Metta World Peace, You Just Brought Out My “Mama Bear,” Dude

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Photo Courtesy of ABC Sports

To say that I’ve become an Oklahoma City Thunder fan since we got our team four years ago would be an understatement.  I follow the players on Twitter.  I go to the games, listen to them on the radio or watch them on TV.  I coach them from my kitchen while cooking meals.

In other words?  I’ve got Thunder fever and am naming it AND claiming it.  I make no apologies for being grateful for my now hometown NBA team, so yesterday this generally emotionally regulated momma lost it.  During the first half of the OKC Thunder-Lakers game, World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest) went up for a basket, came down to celebrate, and in the heat of the moment drew his arm back and knocked James Harden down with what can only be described or construed as a recently discussed bounty hit.

It was mean, it was out of control, and it really hurt Harden.  So much so that although the LA team docs first thought Harden could play in the second half, they later withdrew their decision and Harden saw no more court time for the rest of the game.  Now it appears that he does indeed have a concussion from the blow and may miss more than a few games. The only thing more unpredictable than this situation? A parlay, where the stakes and excitement keep building with every play.

Time will tell.  Time will also tell how the NBA will deal more long term with World Peace’s actions.

But suffice it to say, this momma bear AIN’T happy.  World Peace, you hurt my player.  You were out of control and you hurt another person in an action that was completely avoidable.  You beat on your chest, you argued that it wasn’t your fault, and it was only after the game that you showed some degree of contrition.

I’m mad at you, World Peace.  You need to do better, or you need to stay off the court.

***

[kelly]

 

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My Little Victory Garden: Everyone Begins Somewhere

See recipe at the end of this post. Yum.

There are a couple of things I’ve noticed about social media.

First, I really am influenced by messages I receive throughout the week about what I might want to buy for cooking meals, where I might wish to plan my next trip, or how I decide to choose spend some of my discretionary funds to purchase a book for upcoming summer reading.

For example, this week I saw that Stilwell Strawberries had just been received at the Urban Agrarian, I “Tweeted” them a question asking if they would be bringing some to the Edmond Farmer’s Market opening day, and received this reply back: “Absolutely.”  Immediately, I began planning what to cook for my family on Sunday night, but more so, I COULD begin that planning because of the social tools we now use today. I had heard a “rally cry” that began in the eastern Oklahoma strawberry fields and had been carried through the central OKC relay system, with the end result landing on my kitchen table.

Second, because of social media, the producers in Oklahoma have become personal to me.  I’ve intentionally shifted my food budget from approximately 10-15% local purchases two years ago, to approximately 50% or more local purchases today.  Every month when I read the Oklahoma Food Cooperative‘s “Producer Notes” I get to hear what is going on at the farm/ranch level.  I get to learn how it is that I have new product choices or why it is that certain weather or economic factors influence what I choose for a particular month.

I can plan my own garden because I know I’m more or less likely to get certain crops at the market every year at pretty decent prices, therefore I plant to harvest what I know will help me save money and I have the best chance of growing successfully….and that complements what I can already get through our local food distributions systems here in the state.  I can ask questions about certain products or swap recipes (or send photographs of the final products!) to my connections on Facebook and Twitter which then helps all of us gain more ideas about how to manage and balance our food purchases and inventory.

In other words, just two years after I started building a social media network comprised of locally focused resources that interest me, I feel more informed and competent about running my own household and my own life here in central Oklahoma. And, I have a much greater sense of connection to those in Oklahoma who are producing healthy, local food.  And finally, I count myself in that bunch to a degree because I really enjoy the goodness I get from my garden in so many ways.

I’m writing this post because I’ve recently received a few messages from people who feel “inadequate” in terms of growing gardens or cooking locally.  The majority of these notes were from people younger than I who expressed self-doubts about whether or not they could “grow anything.”  Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Everyone Begins Somewhere

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The Truth in Art

I like the Bible. I like the whole story. To me the Bible is an extraordinary work of art, masterfully painted with exacting strokes, contrasting colors, and the most amazing Light source we could ever know. There are parts of this painting, certain parts of its composition that I don’t like in and of themselves; there are dark, foreboding shadows that I don’t even understand. However, when I see the finished piece, Genesis to the Revelation, I marvel at the simplicity and complexity.

