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Faith, Oklahoma culture

11/11/11 I Hate War

This is a re-do.  I submitted basically the same piece for Memorial Day.   

When I was young, I cut my teeth on WWII movies where war was glorified.  John Wayne in The Green Berets made me zealous for militarism.

On 11/11/11  I remember — again — the day I learned that war was not the glorified world of the movies.  The very first funeral I ever attended was for a son of Apache, Oklahoma.  PFC James McClure was killed on May 2, 1967, the day before my 11th birthday. He was 19.

Once again I reflect. I recall the message I delivered to an over-flow crowd of mourners in the early spring of 2008.  The governor of Oklahoma sat on the front row, along with a  young widow and her toddler son, Gage.  As I stood before the men and women gathered at that funeral, I found myself confronted with the very real issues of honor, duty, courage, and sacrifice that Veterans Day represents.

The following is the text from that day’s message. Continue reading 11/11/11 I Hate War →

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: A Marine’s Love Story

My experience with doing stories with war veterans is those who have seen the most, talk the least. I think there are some memories they had just rather forget.

Put Charles Migliorino in that category. It was only by chance I heard his story. He was interviewing for an associate district judge appointment, and I was a member of the Judicial Nominating Commission interviewing him. It was after the interview was over, he added, almost as epilogue, the thing he was most proud of in life was letting a sister hear her dead brother’s voice for the first time in 40 years.

I was fascinated, as I think you will be in this week’s video blog, with this Marine’s Love Story.

Rob McClendon

Man Cave

It’s that time of year…

by Michael Mitchell

What time is that you say?

It’s that time of year where I like to remind myself every day of all the things I’m thankful for.

Today I’m thankful for this woman:

Obviously she’s lovely and talented, but there’s so much more to her than those two words that I use so often.

She’s my best friend. An awesome wife. A great mother. A natural-birthing-16-hour-laboring-with-no-drugs-birth-giving machine. She can cook like nobody’s bidness. She sings with the voice of an angel. She dominates at NERTS. She calls me funny nicknames and answers when I call her equally funny ones. She is a dedicated Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She values family. She invests in relationships with her friends. She flirts with me. She balances our check book. She’s a Proverbs 31 wife. A hot mamasita. A couponing fiend. An organization junky. She cries when she’s happy, she cries when she’s sad, and she cries at Hallmark commercials. She’s smart. She’s a reader. She plays the piano. She lets me keep our house really cold at night. She knows the difference between an onside kick and being offsides. If I yell, “BOOMER!” she yells, “SOONER!” She loves God, she loves me, she loves our daughter, she loves our family, and she loves our friends.

And I’ve been thankful for her since the fall of 1998.

[michael]

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: If you build it, they will come

Many rural communities around Oklahoma are building tech parks in the hopes of attracting big business and in Pryor, that gamble is paying off. Google announced in 2007 that it would build a data center right here in Oklahoma. All because of availability of land, electrical infrastructure, a very high quality excellent workforce, and a business climate that was really conducive to making things fast and simple; which is what many rural communities have to offer.

Now because of the recession, it’s taken quite a while to get up and running but just recently, they held the grand opening of their newest Google data center. In this week’s video blog, see the connections going on in Pryor, Oklahoma.

Alisa Hines

Man Cave

When I Am An Old Man (Repost: Top 25 of Year One)

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Photo used by permission: from Avi Revivo {http://revivo.co.il/blog}

by Michael Mitchell

As we get started here again at the beginning of another new year, a lot of folks I know have made New Year’s resolutions. I have a few things on my list of goals for the year, but technically none of them really qualify as resolutions. In order to help me feel better about my general lack of New Year’s resolutions, I offer the following list of Old Man resolutions; things I would like to be, say, or do when I am an old man. For the purposes of this post, I am defining an https://www.erchonia.com/laser-classifications/ old man as someone in his mid to late 80’s.

