my church (Acts 13). My younger daughter visited a church this past Sunday that meets in the old Will Rogers Theater on Classen Boulevard.  She said it was a good visit, and they had a lot to offer the age group of which she is a part.  I don’t worry about the kids finding God…I know they will, wherever they end up worshiping.

As I was sitting there in church, however, lost in my own thoughts I noticed that there are parts of our service which “feel” right to me.  I’m more able to pray or worship when particular traditions are carried out, and less able when others are performed as part of the service.   Then I looked down the row at all the people sitting there.  How do THEY worship? How do they pray? I don’t know.  I know that some of my best worship experiences have been outside of central Oklahoma.  And, for some reason, the place in which I seem to be able to connect with God the best in prayer is on my knees, in the prayer chapel sitting on the Lifechurch.TV campus in Edmond.  It doesn’t matter…I suppose there are meanings, moments, feelings and places where each person has better “in-tuned” experiences with God than others.  Those are mine…what are yours?

But most importantly, I wonder, how is it that we live?  Do we carry out our worship and prayer into our lives?  Are there better “places” we can live for God than others?  I won’t be able to always pray in the prayer chapel, and I won’t be able to always fly to Oxford just to sit through a worship service or sermon because that fits with me.  And, I don’t really have a choice most of the time about where I go to lead my daily life.  And, it follows that I must live for God regardless of whether I’m in the best fitting place for me.  And I must find him in worship regardless of whether I’m in the right location for what makes me feel best. And I must be Him for those around me, regardless of whether they “feel comfortable” to be around…or not.

Continue reading How Do You Worship? How Do You Pray? How Do You Live? →

Homestead and Garden, Oklahoma culture

Trespassing, Tree Climbing and How Cathy’s Bra Saved Our Lives

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When you grow up in the country, you’re socialized to do things a little differently than in the city.  First of all, locked doors are not the number one concern on your mind. Second, if you want to commence an activity on someone’s property such as fishing or picking up “those Bodark apples for a craft you’re doing with the Girl Scouts,” you just go knock on their door and ask.  They can say no, but usually don’t.  And, if you need to quickly cross or gain access to someone’s property then get right off again…well, it’s usually going to be fine unless there is a NO TRESPASSING sign hanging on their fence.  You’ve seen them, right? Old tires, painted with white letters, some of them dripping so much the message is slightly illegible by the time they dry.  Sometimes they read, “NO HUNTING.”  That’s a different message.  It means – “I might be okay with you walking across, but don’t shoot anything.”

Continue reading Trespassing, Tree Climbing and How Cathy’s Bra Saved Our Lives →

Relationships

Boundary Education (Part 3): The Running Game – Draw Play, Quaterback Sneak and The Option

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Quarterback Sneak

Football season is almost over.

Each year the Main Football Curtain comes to a close with Superbowl Sunday, and that’s not too far down the road.  Therefore, I thought I would bring back a series I began last summer on “Boundary Education” using football metaphors.  It’s time for Lesson #3.  If you love football, feel you might need to learn a bit more about setting personal boundaries or learning how to utilize boundaries for the health of a couple relationship, begin your reading here:

Boundary Education for Football Fans: The Flea Flicker and Four Other Strategic Plays for Relational Competence.  And, here…

Knowing When to Take a Knee:  Boundary Lessons (Part Deaux)

Now – if you’ve already reviewed Lessons One and Two, then you probably recall the scenario we’re using to set up all our boundary setting skill practices.  To summarize and briefly set the scene, you’re at a company picnic and see the one person you always try to avoid, setting up their “camp” next to your site…

Just as you are thinking strongly about whether or not to fold the blanket back up and look for another spot, you hear your co-worker approaching you and the first thing that they say is, “Wow…here we are…at a family picnic!  Games for the kids, a little pool area, prizes for the tricycle race – what a set up.  Our kids can’t wait to get started.  So, when are you two going to get crackin’ and have your first baby?”

So, we’ve already demonstrated how you might “punt” in terms of responding to your problem colleague, and we also worked through what “taking a knee” might look like.  Now, it’s time to step it up a little.  It’s time to move past the neutral responses and begin learning how to make progress.  I’ll show you three different ways you could consider:

Continue reading Boundary Education (Part 3): The Running Game – Draw Play, Quaterback Sneak and The Option →

Oklahoma culture

Stories from Our Readers: Patience with a “Traveler”

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Sam and Traveler at the Sooner Cowboy Church, dedicating their flag pole.

