A Plea To Dez Bryant: Don’t Screw This Up.

Good morning Mr. Bryant.  You don’t know me, you’ve never even met me.  I’m just a guy from Oklahoma who wants to see you succeed.  This will only take a few minutes of your time.

Dez Bryant scores one of his three touchdowns vs. the Giants (courtesy espndallas.com)

First of all, let me say I’m in awe of your talent and potential.  The performance you put on against the Giants on Monday night was nothing short of spectacular.  There are maybe, maybe a handful of guys in the league that could field a punt over their shoulder, retreat inside the ten yard line, then turn up field and go untouched for 93 yards.  As if that wasn’t jaw dropping enough, you caught four passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns.  You were a one man show and the entire country took notice.  You are the only bright spot on a Cowboys team in complete disarray.  You’re making Jerry Jones look like a genius for drafting you, and let’s face it, that’s not easy.  After all, he’s the guy who thought Wade Phillips was the answer.

I hope you become known as one of the best receivers in the game.  And I hope that’s all you become known for.  I guess I’m a little nervous because, honestly Dez, you’re kind of a knucklehead.  Your track record of decision making isn’t exactly sparkling.

Last season at Oklahoma State, you lied to NCAA officials about your relationship with Deion Sanders.  Yes, you admitted your mistake and you came clean, but the NCAA saw fit to suspend you for the remainder of the season.  It shows you thought of yourself before thinking of your teammates. I know, the penalty was way too harsh for telling a little fib, but like it or not, it’s still a blemish on your record.

Dez Bryant works out for NFL scouts at his pro day in Lufkin, Texas on March 30th, 2010 (courtesy Associated Press)

You couldn’t workout at the annual NFL combine, so you scheduled a pro day in your hometown of Lufkin, Texas.  Scouts and coaches gathered to see you; a huge opportunity to improve your draft stock and maybe even silence some critics.  You showed up with a 10-man entourage.  Having friends is a good thing, but you could have saved the entourage for after you got drafted.  Pro day was an opportunity for humility and performance.  You should have kept your head down, mouth shut, and gone to work.  NFL teams didn’t appreciate the attitude and the ego.  On top of that, you forgot your shoes.  Possibly the biggest day of your life, a day that could earn or cost you millions of dollars.  You put such little thought into it, you couldn’t even show up with the right footwear?  What the scouts saw was an impressive specimen on the field, but they also left with questions about your character.

In February, you signed a contract with Under Armour.  The company paid you good money to wear its shoes and clothing.  But in May, you showed up at a workout decked out in Nike apparel.  Needless to say, this didn’t go over too well with the Under Armour execs and they dropped you faster than a football off the hands of Roy Williams.  What part of “under contract” didn’t you understand?  See Dez, it’s another incident that shows lack of intelligence, thought, and maturity.

When training camp started, the aforementioned Mr. Williams wanted you to carry his pads off the field.  It’s a rookie ritual, it’s been going on in the NFL for decades.  You refused and made it clear that you weren’t at camp to be carrying anyone’s pads.  That refusal turned into a full-blown media circus.  Yet another chance to be humble and accept your role.  Instead you made it all about you Dez.  It didn’t matter whether you agreed with the ritual or not, because it was an opportunity for you to earn the respect of your teammates.  An innocent rite of passage, turned into a divided locker room and brought unnecessary attention to you and your team.

Dez Bryant is already known for catching the football, will he be know for anything else? (courtesy espndallas.com)

Your effort to make it up to Williams and other teammates also drew the wrong kind of attention.  In September, you paid $54,896 for dinner for you and your boys at a Dallas steakhouse.  No question, you can afford the filet.  One dinner is just a small chunk of your 8.3 million dollar signing bonus.  Affordability wasn’t the issue here Dez.  There are millions of Americans who would love to make 55K in a year and who struggle to feed their families.  How about donating a chunk of change to a local charity?  Or, if you’re going to have a dinner with teammates, why not do it discreetly and privately?  It’s no secret that athletes spend exorbitant amounts of money on things they don’t need, but those purchases aren’t always rubbed in the face of the public.  This didn’t have to make headlines Dez.  Again, attention for the wrong reasons.