Da Vinci's Last Supper

The first time I carefully studied The Last Supper (da Vinci) it came to life. I had seen a print of this famous work hanging in Grandma Caldwell’s dining room many, many years ago. I never knew why the disciples looked upset, I didn’t know the context. These days I have to be honest and admit that I don’t really like the painting, mainly because I don’t like this part of the Jesus story–I know the darkness that is soon to come. I do like the technical ability of da Vinci and am amazed at the creativity and skill it took to paint this story. Leonardo allows us to see biblical drama; he tells a story with his brush.

I have spent much of my Christian life just learning to see. That’s a request I share with a blind guy whose request of Jesus was simply, “Lord, I want to see.”  That’s a pretty good request, to see. The crazy thing about it is, Plato claimed we could only see lines and shapes; he was certain that true form was beyond our paltry five senses. I suppose he was correctly guessing that there must be something more, something eternal. The theme of our humanity is just that, there must be something more. The Scripture explains it this way, “God has placed eternity in our hearts.”

I’ve often thought of my life as a painting.  For one thing, that’s the only way I can understand my choices against God’s almighty plan. Continue reading The Truth in Art

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On the Horizon: One Sweet Career

It all started in Brenham, Texas. Blue Bell Creamery first opened its doors in 1907 and soon became known as “the best ice cream in the world,” but Texans aren’t the only ones enjoying the sweet taste of Blue Bell.

For Marty Kilgore his career at the Blue Bell Creamery Plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, began at a very early age. After his high school graduation Marty stopped in for something other than ice cream…a job. Years later, he’s still there heading up the operation that is sure to put a smile on your face.

In this week’s video blog, Marty takes us through the massive Blue Bell plant and shows us just how your favorite flavor gets from the cow to the grocery store.
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Young Oklahomans Speak: How Do You Decide The Appropriate Age For Marriage?

http___www.bigleaguekickball.com_category_press_ soma cod  Most of the time, you’ll find first person commentary on the Red Dirt Chronicles.  Today, however, I’m going to share with you a “third person” report in full because it explores a specific question directly related to a cause for higher divorce:  That is, marrying at younger ages than the general national average.

In Oklahoma, our average age at first marriage has measured steadily for the last 10-15 years around 18 months to 2 years younger than the national average.  And, research shows that those who marry in the 18-22 (approx) age bracket tend to get divorced more, and more quickly, than those who marry a little later (25-26ish).  Professor Emeritus Robert Spector of the University of Oklahoma once said in his family law lecture, “There is one solution to immediately affect the divorce rate in a downward trend.  Simply raise the legal age of marriage in the State of Oklahoma to 21.”  And although this statement was provided in a way where those in the classroom understood it was not a change likely to happen, the truth still remains: By and large, young Oklahomans make decisions to enter marriages earlier than their national peers and our divorce rate is generally one of the top three in the nation.

Of course many factors are in play related to this situation.  Some cite religious factors related to the struggle between being encouraged to abstain from sexual intercourse versus the physical strife to do so in speeding up the decision to marry.  Others cite more traditional views and modeling of parents who also married young and see no problem, many times rightfully so, in marrying at younger ages.  And finally, many anecdotal conversations with youth under thirty cite varying degrees of pressure (and many cite extreme degrees) from their families of origin – encouraging them to “make the next step” toward their life narrative of finishing school, getting married and having children. And there is always the factor of teenage pregnancy sometimes leading to marriage.

Two years ago I was contacted by a Family and Consumer Sciences Extension educator in Dewey county.  She was concerned because anecdotal observations in her particular area led her to believe that students may be marrying even younger than they were a decade ago.  She asked me to consider setting up a study to investigate this question.  I hired an undergraduate research assistant to pull a clean copy of marriage and divorce records for the state so we could see if there were shifts toward a downward age trend.  I’d like to note that this study was funded by the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative and we are very grateful for their contribution to our efforts.

While our findings showed that there were no shifts toward marrying younger, we did decide to look into the general questions of “why.”  We felt if we understood factors related to decision making about marriage, we could then consider what was, and was not within, the control of any intervention to make change.  So, Dan Hubler, my graduate research assistant and Kate Kirk, my undergraduate assistant and I went on road trips.  Three to be exact. Continue reading Young Oklahomans Speak: How Do You Decide The Appropriate Age For Marriage?

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