Editor’s Note: What we’ve found as our readership has expanded is that the RDC Community is full of humans with interesting lives.  As our dear Earth turns on her axis, these folks are managing skyscrapers, scraping animal droppings, and dropping mail in everyone’s mailbox on their route.  One of our readers, who gave me permission to share a few photos on a past Silent Sunday post, is a sheriff.  He rides in the mounted patrol and his horse has an interesting story.  While recovering from recent shoulder surgery, he sent “Traveler’s Story” along for my perusal and I asked his permission to share it with you.  Have a story YOU feel needs to be shared?  We’ll read it and work with you if  it fits with our mission. ~ [kelly]

Traveler’s Story, by Sam Chestnut

edited by Kelly Roberts

The date was March of 2005. I was still recovering from a Prostatectomy due to Prostate Cancer.  I heard from a friend that a man not far from us had a good looking Tennessee Walker gelding for sale.  So Jean, our daughter Darla, and I went to check it out.

When we walked into the barn I saw a horse standing against the back wall of a stall with all four feet spread out, his nostrils flared,  with his eyes fearful and widely open.  I thought to myself, “Boy, something has just gone on here.”  It was clear the horse was terrified and near panic.  All of his hair had been shaved off with hair clippers and it was still early March; the weather still very cold.  He was in an unheated barn with no blanket or method of keeping himself warm.  He was somewhat skinny and not well kept.  There were no physical scars other than his shaved mane, but it was clear the horse had been ‘through it.’

Continue reading Stories from Our Readers: Patience with a “Traveler” →

Grandmother's Memoirs, Oklahoma culture

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont. (3)

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Grandmother at 15 years old, the age when she began doing all the chores and taking care of children for Dr. and Mrs. Cooper in Oklahoma City.

Editor’s Note:  If you are just beginning to read these entries, you may wish to start with the first, then the second before you begin this particular work.  Thanks, Red Dirt Kelly

During the summer of 1937, at the age of fifteen, I took a job in Oklahoma City caring for three children of Dr. and Mrs. Cooper.  I would take the train from Tuttle to Oklahoma City, then ride the interurban to within a few blocks of Dr. Cooper’s.  When I’d hear the train blow the whistle down the track [when in Tuttle] I’d start to cry because I was already getting homesick.  The first summer I didn’t come home very often.  I had Dr. Cooper save up my money until I went home to start to school.  I started out making $3.00 a week plus room and board. After Mrs. Cooper went to the hospital to have a baby they raised my salary to $4.00 [per day].

The Coopers had two girls and two boys. I’d cook breakfast, wash, iron, clean house and watch the children.  I worked for them three summers and one Christmas vacation.  I always bought clothes for school with my earnings.  The first year I bought a rust colored coat, black dress with a lace yolk and black shoes.  I thought I was really dressed up.  I made $36.00 that summer; my coat cost $16.00.

Grandmother Emma Lee at the train Station.

Continue reading One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont. (3) →

Art, Oklahoma culture, Photography

Silent Equestrian and Western Sunday: 1/09/11

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Thank you to  Jeanie Eaton and her Rural Expressions concept by Onetulsa.com for selecting some of her work to share with us this morning.  Her venues consist of, Lazy E Arena, Feather Creek Farm, Tulsa Expo , Claremore Expo and various Breeding Farms across the state.  The events consists of : Hunter Jumper, Dressage, Barrel Racing, Rodeo, Eventing, and Breed Shows.  Jeanie is the webmaster for Oklahoma Dressage Society and Co-Organizer for Tulsa Digital Photography Group. ~ Enjoy your Silent Sunday.

Continue reading Silent Equestrian and Western Sunday: 1/09/11 →

Oklahoma culture, Red Dirt Rambler

Red Dirt Ramblers – Stop #2: Meet Up With Jim Fields at Dan McGuinness in Moore OR Edmond

Dan McGuinness - Opening Night, Edmond, OK. Photo from their FB site, taken about 3 months ago.

(Julie’s view) If there’s one thing I’ve learned about being a part of the Red Dirt Chronicles for this short time, it’s that there is no topic or interviewee off limits.  So when Kelly mentioned wanting to investigate some of the local music talent, I knew I had the perfect person to interview: Jim Fields.  Jim is part owner of the Dan McGuinness Pub franchise in the Moore and Edmond areas and my ex-husband.  Don’t freak out.