I know these sound like little things.  I know you didn’t hurt anyone, and you weren’t convicted of any crime.  But Dez, you strike me as a guy who loves the limelight, a guy who wants the headlines, no matter what they might be.  I know you had a rough upbringing and unstable family life.  I give you all the credit in the world for making it out of that situation and achieving your dream.  Now that you’re in the NFL, I’m pleading with you Dez, surround yourself with the right people.  Think before you speak and before you act.  Don’t go down the same roads as Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.  Their careers have turned into sideshows.  They’re barely taken seriously as football players.  Don’t let it happen to you, Dez.

If you want to have a long, successful career in the NFL, it’s going to happen because of talent, not because of foolish antics.  As an Oklahoman, I want to see more of what I saw on Monday night.  I’m rooting for you, and I believe in you.  I know I’m not the only one.

Thank you for listening, Mr. Bryant.

Comments

comments

Nowhere to Put My Wax Lips: Organizing A Halloween Candy Haul

You did it.  You braved the freezing weather in your skimpy ballerina costume, or perhaps warmer than usual weather under your furry gorilla garb.  You might stink due to the combination of a spandex superhero suit that didn’t breathe, or the nasty greasepaint you put on your face three hours ago.  You’re possibly a little worse for the wear, sporting more than one Halloween badge of courage.  Maybe you cut your tongue on the breathing and talking-hole cutout of your hard plastic mask; you know, the one with the single string of elastic that probably broke before you hit the third house in your neighborhood?

Or perhaps you stepped in a mud puddle wearing only your blue fuzzy Smurf house shoes – the ones you thought were a perfect finale for your blue sweats, blue face and white beard.  You might have cuts or bruises, acquired from tripping over one too many steps on the dark sidewalks you ascended as you neared the front doors of a hundred neighbors.  You may have ripped your costume in four places or cracked your tiara right up the middle.

None of this matters.  What matters is that your pillow case, your plastic pumpkin with black paint flaking off the eyes, or your neatly crafted candy bag with the stuffed ghost on the side is bursting at the seams and making your arms ache from carrying it for 27 city blocks… It is now time.  It’s time to pour it out on the floor of your bedroom in its bountiful splendor, look lovingly at the treasure, and start your Halloween candy sorting ritual.

  1. Chocolate bars – these are the “exchange units” of all other candy types.  They are the golden standard to which everything else is compared.  You put all of them together and do a quick calculation as to how many you’re going to keep for yourself, how many you’ll need to hide from the chocolate-loving freak in your family, and how many you might use to trade with your friends or siblings for other treats on low-inventory status within your stash. And, depending upon your particular sweet tooth, you might make an extra pile for your favorite no-exchanges, no-returns bars.  For my kids, these were the Reese’s cups.  No amount of cajoling would get me even a crumb of a Reese’s cup.
  2. Sour stuff – these are still valuable, but slightly below the chocolate.  Included in this pile are the SweetTarts, Smarties, Sprees, Pixie Sticks, Sour Gummy Worms, etc.  While still valuable, it usually takes a few of these to trade for one chocolate bar.  Sometimes several.  At this point, because they’re not the prime standard, you probably treat yourself to at least one packet of SweetTarts, praying that at least two of the three pieces inside the tiny packet are colors you like.
  3. Suckers – Blow Pops, DumDums, Lifesaver Lollipops, Tootsie Rolls…you carefully pick through your stack until you find every one of your suckers.  You have fun with them by arranging them into spirals on the floor, or placing them in gradually decreasing mass size, down to the tiniest ones.  You think about sticking them into your ponytail the next morning (or not), and you anxiously look around to make sure you have at least one cherry flavored blow-pop and tootsie roll.  Find them? You might hide those too.
  4. Good Little Stuff – Your pile is looking messy so it’s time to start sorting the “pea-gravel.”  You quickly look through the pile and pull out all the Hershey’s minis, the Hershey’s kisses, the hard candy you like, the prime bubble-gum brands, the Jolly Rancher’s and anything else of value. The entire time you’re hoping that the “good” little stuff outnumbers the “icky” little stuff.  Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t.  But you always hope.
  5. Icky Little Stuff – For me, this is where those orange and black wrapped peanut butter taffies go. Also included is the single Bit-O-Honeys and the little packages of candy corn.  That’s just me.  For you?  Who knows…but you know you have them.  The ickies are the candy that you know you’ll either give away, beg off to someone as a “bonus” when trading other pieces, or might eventually turn hard, stale and go in the trash in February.  You do your best to find any last redeeming value from this pile, but usually by this time the ickies have sorted themselves out and are the last remaining candy on your floor.

