Joe’s Mojo

Joe Hartin’s eighty year-old knees popped five times as he kneeled down to meet my five year-old stature. His bloodshot eyes looked massive through his prescription eyeglasses as they sized me up with a long gaze into my face.  I squirmed, terribly aware of the drooping eyelids covering half his pupils while the other half bored a hole through my early childhood psyche. The eyelids fluttered while his brain worked on the next sentence to come out of his mouth.

“Well, well…you knew quite a few Bible verses. I’ll let you choose a coin for a reward.  Which one would you like?”

It was 1967 and any one of the “monies” in Joe’s open, weathered hand was fascinating.  “I think that’s a dime,” I thought to myself as I stared into his palm full of coins.  “I think a Hershey bar is a dime.  Maybe I could eat one square for twelve days if I took that coin.”

I was hesitating for too long as I thought through my options.  I looked up at Joe’s face and saw him grimace, then slightly shift.  He was hurting and I needed to choose.

I took a breath and said, “I’d like THAT one.”  I timidly reached out and touched the biggest silver coin in his hand.  I didn’t know its value; I only understood its size in relation to the others

A few too many seconds went by before a smile broke across Joe’s face.  He looked up to my father who was observing the scene, then shakily stood back up.  With his other hand, he carefully picked up “THAT one” and handed it to me, patted me on the head and walked away chuckling.

I still have that half-dollar in my jewelry box and I’m never going to spend it.

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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

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“Red Dirt Dining” and “Red Dirt Dives” ~ What’s the Difference?

“Great minds think alike,” right?  Well, that seems to be the situation for at least a couple of issues here at the Red Dirt Chronicles.  Let’s take food reviews, for example.

We’ve been doing eating establishment reviews since our inception.  We have ten restaurant reviews in various parts of the state archived now, as well as posted on the Oklahoma Urban Spoon website.  These restaurant reviews get readership every day because people are out there, driving around in our state, looking for a great place to eat.  Makes sense, right?  We also created, however, a series called Red Dirt Dives.

In February of this year, we rolled out our first Red Dirt Dives post with a commentary on Railhead BBQ in Guthrie.  Next was The Rock restaurant in Stroud.  Our Red Dirt Dives series creator is now working on a piece  about a “dive” in Perkins she enjoyed.  And, we have another contributor who wishes to be a part of this series as well.

However, about 6-8 weeks ago, Channel 9 News rolled out a series called “Red Dirt Dining.” Amanda Taylor is the host and the premise of their series is to put on video what we’ve been putting in writing.  Are you starting to see why some people are confused?  Let me add to the confusion just a bit more…

In Oklahoma there is a Red Dirt Cafe (in the books, but now out of business).  And, you’ll never believe just how many things can get mixed together on a Google search when it comes to Red Dirt and food in Oklahoma.  Or maybe you will…

Regardless, I thought perhaps we should publish this post because now we’re beginning to get mail (for Amanda) suggesting places Channel 9 News should cover for their fourth Red Dirt Dive feature…I mean Dining… wait – what??

What I mean is…right now, we’re just going to continue what we do and how we’ve been doing it until “something has to give.”  Hopefully that won’t happen.  But if it does, we’ll let you know.

Situations like this aren’t uncommon.  We found out a couple of months ago that although we’ve been running a series called “The Imaginary Family Project,” which is really cool by the way, since January there is now a potentially confusing situation with This Land Press. Continue reading “Red Dirt Dining” and “Red Dirt Dives” ~ What’s the Difference?

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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

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