Jim is originally from Bethany but connected with Lee Adams, owner of Adams Restaurants, while he was living in Memphis, TN.  Jim worked for T.J. Mulligan’s at an entry-level position and gradually worked his way into management. All the while he was missing his home state of Oklahoma.  It took some convincing, but Jim talked Lee into bypassing Arkansas all together, and they opened the Moore location in November 2006 and the Edmond location in September 2010.

We met up with Jim at the at the Edmond store.  He was in a meeting so we took a seat at one of the tall pub tables near the bar.  The sweetest waitress took good care of us while I tried to give Kelly a little bit of background information on the restaurants.  Jim joined us and he and Kelly talked for a while about some of the local music talent.

But here’s the best part:  Jim told me he had something that used to belong to me and he wanted to know if I recognized it.  We walked to another section of the restaurant and I spotted what he was talking about immediately.

Continue reading Red Dirt Ramblers – Stop #2: Meet Up With Jim Fields at Dan McGuinness in Moore OR Edmond →

Relationships

I Don’t Recommend Books, But If I DID… (Final Entry)

Kelly M. Roberts, MS, LMFT - Clinical Instructor, Oklahoma State University

Note – here are the links to my two former related posts: Introduction and entry number one: Two of the Big Three Basic Marital Challenges.  Follow up and entry number two: Sex and Intimacy Issues, and Developing Yourself as an Individual.

***

I’ve managed three different state or national surveys asking individuals what they think the area is in which they need the most help for their relationship.  The answers?  Every single time, “Conflict Resolution” comes out as the number one response, and “Communication” comes out as number two.  Every. Single. Time.

When I talk to people about what they are thinking when they answer “Conflict Resolution,” their answers basically hone in on the first word: conflict.  They feel, sense, are engaged in, or really demonstrate (quite loudly) conflict in one way or another.  They’re not really thinking about “conflict” as a problem to be solved.  Rather, they’re thinking about the emotions, feelings and dynamics involved when conflict takes place. Is it this way for you?  How about someone you know who has talked about conflict resolution…or just conflict?  Are they thinking “find a solution,” or are they thinking, “I hate that we’re having conflict and wish it would stop or get better?”  Granted, many want solutions and sometimes they try so hard at reasoning or trying to find solutions that it creates even more conflict!  By and large, conflict feels horrible.  But it doesn’t have to be…

Let’s talk for a moment about “Communication,” the number two issue for the general population.  (Ha! I wrote “talk” about communication – smile).  How do you describe couple communication?  How do you describe GOOD and/or BAD couple communication?  Again, many if not most people initially gravitate toward what is NOT working for them when they try to communicate, as opposed to what they’d LIKE to see or be doing.  Like conflict resolution, people have emotions or feelings attached to memories or impressions of how they communicate with one another.  They want to feel good when they finish a conversation – instead of bad.

People try all sorts of things to make bad communication stop.  They avoid, they leave, they press harder, they pursue, they say the same things over with more intensity – because perhaps saying it again and harder will help?  However, much about how couples communicate is hard-wired into them from the beginning:  their personalities, their physiological or biological make-up, how they were raised and how they learned communication from their own families, etc.  So, when it comes down to it, sometimes couples are left with feelings of frustration, anger, disappointment, rejection, loneliness, invalidation, sadness or even defeat.  But they don’t have to be…

Continue reading I Don’t Recommend Books, But If I DID… (Final Entry) →

Grandmother's Memoirs, Oklahoma culture

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont.

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The first building raised in Waukomis. The Railroad section chief lived and worked out of it in 1889.

Editor’s Note: This series began on Monday of last week.  It most likely will run for five weeks.  Please refer to this link for the introductory information and “Entry One” of “My Grandmother’s Memoirs.”  Thank you. ~ RDK

“One Spring I was at a widow woman’s house picking up apricots. She was in the tree and hung a bucket on a limb. It broke and the bucket of apricots fell on my head. Did I ever have a big gash! She told me to run home to my mama. By the time I got there my clothes were soaked with blood. I remember all the children of the neighborhood lining up across the screened-in back porch watching Mom clean me up. I had to go to the doctor at Enid for him to dress and care for it every other day.

I had the small pox vaccination at Waukomis by a Dr. Wolfe. I always imagined he looked like a wolf, but he was pretty nice. He gave me a stick of gum and a penny because I didn’t cry.