Task complete, you lean back and assess your candy bank account.  Was it a good year or a year of famine?  You look down at your muddy Smurf house shoes, rub your bruised ankle, glance once again across the beautiful bounty of your effort and smile.  You are the king or queen, and this is your treasure.  Now you know exactly what it’s worth, and begin your plotting on how you’ll steward this beautiful booty.

Okay, there’s just one problem with this picture.  Where do you put these weird red wax lips wrapped in cellophane?!

Comments

comments

Cooking Through the Stockyards Centennial Cookbook – Kickoff!

Editor’s Note:  We’re SO glad to have Whitni and Jani kicking off our Stockyards City cookbook cook-through.  I think I gained two pounds just reading this post…and, I’m making one this weekend!  A big thanks to the Stockyards City team for allowing us to print the recipes on the RDC.  The cooks are allowed 5 passes throughout their work in case they run into a recipe that just doesn’t fit their palate.  Whitni, “the daughter,” is kicking off the series.  Next week, you’ll meet the “mom” part of the culinary duo…enjoy!

– Red Dirt Kelly

*****

What can I say? I love to eat!

Its a good thing I learned how to cook in college so that I am still not surviving on Ramen Noodles. And for me, it is definitely a challenge to cook for just one person.  So through my posts I will give you pointers on how to make your meals in smaller portions, or to extend their life a bit further. Here we go…

Every Monday is girls night for my group of friends. We choose a cheesy reality show or a chick flick to watch (that we usually talk over),  and then pile into the living room with dinner around the TV. I chose to make the Banana Split Cake for our dessert this week. I got nothing but rave reviews. I did double the graham cracker crust and the pineapple and in exchange for the cherries I put strawberries. I will warn ya though, its enough food to feed a small army!

Banana Split Cake

by Patricia Parent

2 C Graham Cracker Crumbs (I used 4 C)

2 sticks butter (I used an extra since I made extra crust)

5  Bananas

1 can Pineapple, drained ( I used 2 cans of crushed)

1 (8oz) Pkg. Cream Cheese

2 C Powdered Sugar

1 Carton Whipped topping

To make the crust, mix together graham cracker crumbs and 1 stick of melted butter. Mash into a 9×13 dish. Refrigerate until chilled. Put sliced bananas on top of crust. Spoon 1 large can drained pineapple on top of the bananas. Mix together cream cheese, remaining butter and powdered sugar. Spoon over fruit. Add container of whipped topping over the top of the fruit. Sprinkle with nuts and maraschino cherries.  Chill and serve.

Check out the slide show I made so you can see the progressive steps come together. Great summer dish to take to a friend’s pool party!

Happy Cooking!

Whitni

Comments

comments

The Mother of All Catch-22s

My name is Kendy and I’m a working mother.

This relatively innocuous statement actually has the power to evoke pride, guilt, judgment and even jealousy depending upon who’s in the conversation and their bias about what’s “right” for children, and society.  But what’s right for the moms?