Without any further ado, when I’m an old man:

  • Order Valium Without Prescription I will carry candy in my pockets to give to kids at the grocery store and at church. Who knows what society will be like by the time I’m an old man… maybe I’ll need to stick to doing this at church.
  • https://www.aeisenschmidt.com/peh I will wear bib overalls with nothing under them a large majority of the time. Obviously when special occasions call for it, such as the ones listed above, I will change my attire. However, I’ve always thought there’d be something really freeing about spending my days wearing a pair of bib overalls with nothing under them. Unfortunately this is a luxury of the old… but I’m willing to wait.
  • https://www.gillianhayes.com/danish-wedding-cake/ I will be really nice to some people and really mean to others. I will be extremely inconsistent with this one and make a sport out of trying to be obnoxiously rude and overly kind to the same people multiple times each day. I know this will throw people off, but I will get a good kick out of watching how they react. This would never fly today, but when I’m an old man, people will probably just take it and think to themselves, “Bless his heart.” or “He comes from a different time.” This too is a luxury of the old. Continue reading When I Am An Old Man (Repost: Top 25 of Year One) →
Barbershop Theology

Barbershop Theology: Ritual of Preparation

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https://www.onkologik.com/ambien-without-prescription-2/ “Spectacular achievements come Tramadol 50 Mg Price from unspectacular preparation.”  Roger Staubach

I looked at the clock and mercifully it read, 5:35. Dad would end his day by putting away his scissors, resting his clippers, counting the cash in the drawer, and writing something in his ledger. But he would do that no earlier than 6pm.

I knew I could make closing much faster if I would begin the Barbershop Closing Ritual. That meant all the dirty towels had to be placed in a hamper, the floor had to be swept, ash trays cleaned, lather dispenser filled, and magazines organized. It meant being alert to any signals from Dad pointing me to a detail I had missed, (a nod, a glance, or a subtle point with a comb).

The final act of the day was watching Dad slightly open the door to the back of the shop, reach behind the wall and turn off the lights. Turning the https://anvydigital.com/file-guidelines/ Open/Closed sign was a quick trick and I hustled to jump into his pick-up truck parked just around the corner. If we hurried I could catch the last episode of the Flintstones or maybe shoot some baskets before dark. Continue reading Barbershop Theology: Ritual of Preparation →

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: Financially Strong

The U.S. economy is on the minds of many Americans and is it is not a positive thought to most. From unemployment to a failing stock market, people are unsure of their future. What lies ahead? What about my children? What about my retirement?

For those living in Oklahoma there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is a bright one. The market crash did not hit the state nearly as hard as the rest of the nation and jobs are springing up all over. In this week’s video blog see how from aerospace and energy to small business the economy in Oklahoma is on the up and up.

follow url ~Andy Barth

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: On Being a Football Referree

As a sports mom, I’ve always had a tendency to either blame or yell at the refs on the field of play. But after doing this week’s story, I have a new found respect for those hard working men (and occasionally women). They are asked to make calls about things happening on the field that those of us in the stands can’t always see with a discerning eye and get upset about if the call is against our team. We get all uppity if we feel the call has been made wrong only we didn’t necessarily really see what happened. The refs on the other hand have a close up view of what is really going on. Now they might get a call wrong every now and then but they are much closer to getting it right than those of us in the stands and most of the time, don’t get upset back at us when we yell about something we didn’t like. So remember that the next time you get upset with a call made by a ref and maybe pause and think before you say something..

In this week’s video blog, I hope you will fall in love like I did with the two long-time friends who have been refs for many years and could possibly have even been a ref at one of your kids’ games.

Alisa Hines

Faith

Fun Costumes, Cute Kids and Free Candy

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Free Candy. I'm for it.

Halloween is here and it’s time for free candy. Is that a bad thing?  Thirty years ago my wife and I committed ourselves to raise our children in a Christian home. We wanted to “do it right.”As very young parents we heard a lot about the observance of Halloween and its sordid connection to all things evil. We didn’t allow our kids to trick-or-treat because of our church’s teaching about the nefarious nature of the holiday.

