Message to All the First Runners Up

Betty Thompson, Miss Oklahoma and First Runner Up Miss America

Miss Kate Kirk spoke up in my Human Sexuality class last year. And I took notice. She was thoughtful, and not afraid to interject a comment.

Then she specifically came to me last summer and asked about a research internship related to strengthening marriages.

We drove all over the state conducting interviews to find out how youth in Oklahoma make decisions regarding the best age to get married.  Oklahomans enter into their first marriages an average of 2.5 years earlier than the rest of the nation.  One of the main factors found to determine marriages lasting through the first five years is the age of first marriage.

Kate typed transcripts of the interviews for hours and hours and hours.  I wasn’t sure she was going to make it at times…but she finished the project.  She turned in a report.  And, when Miss Oklahoma State University won the Miss Oklahoma contest, Kate stepped into her new role as Miss Oklahoma State University (having formerly earned the first runner-up title).

Tonight, Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson won First Runner-Up in the Miss America Contest.

I’ll bet Kate knows how she feels.  And, Kate also knows that sometimes First Runners-Up need to step into the role of THE representative.

What I know, however, is that the hearts and the minds of our two First Runners-Up are sharper and hold more promise than any evening gown will every afford them.  I know that they are special because they work with children, they want to make a difference in our world, and they are genuinely kind people who care about those around them and who they encounter in their travels.

You GO, Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson, Now First Runner Up…good job!  And, YOU go, Kate Kirk, Miss Oklahoma State University.  You are in my heart and I love you.  I love all my students, but I love you in a special research assistant-who-finished-her-work-and-did-a-great-job way.

Enjoy the night, Betty Thompson…and know that you are loved.  And Kate, you already know you’re loved by me!

And hey, all you First Runners Up out there (literally and figuratively), you never know when you might need to step into that leadership role.  So keep your crown polished!

Kate Kirk - the now reigning Miss OSU

Miss Kate Kirk, formerly First Runner Up Miss OSU – now the reigning Miss OSU

Find me at the Red Dirt Chronicles

Best, Red Dirt Kelly

 

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I Love The Story — Hunger Games

I love the Gospel story. It is the story of a broken world, a place where darkness, suffering, pain, and fear wreaks havoc on the human race. The people cry out, “Why God, why must we suffer?!!!” The people wonder if God knows about the situation down here. Oh, He knows about it alright. We have a Christmas story to tell because not only is God aware, He has come into the mire. The Son came to earth because we need a Hero, we need a Savior.

 

Andy's redemption, Shawshank Redemption

Can we even begin to count the number of stories there are about suffering and struggle and protagonist who overcomes? I love stories like Shawshank Redemption, The Wizard of Oz, and Saving Private Ryan. I love stories that involve sacrifice and redemption. So did J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings who said, “There cannot be any ‘story’ without a fall – all stories are ultimately about the fall – at least not for human minds as we know them and have them.”

It was Tolkien’s friendship with an atheist friend and a shared passion for story that was instrumental in turning that friend to the Gospel story. C.S. Lewis, the friend, came to believe that all great stories have elements traced back to The Story.

J.R.R. Tolkien

In 2011 I decided I should pick a book I had oft seen around the campus where I work. I settled down on a windy afternoon in the early fall and opened to page one of The Hunger Games. Within a few days I had read all three books in The Hunger Games series and MAN! I loved the story!!!

C.S. Lewis said, “Christianity is the story of how a rightful King has landed and is calling us to His great campaign of sabotage.” The Hunger Games trilogy is definitely a story of sabotage, and gives us a character that refuses to be a pawn in someone else’s story.

I’ll stop there. Stop reading this article and start reading The Hunger Games. You will love this story and perhaps reflect soulfully about The Greatest Story Ever Told. And if you’ve already run the gaunlet with Katniss, I would be very interested to hear your insight or Gospel revelation in the story.

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Paula Deen’s Got “The Sugah Diabeetus,” Y’all

 

Approximately 10 a.m. CST I logged in to Twitter on my laptop. I rarely check “trending” because I Tweet to connect with my local Okie, business, industry, agricultural and blogging contacts.

