In the ‘80’s, I saw millions of lights transform Ski Island in Oklahoma City into what I thought was the most spectacular light show I had ever seen.   I remember waiting in line behind hundreds of cars while people snapped photos of the lights reflecting off the water.

In 1993 I saw first hand how my childhood park, Shannon Springs Park in Chickasha, Oklahoma, was transformed into the Festival of Light.  I had to walk through that park to catch the school bus when I was a kid.  I remember city workers with guns shooting water moccasins after a major rain and kids fishing off the white bridge.  To see it enhanced with millions of lights was truly spectacular.

These two communities clearly get it.

The year I moved to the country I was amazed at how many people along the 30 miles of highway decorated their homes with outside lights.  It was nothing like the light displays I had seen in the past, but somehow the simple lights that outlined a barn or front door against a completely black night void of street lights or business neon signs made me smile.

Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch: Some People Just Don’t Get It →