On the Horizon: Feeding and Inspiring the Hungry

Listening to Dr. Gebisa Ejeta answer my questions was like listening to water slip over smooth rocks. His deep, earnest voice and his true brilliance came out in every answer that he gave. I sat there staring back at him fascinated. I was sitting with a man who had potentially saved millions of people’s lives.

A true humanitarian, Gebisa Ejeta was recognized as the 2009 World Food Prize Laureate for his development of Sorghum hybrids that are resistant to drought and the devastating Striga weed. His developments have increased production and availability of Sorghum and enhanced the food supply of hundreds of millions of people in Africa.

Growing up in a one-room thatched hut in Ethiopia, Ejeta knew how it felt to go hungry. Thanks to his mother, Ejeta pursued an education that would eventually land him at Alemaya College established by Oklahoma State University in eastern Ethiopia. From there he would then go on to attend Purdue University where his research would culminate into a crop that would prove to be life changing for many Africans.

Not only was he a hero in agriculture, he was a national hero on the hardwood. Wearing jerseys from Oklahoma A&M University, Ejeta played on the Ethiopian National Team.

Ejeta has personally trained and inspired a new generation of African farmers and scientists that are continuing to carry on his work. After just a few short minutes with him I know his efforts will affect the people he has helped for centuries to come. (NOTE – there is a long pause at the beginning of this video, then a gap around the 7 minute mark for 30-45 seconds. You may Hold your mouse down and pull the ticker forward to skip the black space. Thanks.)
~ Courtenay Dehoff

 

On the Horizon: Feeding and Inspiring the Hungry from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.

Comments

comments

Am I Fooling Myself?

20110724-075733.jpg

I attended a self described “Old Man Concert” recently under a hot Oklahoma night sky. Styx and Yes were playing at the Zoo Amphitheater. Music from the 70’s and 80’s, you say? Definitely old guy stuff in the modern era.

After the show was over and the lights came up, I had a “paradigm improvement” on what it may mean to be “an older man”.

A few years back, admittedly when I was younger, I would frequently talk with some colleagues about my job as a “younger man’s game”. I thought it wise thinking, and it sounded good when I said it, but I think I was fooling myself. Allow me to attempt an contextual explanation:

I was first introduced to “Styx” at around the age of 9. My dad was was a High School Principal at a small school district in East Texas, and he had the task of approving the theme song for the senior banquet. They picked “Come Sail Away.” It was 1975, and current band leader Tommy Shaw had just joined the band at the ripe old age of 22. My dad put the 33 LP on his Realistic/Radio Shack component stereo turntable, and the soft ballad began. We sat in the living room listening, and my dad (an easy listening music fan) was surprised and pleased by the tune. Two verses later, the real rock started. Continue reading Am I Fooling Myself?

Comments

comments

The 2011 Imaginary Family Project – Week 30

#30 of 52 : ALEX AND VICTORIA RAND
The Imaginary Family Project Week 30

External Photo Clues:
None

Imagine:
    As Alex and Victoria Rand looked back on their married lives for the last fifty years as Oklahomans, they could see that God had blessed them. They had three healthy children and were certainly proud to be Oklahomans.

Both Alex and Victoria were descendents from hard workers on each side of the family. They were both from  very large families in Burneyville, Oklahoma. They knew how to share things and to be frugal. Alex and Victoria gave new meaning to the term, “survivors of the fittest.”

Victoria could remember having her own “tow sack” to pull cotton alongside her mother and father and seven siblings. On one occasion, she could remember pulling bolls with snow on the ground. She could remember picking up pecans with her back to the wind and building a fire to keep warm underneath the pecan trees in Southern Oklahoma. Continue reading The 2011 Imaginary Family Project – Week 30

Comments

comments

From a man in transition to a transitioned man

While on vacation last week, the realization finally hit me that over the course of the last year or so I have taken up residence in an entirely new stage of adulthood.

I’m not sure exactly when this realization first dawned on me. Perhaps it was when we were packing the night before we left. As I looked around my living room at all the stuff we were taking with us this year that we didn’t even own this time last year it made my head spin a bit.

  • Diaper bag.
  • Pack ‘N’ Play.
  • Package of diapers.
  • Several jars of baby food.
  • Tons of toys.
  • Three tiny swimsuits.
  • Car seat.
  • Stroller (which ended up being too big to fit in our rented minivan with all of our other stuff).
  • An entire suitcase filled with miniature clothing that did not belong to either my wife or myself.

Perhaps it hit me the next morning while sweating like a nun in a brothel as I tried to get all of that stuff, plus mine and my wife’s belongings, into the back of the minivan. Continue reading From a man in transition to a transitioned man

Comments

comments

On the Horizon: “Lesson” of the Day – Eating Healthy Can Be Fun

Human health has been an issue for as long as I can remember. We see more and more people losing an uphill battle to weight gain and fast food chains are profiting from it. It seems like every channel has a new weight loss reality show starting that promises to change our lives. My question is why do we wait and let it get so bad?

In this week’s video blog, we show you how an Oklahoma woman is teaching kids to cook and eat healthy. The recipes are simple and quite tasty. Just a glimpse of a fun and proactive way to help battle the obesity beast before it gets out of control.

~ Andy Barth

 

On the Horizon: Eating Healthy Can Be Fun from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.

Comments

comments

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