Of all discussion topics, working vs. staying home gets the most play among my group of friends.  Some of us have full-time jobs and some have forgone a career to raise children.  Some need two incomes to get by, while others simply can’t imagine life without a career.  Some who stay home have realized that working is actually more expensive than not, given the high cost of childcare.  Regardless of the situation and our level of satisfaction with it, we all agree that there is no single “right” answer, as we are all faced with a different set of circumstances that impact our decisions on the issue.  However, no matter how satisfied we are with those decisions, we sometimes find ourselves peering over the fence to see if the grass truly is a deeper shade of green.

Even moms who count their blessings about being able to stay home with their children sometimes long for the adult conversations they remember having when they were working.  As one friend says, “When you start to discuss your problems with a toddler-sized plush SpongeBob doll, you know you need some time with grown-ups!”  I’ve had moms admire my shoes and comment longingly that they could never justify the purchase given the few places they would have to wear something so dressy.  Others feel they have no break from their children – as precious as they are – and battle conflicting expectations when their husband arrives home from his own long day at the office.  But these may very well be good tradeoffs for the ability to share all of life’s important and teachable moments.

On the flip side, working moms are often overwhelmed with guilt about the time they spend away from their kids.  I’ve always been career-minded and relatively confident in my ability to have it all in life.  But, even though I often don a super hero cape, I also have some pretty powerful kryptonite.  Looking down at those little people in my life makes everything go just a bit hazy.

At work, I find myself drawn to various pictures of my smiling kids.  I wonder if they’ve had a healthy lunch, whether they’re watching Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel, if Nolan’s had a good “pee pee in the potty” day, and whether Bailey’s loose tooth is still hanging on by a thread.  I feel anxious.  I guiltily remind my mother-in-law about the soccer practice that begins before I’m even supposed to clock out for the day.  And I miss them.

All that would be fine if the culmination of my day wasn’t hearing Nolan burst into tears and state emphatically that he doesn’t want to leave grandma’s house with me.  Bailey sends her own message by ignoring me altogether.  In these moments, when I’m kidnapping my own children from their grandparents’ house, I feel unsettled, disconnected, and a little like I’m watching my life go by from behind a pane of glass rather than out living it.  I’m jealous…jealous of my friends who don’t HAVE to work and surely aren’t subject to the sadness I feel at this repeat, albeit momentary, rejection.  I’m jealous that they get all day to reinforce bonds, while I’m trying to force that into the 60 minutes between dance class and bedtime.

These are the moments when the fantasies of quitting my job and becoming an at-home mom take over.  I imagine myself going on all kinds of daily adventures – to the zoo, the park, and museums – while organizing play dates, catching up on scrapbooks, teaching the kids a foreign language, and sewing their winter wardrobe.  We won’t go into the holes in my fantasy, but let’s just say the likelihood of me actually doing all these things is iffy at best and I stopped just short of adding to the list “make my own soap.”  Hey, it’s my fantasy and I’m sticking to it.

...and I stopped just short of adding to the list “make my own soap.” - Click photo for Making Soap article.

But it’s not all bad.  In fact, when I stop to remember that life isn’t all about me (what??), there are some really great benefits to my kids of being a working mom.

First and foremost, they have an amazing relationship with their grandparents that they likely wouldn’t have if I stayed home.  Having more than just mom and dad to teach, reinforce, and love is an incredible blessing.  In rational moments, I’m glad to endure some hard mommy moments in exchange for the wealth of experiences and memories made with their grandparents.

As much as I enjoy the work I do, my kids are really proud of me, too.  When we’re having our “what happened today” conversations, I get to tell Bailey about all the babies and children who have the benefit of two loving parents in their lives because of the work my company does.  The pride she feels and the fact that I’m modeling for her what I preach – that she can do anything and be anything – is enough to give guilt a high-heeled kick in the pants!

So, do these benefits outweigh the disadvantages?  I honestly don’t know the answer to that question, nor would my answer be the same tomorrow as it is today.  What I DO know is that I have two great kids who will never want for love, guidance, or the discipline and boundaries they need to grow into the kind of adults I want them to become.  And that makes my heart happier than any amount of time with them could.

But, just in case I happen to win the lottery one day, I bookmarked some You Tube videos on making soap at home.  I’m just sayin’….

Comments

comments

Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.