The View from Here

Back to School

Is there anything better than a new box of crayons? The sight of all the school supplies on the shelves at WalMart just makes me smile, especially now that I have a new job. I’m thrilled to tell you that I will no longer be commuting 57 miles to work each day. I won’t be driving along a two-lane road in the rain and fog. I’m not only going to be closer to home, but closer to all the places I love: the genealogy library, WalMart, and Lowe’s. LOL And the best part is that I’ll still be in kindergarten! (I don’t plan to ever graduate unless I must.) Can’t wait to see my new room, meet my new students, get acquainted with the staff.

Of course there are a few frantic weeks before school starts. In addition to getting my classroom ready, I need to finish stripping the wallpaper off my kitchen walls and get them painted. About half-way through that project.  I’m also going to do some minor redecorating in the front bedroom once the enormous pile of school books and supplies is gone. I don’t have a garage so that’s where all my classroom stuff has been for the summer.

Our son also got a new job and will be staying with us for a few weeks as he makes the transition. He’s working in Texas again. It will be nice to have him at home for a while because he’s a better cook than I am. ‘Course he’s messy. It’s a guy thing.

Our Beautification and Preservation group met this morning for a little work in the flower beds downtown and then we planned out our fall projects. Actually talked about Christmas decorations! Can it be time for those?? I’m not ready. But it seems that once school starts it’s just a roller coaster ride into the holidays.

Tomorrow afternoon we’re going to see that mouse movie,  Ratatouille. Love the Sunday matinee at the REX II.  I told you I’m a kid at heart!

Next weekend is the Buffalo Trail BBQ (Saturday) and the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Homecoming (Sunday). Better buy lots of film!

Barak Obama

           I was going to title this “Summer Reading”, but I’m still trying to learn from the blog experts about getting more readers by using better titles. Not that I expect fifty thousand readers to be hanging on my every word. I know I’m not THAT interesting. But it would be nice to have a few more readers because I feel that sometimes, at least once a week maybe, I might have something important to say. LOL And I really would like to have fifty thousand readers for my Caddo blog. That would be WONDERFUL!

All that being said, I was thinking the other day that although I read voraciously in the summer, I have neglected to update my book list on the left. Just one of those “get around to it” things. I’ve been reading Tess Gerritsen, Jodi Picoult, Diana Palmer, Nora Roberts, Michael Crichton, Michael Palmer, plus lots of history books about our area, Indians, the Civil War, etc. (And just a note to novel authors and readers alike: I love historical fiction and medical mysteries and crime stories. However,  I’ve found that if a book contains detailed sex scenes I just skip them. Maybe it’s a sign of my age- “been there, done that” and certainly read it before. If the sex doesn’t add to the mystery, doesn’t advance the plot, or complicate the relationships I don’t need it, thanks anyway. Just tell me a good story and I can fill in the details.) Okay, my children are probably saying bad things by now, so… 

This week I’m reading a rather intriguing book written by Barak Obama about race and relationships. It’s “Dreams from My Father- A Story of Race and Inheritance”. I find it interesting that all of the African American biracial people I’ve ever known have identified most strongly with their darker half. They say it’s because their skin color announces to the world which side they belong on. (I find it odd that we should still think there are “sides” especially when so many of us “whites” are actually mixtures of half a dozen races of all colors.) Yet, around here there are lots of biracial people who are Native American+ something and they identify with their Indian half (albeit for financial reasons) no matter how white-skinned, blond-haired and blue-eyed they happen to be.

My own background is Dutch, Irish, French, English, Seminole, Cherokee, Choctaw and who knows what else. The irony is that my son often asks me not to tell people we are French. New DNA testing offered by genealogy sites promises even more revelations of my “deep ancestral origins” in case I’m determined to prove that I have Native American or African or Jewish ancestors. While all of that is helpful to genealogy research, especially when paper trails fail, I doubt that any revelation would change my feelings about my identity. I suppose my black acquaintances would say that’s because I’m white and I’ve lived a “white life”. Perhaps. But I know what it’s like to be the minority- to be white in a 95% Mexican community, to be poor, to be “Okie”, to be labeled less than someone else. I know what it’s like to doubt, to fear. I guess I just didn’t grow up seeing my identity in my skin color. Maybe I should have. Mr. Obama’s book is one of those that makes you think, really think, about what it means to be black or white or brown in a society that still notices those things. And we do notice. I think that’s one of the reasons we won’t be saying “President Obama” any time soon. Not just because of his color, but because of his name. It has a foreign sound that leads the mind to thoughts of wars, and bombs, and pain. I know that isn’t fair, just truthful. And I should say, too, that Mr. Obama is quite truthful and open in the book about some of the things he has said and done and thought. I was not happy to read about some of them. But I’ll leave those for your own reading.