I had chicken pox in the Spring of 1930; it was near Easter.  Our class at school was having an egg hunt, so Papa took me to the principal’s office to see if I was over them enough to go to the event. I was so happy because he said I could go!

One winter we had a big snow. Papa walked ahead of us to school to make tracks so we wouldn’t have as difficult a time getting to school.  We were always thrilled when the weather was bad and didn’t have to go home for lunch! Mom would call the grocery store and the owner would prepare a good lunch for us. One of us would go pick it up; he would make pressed ham sandwiches with buns – that was really good!

We children of the neighborhood would gather in the evening by the street light, choose sides and play a game called “Trail.” One side would hide, the other hunt. We would make arrows with chalk marking the direction we were going. Then at the point we decided to hide, we would draw a circle with arrows going all directions making it more difficult to find us.

Another time I remember was my sister Catherine and brother Charles and I went to a Methodist revival. When coming home we had to go past an opera house. We were told a little man lived under it; we were always frightened to go by. We watched the building closely!  As we were walking along Catherine slipped on the ice and I fell over her, breaking my collar bone. I was crying so loudly Catherine said, “Be quiet! That little man will hear you!”  My parents were at the door to meet us when we got there. It was so painful and difficult to wear a coat that I missed several days of school after that incident.

Continue reading One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont. →

Oklahoma culture, Red Dirt Rambler

Red Dirt Ramblers – Stop #1: Get To Know Kathy Moore of Anichini-Moore Ranch & Farm

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Kathy Moore shares her passion with Kelly & Julie at Gray Owl Coffee.

Note: See the introduction post to this series HERE…

(Kelly’s perspective) It’s 10:00 a.m.,Tuesday, December 28, 2010.  Julie and I are headed south on I-35.  Our destination? The Gray Owl Coffee house in the heart of Norman.  She and I have spent less than thirty minutes together at this point, yet I’m comfortable and can already tell traveling with her would be just fine.  In fact, I’m thinking it might even be better than traveling by myself for this particular journey…and I’m a highly expressed introvert; traveling by myself is one of the greatest rewards I give myself.  Julie is sitting in the passenger seat with an ink pen and a half-sized legal pad, trying to write down – in chronological order – all the “Bomgardner sons” our common great-grandmother had.  Stumped with some of the missing facts, we call my dad to ask for help filling in the gaps.  As he provides the details, I become sobered when he recalls a story that was, until this point, only a brief shred of substance in the back of my head.  He tells us that one of the boys had died during a move to a new home.  They were either building or taking down a cellar and it caved in on him.  For a few minutes my mind begins thinking about the safety cellars in Oklahoma provided from tornadoes and inclement weather, and could – at the same time – be dangerous as exemplified in his story.

We overshoot our exit because I am busy talking to Julie about something.  We double back and began to make use of her iPhone GPS device; those things are handier than a pocket on a shirt.  We park and walk into the Gray Owl at the exact time for our appointment. As I enter the “best coffee place in Norman,” I begin scanning the room for any sense of recognition.  I know Kathy Moore only from her photo on the internet and have no idea when it had been taken.

I find her sitting in the middle table right across from the cash register; I know it’s her because there is enough familiarity with her website to be certain.  Julie and I head over to her table, say hello, order our drinks and settle in for what would be a two-hour narrative by Kathy of her life, her farm, her hopes that still exist, and her dreams that have been told “goodbye.”  A short version of what we gleaned from this meeting follows:

Continue reading Red Dirt Ramblers – Stop #1: Get To Know Kathy Moore of Anichini-Moore Ranch & Farm →

Oklahoma culture, Photography

Almost Silent Sunday: 1/2/2011 – Boe’s Sunrise Stories

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I’ve known Boe Parrish since he was the Children’s Minister at MetroChurch back in the early 90s.  I first saw him providing a chapel service for the Oklahoma Christians Schools (OCS) elementary group.  The students were sitting on the floor in an auditorium, and he was standing on the stage sharing an object lesson with them in what I can only describe as a loving and regulated voice.  As I leaned against the back wall waiting for chapel to be over so I could take my daughter to the dentist, I asked someone his name.  Later, I began teaching at the OCS high school and saw him from time to time on campus.  A few years later I recall that he wrote a book.  Then I think I saw him on and off at Panera Bread in Edmond for several years, either having breakfast by himself or with a friend – sometimes praying, sometimes studying, sometimes listening. Later he was helpful in facilitating information about a former student who got hit by an SUV while out of state, then again…facilitating information about a dear friend who recently died.  Boe has been in the periphery of my life for a good long time now.