We heard a very one-sided view of Halloween and all of its association with witches, the demonic, goblins, ghosts, and black magic. We heard sensationalized stories that scared the 4311 out of us.

“I think we ought to close Halloween down. Do you want your children to dress up as witches? The Druids used to dress up like this when they were doing human sacrifice…[The children] are acting out Satanic rituals and participating in it, and don’t even realize it.”–Pat Robertson, “The 700 Club,” 1982-OCT-29

Many years later I would do my own research concerning All Saints Eve, Reformation Day, cultural traditions, and a history of more moderate responses to the Halloween season. My philosophy holds that we should engage our culture bothintellectually and spiritually, (in fact, I would argue that these are one in the same). Intellectually we should think with a sound mind, not fearfully; we can be fully engaged, spiritually reasonable. For example, we know that the names for our months and days of the week are named after Roman deities and Norse gods, but that doesn’t prevent us from having a calendar.

I suppose there are some wiccans and druids who get pretty fired up about Halloween. Continue reading Fun Costumes, Cute Kids and Free Candy →

Not-So-Newlywed Adventures

Not So Newlyweds: Friendship, Love, and Baseball

Luke & Julianna in 2006, ready for the "Cards" game.

We just celebrated our 5-year dating anniversary. I know, I know, once you get married, you’re supposed to focus more on the wedding anniversary than the dating one, but my theory is that without the dating anniversary, there wouldn’t be a wedding anniversary.

Five years ago was the fall of 2006. Luke and I were in school at OSU, and we were in the middle of a heated Major League Baseball playoff season. A truly diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan, Luke’s contagious enthusiasm for the sport had won me over to watching some of the TV coverage and even convinced me to go with him to a game in St. Louis that September. We had a blast, and it was the beginning of the end of our “just” friendship.

Backing up a little, I don’t actually remember meeting Luke. We grew up in the same church, but because of a bit of age difference, we were never more than casual acquaintances until we were both at OSU. We “met” when his mom sent a few items with me to give Luke at the end of a weekend I had been home. One thing led to another, as they say, and suddenly he was a staple in my daily plans. Along with an amazing group of friends, we had study “parties,” took road trips, and participated in Dessert Club, in which our friends gathered at restaurants for the sole purpose of ordering dessert. Those were such good times, and almost imperceptibly, moments built upon each other until we realized we wanted our time together to outweigh our time apart. So after the trip to St. Louis that September, we had some good talks, experimented with hugs and hand-holding, and decided to start a relationship. Continue reading Not So Newlyweds: Friendship, Love, and Baseball →

Woman2Woman

What Do You Get When You Add Celebrities To The Twitterverse?

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The answer, my friends, is unadulterated magic.

Before I share the rest of my article, I have to warn you that reading beyond this point may actually kill perfectly good brain cells. Proceed at your own risk.

The day I realized Kirk Cameron had a life as someone other than Mike Seaver was the day I became a pop culture addict. I’m not so sure addiction is the right word to use, as I categorize my uncanny ability to remember obscure details about television shows, movies, and celebrities as a talent. I can tell you the plot of the show JAG, although I’ve never watched it. I know Lady Gaga’s real name. I’ve seen pictures of Fergie when she was just a little tyke on “Kids Incorporated.”

For whatever reason, my senses are attuned to all things pop culture. Perhaps one day I’ll find myself being held at gunpoint by a mad man who says he will abandon his plans to blow up a building if someone can tell him the name of Balki Bartokomous’s love interest on “Perfect Strangers.” You will all thank me when I disarm him with the confident shout of “MARY ANNE!” Continue reading What Do You Get When You Add Celebrities To The Twitterverse? →

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: Boo!

We all remember those spooky stories by the camp fire and when grandpa would tell us ghost stories right before we went to bed. But what happens when those ghost stories come to life?