I’ll close this with another book, two really, about race and relationships. The first is White Conquest, written by William Hepworth Dixon and published in 1876. He wrote about visiting my little home town of Caddo, Oklahoma and finding it inhabited by “a new race of mixed bloods known to science as Zambos- the offspring of Negro bucks and Indian squaws”.  He goes on to make some remarkable claims that are discussed in my Caddo blog. A Dutch ethnologist named Herman Frederik Carel Ten Kate read the book and was so intrigued by it that in 1883 he traveled to America to investigate for himself. You can also read his findings on my Caddo blog.

So…my summer reading has been a mixed blessing of light romance, captivating mysteries and disturbing histories. I think there is a lesson here: no matter what you read it is best to remember that it has been filtered through the brain of another person. Even if something is presented as “fact” it is the product of someone’s research, interpretation, understanding, and experience. I have to put the information to my own tests before I decide if it is enlightening or merely entertaining. Be sure you do the same.

 

Naked Ladies

I think my mother would have loved the internet. She loved history and stories and old things. She loved working in our local museum and looking at the artifacts and photos. Yesterday afternoon, thanks to Google and the magic of digitalized books,  I spent some time reading about my little home town in a book written in 1876. Yes, mother would have loved that. But there are also things about the internet she would have loathed. Such is the nature of human beings. We can never seem to take a good thing and leave it alone. We have to twist it to serve some darker purpose.

I also use the internet to correspond with genealogists, access the census, communicate with friends, find information, shop. I find myself spending more and more time here at the keyboard. Yet, I have friends who won’t even connect to the internet because of the evil things on it. That’s like saying I won’t go into a book store if they sell Playboy. Or I won’t go to the library if they have objectionable books. Evil people seek out evil. I don’t have the time or inclination to use the internet for pornography. But others do.

You’re wondering about the title of my blog aren’t you? Well, I read recently that if you want your blog to do well it must have titles that reach the search engines. It must contain key words like sex, millionaire, Oprah, or drugs. Google has to be able to find it and readers have to want to read it. A sad commentary on our world. But that’s what happened when television first arrived in our living rooms. I remember hearing that it would educate and inform us about the world. It would bring us wonderful entertainment. It would unite the far corners of the world and bring us closer together. Well, perhaps it has done those things to a degree. It has also brought evil and violence and obscenities into our homes. It has delivered some of the worst “entertainment” I’ve ever seen. And it has encouraged greed, lust, and promiscuity. Why did anyone think the internet would be any different?

If you are reading this I encourage you to continue to use the internet for good, and to encourage your friends to embrace its capabilities. Broaden your horizons by doing some internet research. Use the Google Books search engine, Wikipedia, or one of the many genealogy sites. Read about America on state, county, and city websites. Look up museums and art galleries. Check out your favorite charity or organization. Read about your religious denomination and its origins. Read your favorite newspapers. Communicate with friends. Don’t be discouraged by the evil few who hide in the shadows. 

Little Things

It is the little things in life that often grab our attention. I was sitting outside on a balcony at a dinner meeting Monday night when something buzzed my hair and of course I reached up to brush it away. Imagine my surprise when a yellow jacket stung the tip of my ring finger! Ouch is putting it mildly. After a couple of minutes of throbbing I realized my finger was rapidly swelling so I took off my wedding ring and put it in my purse. Thank goodness for that quick action! My finger was twice its normal size in a very short time. Some pain and swelling Monday night that kept me awake and still sore Tuesday. Much better today, thank you.

Tuesday I had a great day cleaning and washing and sorting around here. I’ve often said I’m not much of a housekeeper, but when I’m in the mood…look out! And Wednesday we started with a new trash service. What a relief to not go to the dump anymore. Yeah!

Had a surprise visit from our son Wednesday and spent some quality time with him. I really love to discuss history, politics, movies, etc. with him. Usually he disagrees with me, but that makes me think a little deeper and try to decide if he’s correct, or just young. J

Stumbled onto a fabulous piece of historical information that I’ll eventually use on my other blog. I just love those serendipity moments when I’m not looking for anything in particular and I find something wonderful.

Also beginning to tear down what genealogists refer to as a “brick wall” I’ve been working on for a couple of weeks . I finally realized that there are errors in an obituary and two news clippings I have about someone. By taking away some information, the rest of it is beginning to make more sense and align with the census, marriage records, etc. Makes me feel much better.

Waiting for Gary to come home. His story is that he sliced the end of his finger while working at the company BBQ. I’ll have to give him my “doctor/no doctor” judgment call.