As I was preparing this post I kept thinking back to my memories of interactions with Boe.  My predominant thought is to recall him looking up, meeting my eyes, and smiling.  His smile hasn’t changed and is almost an institution in the City of Edmond.  It genuinely warms my spirit each time I meet the glance of his face.  Which leads me to the reason I’m sharing his narrative with you today…

Boe has been posting snapped photos of early morning sunrises in Oklahoma on Facebook for quite some time.  His folder now has over 40 of them.  He’ll post one about every week or so…sometimes a few at a time.  I always enjoyed them but never knew the context for which he was gathering these brief moments of outdoor beauty or why he shares them.  Now I do.  It seems that he’s somewhat of a transportation service provider to a couple of his family members…but I’ll let you read the story in his own words.  Then I’ll share with you a few of his “Simply Glorious” (his title for the photo folder in which he stores them) sunrises he’s enjoyed over the past year or so.  Okay, I’m sharing nineteen of them.  So, for your “Almost Silent Sunday” moment with the RDC, here are Bo’s Sunrise Stories, provided in his words and with his cell phone or camera:

Continue reading Almost Silent Sunday: 1/2/2011 – Boe’s Sunrise Stories →

Red Dirt Rambler

Red Dirt Ramblers ~ Intro, Kick-Off, and a Road Map…

In the 1970s, George Salter of the Atlanta Journal began a trek that would evolve into his blip on the radar of American History.  He would pick any small town in the state of Georgia, travel there and begin to ask around.  Eventually, he would find a story worth telling.  And then he’d tell it.  I wasn’t even aware of this work when I began to mull over traveling around our great state this past summer and taking roads not well traveled.  I wanted to meet the people at the very ends of the trails…those who had lived lives I would never experience unless I somehow came in touch with them.  It was then that one of my friends commented to me during our discourse, “Yeah, like the Georgia Rambler!”  After researching his work, I thought to myself… “Yeah, like the Georgia Rambler.  Exactly.”

But this is 2011, and my state is Oklahoma, and I’m a girl who was born some time after the Georgia Rambler so it can’t be ‘exactly.’  It might not even be ‘nearly.’  And, to begin this series I had targeted areas I wanted to learn about (as opposed to randomly just beginning to look around) – as well as wishing for a traveling companion the first time out.  Perhaps I should tell you about both of those wishes before I begin to share about the people we met and places we visited over a period of about 40 hours last week.

First…my companion:  I had as my ride-along none other than our Homestead and Garden writer, Julie at the Ranch.  A back story about her and I includes the fact that we are third cousins who never got to know each other until this past year, and that’s only because of the social networking phenomenon we now take for granted.  Julie packed her bags, loaded up her vehicle and headed toward Oklahoma last Monday morning.  Her first stop was Collinsville to see friends from her college days at OSU.  Monday night they greeted, ate, laughed and got caught up from the time they saw each other last.  The next morning, she headed to Edmond and by 10:00 we were on the road driving toward Norman.  Our agenda was loose, flexible and neither of us were highly committed to any of the ideas we were bandying about betwixt us.  In the end, however, a journey was made.  People were met.  Things were learned.  And somewhere along the way Julie and I found out just how connected our lives had been while growing up even though we never formerly spent time together.

Continue reading Red Dirt Ramblers ~ Intro, Kick-Off, and a Road Map… →

Oklahoma culture, Photography, Relationships

Why Thursday Evening Shout Outs and Kleenex Boxes Go Together

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He’s professional without being uncomfortable.  He’s nice.  He’s creative and has a keen interest in helping reveal the beauty of life within his subjects.  In an attempt to reduce a personality and business of positive complexities into a cohesive concept, his website reads:

“There are two things you need to know about me. I enjoy life and I believe in creating images that make you feel something.”

Carl Zoch went into full-time photography business only a few short years ago.  He and his wife had to talk about it.  And think about it. And part of those discussions were about Carl’s desire to learn more and more about the subject of photography until he had exhausted his capacity to learn.  He is still not done.  However, his business and business model is beginning to take shape.

He only books 25 weddings per year.  He’s become well connected and referred within the photographer community of Oklahoma.  He is linked occasionally to other creative ventures or people such as Dusty Gilpin at Tree and Leaf (who, by the way, just designed our RDC T-Shirts).