I was frowning because a local Tweet voice was at the same time feigning sympathy for a young girl who had wrecked her car while posting a photo of her misfortune.

“If you really felt sorry for her, you’d respect her privacy dude.” I was preaching to my PC screen.

Then I saw it. Someone connected to me had retweeted this message put out by The Daily:

Exclusive: , queen of Southern cooking, to reveal she has diabetes

I glanced over to “trending” and saw that “Paula Deen” was number one.

“What?” I did a mental double-take, considering the information.  I was still sorting through the news when I clicked on the trending link.  And then I wanted to throw up.  Here’s a sample of the truly low messages flying through Twitter-space today:

PaulaDeen to announce she has diabetes. She found out with a simple blood test. Dr pricked her finger, butterscotch oozed out. Continue reading Paula Deen’s Got “The Sugah Diabeetus,” Y’all

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On the Horizon: Child labor laws – We’re talking about a way of life

Over Christmas I had the rare opportunity to turn the camera on my own family. I managed to escape some of the holiday madness by hiding behind my lens as my family worked throughout the holidays on our ranch in Northeast Kansas.

Few issues have ignited as much debate as the proposed child labor laws and like hundreds of other families our opinions on the issue are strong. We could think of no better way to portray this story than through the eyes of my little sister. For a few days I followed her around our ranch in Tonganoxie, Kansas, and eventually on to our grandparent’s ranch in Allen, Kansas. The story not only tackled the debate head on it may just have ended up being one of the most rewarding stories in my young career.

In this week’s video blog, the DeHoff family shows us what farming and ranching is really all about.
~Courtenay DeHoff

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Without Words: My Chinese Doctor Doll Has Come A Long Way, Baby

I had been in China for six days and had not caved once.  I was looking for what I felt was the perfect memento for my trip.  After drinking espresso with my colleagues at the base of the Great Wall, I wandered into the back of the store…then through a corridor, and into a room I didn’t know existed.  It was crammed with Chinese antiques from the floor to the ceiling.

There wasn’t a soul in sight so I had the quiet luxury of taking a moment from my traveling group to wander the aisles.  Armor, pottery, furniture, weapons…as I slowly stepped through the history of China and its artifacts I began to think, “Perhaps this is where I’ll find my memento.”

And I did.  On my second trip around the room, my eyes rose to the glass encased artifacts behind the counter and I drew in my breath.  “Stop, Kelly.  They’re going to be too expensive.”  I was already talking myself down from the purchase and didn’t even know their cost, much less their value.

As I peered closer, I knew which one I wanted.  There were three doctor dolls behind the case, of various materials and sizes.  And, of various levels of detail.  But the one I wanted was ivory and so delicately carved that I could see the twists of hair in her bun.

It took almost an hour to buy her.  I had not bargained so zealously for anything on this trip.  Twice I walked out of the store.  But in the end I had a turn of the century Chinese doctor doll, a certificate of authenticity and confirmation from the government regarding its validity, and a smile on my face.

I had found my memento and she had found me.

Why was she so important, you might wonder?  Well, the reason was contextual.  I was traveling with a group of marriage and family therapists and we were working with hospital and university training programs for the brand new and emerging field of family therapy in China.  And…a theme kept emerging from these meetings.

“Our students want me to teach human sexuality classes to help them with their patients, but we don’t have those classes in China.  And, I don’t want to teach them.”

“Most marital problems in China are written off as sexual problems, and because of that, couples simply get a divorce.  You can’t really help sexual problems.”

“It is still difficult for females to have discussions about sexual issues with their doctors, let alone their therapists.  We normally don’t talk much about such things.”

I first became familiar with Chinese doctor dolls when I watched the 1989 dark comedy, “The War of the Roses.”  I’ll never forget that film.  We had taken a friend who was going through a divorce.  The movie was about a horrible divorce.  I’ll let you guess about the success of our evening out.

In the opening scene, Barbara shows up at a Nantucket antique auction and outbids Oliver for a Chinese doctor doll.  The conversation over that piece brought them together, and it was the last meaningful shred of their marriage that was shattered into a million pieces right before they killed each other in a long, drawn-out and tragic divorce. Continue reading Without Words: My Chinese Doctor Doll Has Come A Long Way, Baby

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