In today’s video blog we take you to a business in North Central Oklahoma where the past life is still present. From creaky doors to items flying off shelves, the paranormal takes spooky to whole new level. Turning skeptics (me) into believers, and believers running for their lives.

Andy Barth

Oklahoma culture

M Words

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter M, and by the number 12.

The University of Missouri is working on leaving the Big 12 Conference. Missouri starts with the letter M. So do words like Mountain (as in Mountain West Conference), Mojo, Momentum, and Money. It was the celebrated 1980’s era lyrical philosopher Cyndi Lauper that crooned “Money; money changes everything.” More on that thought later.

First, a bit of pigskin history. It was 1991, in Fort Worth, Texas.  My wife, aka Little Frau, was a recent graduate of TCU, and we lived a mere one half mile from the university’s Amon Carter Stadium. A good friend was a graduate of Texas A&M, and suggested we get some tickets and go watch these two Southwest Conference rivals duke it out on the gridiron.

It was a night game in November; the forecast called for freezing rain and bitter wind chill factors. Back in those days, only two or three games per week were televised by ABC, so a seat in the stands was often the only way to watch. We were young, so it seemed okay at the time. Only after arriving at the stadium did we figure out that our seats were in the now former upper deck, and that we were the only souls braving the cold north wind from such a high and lofty perch.

Back in those days, Texas A&M had momentum. They had defeated arch rival and SW Conference companion University of Texas for five years in a row. They also had mojo. Texas A&M’s fearsome defense had been dubbed “The Wrecking Crew.” The game I’m recalling was the date of what has been dubbed “the hit.” As a hapless TCU receiver ran a quick slant route in the second quarter, his head was immediately removed by future All Pro NFL linebacker Quentin Coryatt. He went parallel to the turf while still airborne, and then fell to the ground shaking, his jaw broken in two places. A video follows for those who are not faint of heart… Continue reading M Words →

Faith

That’s a ‘Head Scratcher’

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Why I’m Usually Confused

I “googled” something the other day, hmmm, or did I Google? I never used to google, but I google a lot lately. —Anyway, on my computer screen there appeared these three words, Christian Wrestling Federation. I don’t know how I got there, but I did.

In honor of that wacky German philosopher, G.W.F. Hegel, I started to think. Why is this Christian wrestling thing a really good idea and why not. Hegel’s version of thinking, the Hegelian Dialectic, is to ponder the best possible reason for a something, then consider the worst reason. His method (I’m over-simplifying here) helps find a middle truth, sort of a new truth.

Hegel's Dialectic

The thesis, best reason for a Christian Wrestling Federation, is their evangelism catch-phrase, “They come for wrestling, and they stay to be saved.”  Sincere, noble, well-intended and I assume it works. The fundamental defense  is that we should do whatever it takes (short of sin) to bring people in and give them the Gospel. “If one soul is saved then it’s all worth it.”

 The other side of this argument questions this man-centered, shallow adaptation of Christianity. It’s a version of gospel-lite that inoculates people to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Much like a small pox vaccination, it offers a dose that is authentic, but serves to produce immunity to the Gospel. It’s a far cry from deny yourself, take up you cross and follow Me (Luke 9:23).
"Who's Your Spotter?"

So, here I sit, pondering variety of “baptized” activities. Continue reading That’s a ‘Head Scratcher’ →

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: The New Hollywood

One of Oklahoma's young producers ~

I love going to the movies. It’s always interesting to see how they make them and where they are filmed. But I often wonder, why aren’t more films done here in Oklahoma? Especially the ones about Oklahoma, that would make sense after all. We have the wide open spaces you see so often depicted in movies and our cities are prettier than many on the East or West coast. Take Tulsa for example: I was there just the other day, up in a very tall building looking out over the city area and was amazed at all the green. Houses and buildings were interspersed throughout all the trees almost like they built them around the trees. How much prettier is that than the concrete jungle you see in most cities/movies.