And, his work is very good.  I invite you to spend some time reviewing his website at your leisure.  I like the background music he’s chosen for his slides, and I like his open and willing communication style when I e-mail him, asking to publish an image for our “Silent Sunday” features.  But I think more than anything today, I like him because he just sent the proofs of my daughter’s engagement photos to her in a slideshow…and because they made me cry.

Continue reading Why Thursday Evening Shout Outs and Kleenex Boxes Go Together →

Relationships

Reframing Your Problems in 2011

Nosy neighbor? Gossipy comrades?

As you prepare to enter your New Year I wonder…are there people in your life who drive you crazy? Can you count on them to continue to do or say the same ridiculous, lame or annoying things over and over?  Do they grate on your nerves so much that you go out of your way to avoid them even though you know that keeping a connection with them would be better for you or your family?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then it might be time for you to become a reframing expert this year.  The word “reframing” is used in relation to several different conceptual areas (math, problem solving, dealing with people, education, etc.).  I am specifically writing today, however, about how we see, understand, perceive and “know” people.  Human beings can really get into deep ruts with how they perceive people.  Sometimes these ruts feel or seem so deep that we give up.  We quit hoping that the “problem” person will change.  Rather, our solution is to put up with, avoid, or hurry through interactions with them.

However, reframing might be just the step stool you needed in order to get out of those ruts…and stay out. So, what are reframes?

Anthony Robbins wrote, “A signal has meaning only in the frame or context in which we perceive it.“ And although Tony Robbins is known for his powerful presentations on dealing with people, and implementing reframes, he wasn’t the first person to really articulate techniques for changing the games people play.  Therapists such as Virginia Satir and Milton Erickson are generally credited with defining them first when it comes to dealing with people.  Reframes are renaming, or “re-framing” ideas about people in positive ways that were generally seen as negative. When someone hears a reframe, their brain almost does a double-take.  In other words, it gives the people involved a chance to step back, take advantage of how things were shaken up, and redefine the “meaning in which we perceive” them or their behavior.  The trick is…if the problem is perceived negatively, the reframe must always be implemented with a positive approach. To reframe one negative into another does no one any good.

Here are a few examples to help you understand specifically what this might look like.  You might recognize some people in your own life, and that is good too because you can begin practicing right now!

Continue reading Reframing Your Problems in 2011 →

Grandmother's Memoirs

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie

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Editor’s Note:  Julie at the Ranch is, as we speak, somewhere in northwestern Oklahoma enjoying some time with friends.  Incidentally, she and I will be driving to south-central and northwestern Oklahoma tomorrow.  We’ll check in from time to time with information about what we found.  We’ll be talking to people, seeing places, and working on developing the RDC just a bit more. In the meantime, please accept this post as a substitute for her regular, “Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch” work. ~ RDK

***

My grandmother Emma Lee, present day. I think she looks pretty good for someone who is 88 years old.

On November 13th of this year, I posted a short “Simple Sabbath” entry and described a project I had been working on for a while.  It entailed typing up my grandmother’s handwritten memoirs she recorded over a period of about twenty-two years in order for us to have a sense of our family history from her perspective.  I finished the first draft and provided her a spiral-bound copy for a Christmas present.  She will be reviewing the draft for any inaccuracies and then I’m going to go over it with an editorial eye for the final draft.  I asked her permission to begin sharing some of her memories with you, our RDC reading community, and she replied, “Oh yes, of course, honey.  That’s fine.”

And so, with that permission tucked away in my head, here is the beginning entry of her work.  I plan on publishing an excerpt on Tuesday evenings as a follow up to Julie’s posts.  I haven’t decided whether or not they will come out weekly or bi-weekly.  One more note…my grandmother wrote just like she talked.  I may keep much of this style intact, so if you see very few periods or commas, you’ll understand why.  Thanks, Kelly

***

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie:  My Grandmother’s Memoirs

Continue reading One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie →

RDC News & Updates

RDC Contributors Christmas Questions & Answers

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In the spirit of having a little Christmas fun and introducing you to our authors in a different way, Joey prepared five Christmas questions for our contributors to answer.  This was a last minute effort so not all of them are represented, but you’ll get to know a few of them just a bit more. If you can’t recall who is writing the answers, just check out the Contributor section on the front page navigation.  If you “hover” your mouse over the photos, you can then click any of the information about them, including a locator link for their work.  Enjoy the banter…enjoy the Day!

1. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Julie-Christmas music drives me insane unless it’s Bruce Springsteen or something else from A Very Special Christmas.

Jani-“Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry

Whitni- Carol of the Bells

Kendy-  I never met a Christmas song I didn’t like, but I think I’m partial to “O Holy Night.”

Kelly- Bing Crosby’s “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas,” played on a record player with a slightly scratchy quality.

Jennifer-My favorite Christmas song is “O Holy Night” by Martina McBride. That girl has some pipes!

Joey- I have a lot of favorites, for the past few years though I think “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” as sung by Barenaked Ladies has been my favorite. I love songs that tell the Christmas story in them.

Rob- O Come, O Come Emmanuel – maybe not mainstream, but my favorite hymn.  If this isn’t sung at Christmas Eve service, I’m very disappointed.

2. What is your favorite family Christmas tradition?

Julie- We play Bingo with a theme of gifts up for grabs. The Wine Gift theme was especially fun.

Continue reading RDC Contributors Christmas Questions & Answers →

Oklahoma culture

RDC Friday Morning Shout Out 12/24/10: The Red Andrews Christmas Dinner

Face-painted child digs in to a slice of pumpkin pie - image from NewsOk

Dear RDC community:

When I began thinking about a short little shout out for Christmas Eve morning, I didn’t have to work too long before I settled in on the Red Andrews Christmas Dinner (RACD).  I think the event needs an entry in Wikipedia if anyone is interested in beginning that task.

I first became aware of the RACD in 1984, while employed at William E. Davis and Sons – a local institutional food distributor named by the founder who deserves his own Friday morning shout out.  I first worked the 3-11 shift as a computer operator, but was soon moved to customer service where there was a great amount of logistical action. We helped the coordinator prepare and receive their order for the RACD every year.  If you can imagine what it takes to feed, every single Christmas, between 5-10 thousand guests when you have no idea how much money will come in or really how many to expect, or how many volunteers might show up, etc. etc.  Well, it’s interesting!

Continue reading RDC Friday Morning Shout Out 12/24/10: The Red Andrews Christmas Dinner →

Oklahoma culture, Photography, Travel

Silent Sunday: 12/19/10 ~ Tulsa Town, by Vlad Railian

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This morning our Silent Sunday post is completely focused on Tulsa.  Because quite a few of our contributors live in central Oklahoma, we want to make sure and let Tulsa know they are in our hearts as well.  All images have been provided by Vlad Railian, an amateur photographer from the Tulsa area.  We’re certainly glad you’re living in Tulsa Town, Vlad…and for showing us some of what your city has to offer.  One final note, the LED photos aren’t necessarily “Tulsa,” per se – I just liked them and thought they might be appreciated as Christmas lights with a twist. ~ RDK

Rhema Building

Continue reading Silent Sunday: 12/19/10 ~ Tulsa Town, by Vlad Railian →

Homestead and Garden, Oklahoma culture

Introducing Tonks

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Tonks Roberts - Our new Malamute Puppy

My husband and I got our first puppy approximately six months after we were married.  It wasn’t until years later that I learned getting a puppy at that particular point in a married life was a typical thing.

Get married, get settled, then…get puppy.  “Futz” Roberts (so named by Mick after a tame wolf who used to hang out at a bar in Stillwater) was half Australian Shepherd and half Samoyed.  He was the first dog of our hearts, and we loved him dearly.  There are stories I could tell. Oh, there are definitely stories.  But even now, I’m not ready to write them.  I still miss him and he’s been gone for over ten years.

Our second dog was adopted a few months after Futzie died.  I named him Bojangles because that week I happened to be in a Nitty Gritty Dirt Band mood.  He was billed as “half Husky and Half shepherd” by the shelter, but he looked a little like a golden retriever. Except that he was brown. And, he had a spotted tongue like a Chow.  Bojangles was a really sweet soul and he died too young.  The urban legend we’ve created in our family is that Bo saved us from a poisonous snake he battled in our back yard at night that might otherwise have hurt us.  It’s true that he was a great guard dog. And he would take on whatever animal happened to venture beyond the borders of our fence into his territory.  And it’s true that we’ve discovered more than our share of poisonous snakes since we’ve lived here.  However, we’re just not sure what really happened to our dog.  One day Mick walked out into the back yard and thought Bo had been sleeping a little too long.  He had.  That was another sad, sad day.

Continue reading Introducing Tonks →