When I had my children, the plan was to spread them out four years apart. In part, to save my own sanity, but also to be able to pay for college one at a time. So much for planning. My oldest started college four years ago; three schools and three majors later…he is still there. This fall my youngest enrolled at OSU giving me two tuition bills. Ouch!
In this week’s video blog, I follow my daughter Geena around as she enrolls and we learn about the high cost of higher education.
~Alisa Hines
When I joined the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program (OALP) a year ago, I didn’t have a clue what I was in for. We’ve gone across the state and seen so much what Oklahoma farmers and ranchers do and have found out what it really takes to be in the agriculture business today. It has really opened my eyes and I’m glad to be a part of such a wonderful organization and to be able to say I am a member of Class XV.
But I think one of the most useful aspects of the program, is the people we meet who are in our class. It is a network of people from across the state from all walks of life who become your friends. They are someone you can call for anything and be able to count on them to be there for you. My classmates are extremely talented, intelligent people. I sometimes feel intimidated by their knowledge. In this week’s video blog, meet Shannon Cunningham, one of my OALP classmates who I feel really sums up what Oklahoma agriculture is all about.
~ Alisa Hines
On the Horizon: Making Agriculture Count from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.
Don’t you just hate taking your car to be repaired. I know I do. I always worry about how much it’s going to cost and how long it will take. I don’t know about you, but I can’t be without a car for very long. There is just too much to do and most of it requires driving. I also worry about whether or not the person working on my car really knows what they are doing. If you are a mechanic, sorry, but it is something I think about.
In this week’s video blog, I visit an Oklahoma school that makes me think that at least the students there, probably do know what they are doing and as you’ll see…can get it done quite quickly.
~Alisa Hines
On the Horizon: Hot Rods from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.
If you’ve ever needed a fireman to put out a fire, you’ve probably never stopped to think about is he well trained? Does he know what he’s doing? Can he save my house? I know I hadn’t until I went to shoot a story over fire service training. I probably should have since my fire department is made up of volunteers. They have to be trained to keep everyone including themselves safe. But it’s something you just take for granted.
What I found out is, unless you’ve thought about a certain scenario, chances are, you’re unprepared for them. In this week’s video blog, meet a fireman who thinks about things like that to make sure his students are prepared for just about anything.
~Alisa Hines
On the Horizon: FIRE! from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.
I remember back when I was a kid, my mother would bundle all of us kids up in long sleeve shirts and then spray us all over with bug spray. It was an annual ritual each year right at blackberry picking time. There was a spot near a lake by our house that had wild blackberries and every year we would go pick that dark fruit so mom could make jelly.
Now this wasn’t a ritual I really wanted to do as a kid. It was hot, especially with the long sleeves we had to wear to protect our arms. Bugs would swarm around our heads and it seemed like even though we had bug spray on, they still were biting us (I think the bug spray has gotten stronger since then). But while I may have been miserable and don’t even like blackberries, it was still something I did with my family and we always had a good time.
So this week’s video blog really brings back memories of my childhood picking blackberries with my family.
~Alisa Hines
On the Horizon: U Pick’em from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.