Our oldest daughter is having surgery on Monday. Please keep her in your prayers.

Fishing

Gary and a friend finally got a chance to sink their fishing lines into the pond next door. They had a great time paddling around and even caught two bass. Thank goodness his friend cleaned them. Neither of us knew how! LOL We haven’t been fishing in twenty years. And it’s been that long since I cooked a fresh fish, but I managed. Very tasty!

My Lucky Day

Yesterday, Friday the 13th, was my lucky day. I really don’t believe in such things, but it really was a great day. :)

It started with an offer from my neighbor to haul off some of my trash. That’s such a kind thing to do. I’ve been trying to get trash service out here and keep running into brick walls. Kind of difficult to take a load of trash to the local dump when you drive a Mustang. Anyway, the help was appreciated.

Then I had a job interview! Regardless of the outcome, it was nice to be “part of the process” and to know that things are moving in the education world. In case you don’t know it, a lot of decisions are made in the last weeks before school starts. Lots of changes in the lives of teachers and students. Of course nothing makes a difference like those enrollment figures!

The next little serendipity occurred at the genealogy library. I have been looking for a news clipping and thought I would have to order it from the source. I noticed a large box of folders on the top shelf of the family history section that was labeled with the family name. I almost didn’t bother to go through them, but the second one contained the clipping I needed!

Gary surprised me at the library and took me to lunch! It was a treat to see him during the day, and also funny that he knew where to look for me. I hadn’t said anything about stopping at the library, but he knew that since I would be driving by on my way back from the interview, I wouldn’t be able to resist.

Stopped on the way home at a friend’s house and she gave me some young shrubs. So nice to get plants for this barren hill. It will make such a difference to have some color and life around the house.

And as if my day wasn’t already great, the first blossom on the blue morning glory greeted me when I got home. Can’t wait for more!

Finished off the day on Ancestry.com and located a piece of information that has been eluding me for a week. Just a few notes to those of you searching for people:

1.                  People lie. They lie about their age most of all, so don’t be too strict about dates. One person I’m researching is listed as born in 1889, 1890, 1887, and 1886.

2.                  People change their names. They start using nicknames or shorten their name or use a middle name. If you know someone was in an area and can’t find them, take off the first name and just use the surname plus the location for your search. Also people who type in the information on sites can’t always read the original! I found “Valentine” spelled as “Valiting”.

3.                  People move. Sometimes checking in the next county will prove successful. If your ancestor lived anywhere near a state line be sure to check that state. In our area I check four counties and three states if I’m searching for someone.

I finally found my elusive person living in another county, with a relative of another name, and she had changed her own name! Good luck with your searches.

            Oh, ended my day by going to bed without finding any scorpions! (I’ve killed eleven so far.) LOL What a lucky day!

More Water

We got a brief break from the weather and then 1"-3" in a tremendous storm Sunday night through Monday. Much more lightning and thunder than the last two storms. We did manage to take a few photos Sunday. Here is an old photo of the bridge that shows what it usually looks like-- high and dry, with room under it for boats to pass. That is followed by the photo Gary took Sunday where it looks as though it is sitting directly on the water. Strange to drive over it. It gives you the sensation that it has somehow actually moved.

Something wicked...

You can finish that line can’t you? Or how about “double, double, toil…” It’s fascinating to contemplate the lasting impact of Shakespeare upon generation after generation of  audiences. As we assembled for last night’s Okalahoma Shakespearean Festival performance of Macbeth it struck me as ironic that in an age when a computer can create the fantasy world of  Middle Earth for Lord of the Rings we had paid more than twice the price of a movie ticket to watch the oldest form of entertainment, live performers on a stage.

I must admit it has been a few years since I attended OSF. They have been around for over two decades, giving Durant and surrounding communities not only live performances, but workshops for actors and technicians, and The Children’s Theatre Workshop to train new generations. I had the privilege of working in the costume shop, years ago, for founder and artistic director Molly Risso, who passed away in 1998. She certainly had vision and I admired her passion for the theatre.

OSF has produced a variety of Shakespearean plays over the years, as well as more contemporary pieces. I have been a little taken aback by some of the more “creative” interpretations of Shakespeare’s work, such as Hamlet set in Viet Nam, but each has been a director’s prerogative. So I was overjoyed to watch last night’s more traditional rendition. While it certainly had some original, innovative styling, it was not so modern as to distract from the wonderful, original examination of the power of evil.   