Now don’t get me wrong, there have been some movies shot here in places like Tulsa, but I think most people just don’t think of Oklahoma when then think of movies. And it can be big business for Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Film and Music Office is working toward making Oklahoma the next Hollywood. What they’ve discovered is that for every dollar spent in Oklahoma’s film industry, an impact of $1.72 is made on our state’s economy. The impact just continues to grow. Due to recruitment efforts, the 2010 production of “The Killer Inside Me” was filmed almost exclusively here in Oklahoma even though the story was set in Texas. Another Red River Rivalry??? That production spent three million dollars in Oklahoma in only six weeks to make the movie and generated over five million for the state. That’s huge. Some may complain about tax rebates the film industry gets but overall, I think it’s worth it. You have to have some kind of incentive to bring the film industry out of their comfort zone and into our state.

In this week’s video blog, meet one Oklahoman who didn’t run to Hollywood to make his movie, but kept it right here in Oklahoma using local talent and local crews.

Alisa Hines

 

Barbershop Theology

Barbershop Theology — God Almighty

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“Good God Almighty!” The words were as emphatic as they were profane; those three words seemed to be the natural and uninhibited expression in the moment. I looked to the entrance of Dad’s barbershop to see a soldier in his dress greens framed by the doorway. He was grinning ear to ear. I think he was home on leave or perhaps getting ready to ship out to Viet Nam . . . or perhaps not. Why I remember that heartfelt exclamation I do not know, but it was joyous and offered with a knee slap and tobacco stained grin. The old man in blue Oshkosh overalls couldn’t help himself, he was surprised and pleased. It brings me to a couple of thoughts about cursing, profanity, and the pseudo-therapy we find in using expletives to express our passion. Continue reading Barbershop Theology — God Almighty →

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: Things are Bigger in Texas (and the “Neighboring State” effect)

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Funny how a little rain can make all the difference in how things look. It’s been so dry that even the well-watered plants around the house have been looking a little thirsty. But if you think it’s been dry here, just head south to Texas. I was there in September and the leaves were already falling from the severe drought they have been dealing with.

So while we have been dry, they are parched, which has just exacerbated what has been a growing problem for the Lone Star State…lots of people and not enough water for them. In this week’s video blog we take a closer look at Texas’ thirst and the implications that could have on Oklahoma’s water supplies.

~Rob McClendon

 

Woman2Woman

There’s No Beauty Cream For THESE Wrinkles

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Most of us try to live our lives according to the Golden Rule, but “Love Thy Neighbor” is a daunting mandate when you start to think about how to turn words into actions. Should we love our neighbors by giving hugs each time we see them? Do we show our love by being a good listener? Does this mean we put others’ needs ahead of our own? And who are these pesky neighbors anyway?

Just because I’m an adult does not mean I have completed my education on showing my love to others. Every day is a new learning opportunity and my hope is that I do far more encouraging and empowering than belittling and devaluing. I think I do a pretty good job most days, but the failures stay in my thoughts long after the offenses occur. I do not fear the words “I’m sorry”, but also know an apology is a poor substitute for conducting myself in a manner which does not require apologies at all.

When it comes to teaching my children how to treat others, I feel even more concerned with how to impart meaningful knowledge instead of simply reprimanding them for failure to say “please” and “thank you.” I tend to forget how difficult some concepts are for children to understand and my recent experience trying to talk about friendship, kindness, understanding, humility and consideration has reminded me that these are big words with a heckuva lot of collective meaning.

As with any task, I think the key to educating children on this broad topic is to take it one step at a time – one concept at a time, if you will. I also believe in illustrations and stories to help them connect to and remember ideas. I’ve stumbled upon a couple of illustrations/activities over the years which have been particularly helpful in communicating to my kids about how I expect them to treat others. The following illustration is something my daughter learned in Kindergarten and I think it is so powerful! Continue reading There’s No Beauty Cream For THESE Wrinkles →