It still amazes me that our area attracts actors from all over the country, but that was part of Molly’s dream. Macbeth was superbly played by Neal Brasher, a native of Alabama, currently teaching at Liberty University in Virginia. Sherri Quaid was brilliant as Lady Macbeth. She lives in New York and is on the Board of Directors for Tempest Theatre Productions. My favorite performance of the evening was by Steven Brown who played Banquo. Steven is a graduate of the University of Memphis and just finished touring with “Poetry Alive!”. Other fine actors included Diana Adair, Travis Barnhart, Mike Battiest, James Bould, Shawn Sturdevant, young Phoenix Ortlip (from Durant) and of course the three witches: Jennifer Drew, Lora Meins, and Rebecca Riisness. A special thanks is due to the crews who created the set, lighting, costumes, and sounds that helped transport us to ancient Scotland.

My only complaint for the evening was the seating. I hate dinner theatre! Lots of reasons I’ll save for another blog. But one play during OSF is always dinner theatre style. In the past it has been in the smaller Visual Arts building and the other, larger auditorium on the main campus has been used for other performances. I’m not sure when that changed or why, but for some reason last night’s performance of Macbeth was in the same building with the same seating as the dinner performance of Smoke on the Mountain. I not only had to sit in a hard chair, but I had to turn mine around, away from the table, in order to see the stage. Gary’s seat was actually off to the right far enough so that he missed part of the scenes with the witches! Not good. I suppose though in ancient times our ancestors sat on rocks to enjoy Shakespeare! An uncomfortable chair is a minor inconvenience and certainly won’t keep me from attending again.

Today we are off to photograph the lake. It has gone over the spillway for the first time since 1990. Lots of coverage this week and lots of speculation about the impact of all this water on the local economy. Several marinas and restaurants are under water. Campgrounds are closed and tourists are staying away. I heard that the President has finally made our disaster official. At least people will get some help to rebuild.

More sun today! My mind is drifting to garden projects and flowers again. Maybe this week I’ll actually make some progress toward landscaping this barren hill.

           Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Making hay while...

           Yesterday I completely understood that old saying. LOL The sun finally peeked out for a few hours Sunday and Gary spent over an hour on the lawn. Yesterday I finished it up with another hour of mowing. Have you ever mowed a lawn that is a foot high? It really is like hay! I had to mow with the blade high and then go back over it. I mowed in standing water. I mowed over mud. I ran off a few frogs, too! There is still a section about 3’x5’ that will have to be done with the weed eater because the ground is still rough and rocky from having the septic line replaced. Don’t want to hit that with the mower and break a blade. Seems like I was the one who broke the last blade…

Speaking of broken- I’m going to have to call today about exchanging our gas-powered weed eater. It is making a very strange noise and is difficult to start. Just bought the thing in April!!

Since it looks like we are getting a break in the rain today, I plan to go out to the cemetery to take a few photos. Also going to weed the downtown flower bed. Gary and I will work on the hill across from the D.Q. tomorrow. So much “catching up” to do. I also have a list of “waiting until the rain ends” projects here at the house.

We’re going to go to SOSU to see Macbeth tomorrow night. Then the Sunday matinee of “Pirates”.  Lots to see and do even in the country!

Independence Day

Some people might question why I attended the Caddo Town Council meeting last night. Some would really question why I stayed up until eleven o’clock listening to a group of men and women discuss things that for the most part don’t directly affect me. I don’t live in town. It don’t have to tag my dog, or make sure my trash is bagged, or worry about tree limbs falling on my neighbor’s property. I don’t have to care what happens in town. But I do. And I went to that meeting for two reasons.

First of all this is America. This is what Independence Day really means. It isn’t about barbeques and boating on the lake with friends. It’s about the privilege of participating in our government. It’s about having a say in what is done and how it’s done. In other countries what went on last night is done behind closed doors! But not here. In my country, in my town, I can talk directly to our leaders about my concerns. I can listen to the council discuss problems and I can try to understand why decisions are made. I have a right, and I think I have a responsibility, to represent myself.

Second, Caddo is in trouble. The town that I love and have adopted as my own has a list of problems that seem insurmountable. Most of them stem from a lack of funds- the universal problem of all small towns. Some problems are the result of changes in our economy and shopping habits. But some problems are a direct result of neglect and indifference on the part of ordinary citizens who sit at home and wait for the government to take care of everything. Some residents even have a “see if you can make me” attitude regarding changes that would benefit our town. I can’t add thousands of dollars to the city coffers. I can’t make people work and shop locally as they did in the forties. But maybe, just maybe, I can be a positive force to help motivate people to make some improvements. Maybe I can encourage people to change their attitudes- for their benefit and the benefit of the town.  And the only way I can do that is to stay informed. So, for the next year I have committed myself to attending each and every council meeting. I encourage you to do the same in your town. Attend a council meeting, school board meeting, or other civic forum. Make a difference in your community! If you don’t, someone else will.