Parked outside the swanky Mayo Hotel in downtown Tulsa. Who owns it, some big rock music group or retirees Bob and Betty who decided oh why not a get a hotel room just this once?
What do you think?
This is the Day
24This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
(Psalm 118:24, King James Version)
A Mule Named Jed
This is an update on son SuperPizzaBoy’s therapeutic riding program, “Bit by Bit” at Roger’s State University here in Oklahoma. He is still participating and doing very well and loves it even though he and his Mom have to drive 25 miles to the program after school on Monday evenings.
Recently they have switched him over to a mule named Jed. Jed is over 20 years old but still looks great. (To my unknowledgable eye at least.) Jed seems like a very calm and collected mule. SPB’s instructor says he is doing better than ever. We are big fans of Bit by Bit.
Bit by Bit has very few paid staff. The outrider’s ensuring the safety of the rider and the people taking care of the horses and the stable are all volunteers. We appreciate them very much.
We the clients of Bit by Bit are big fans. They do a lot with not very much.
Son is gaining more and more confidence with every session. He is going to participate in a Pinto Show and an Appaloosa show at the Tulsa Fairgrounds later this year.
There is no way that he could do this without Bit by Bit.
SPB has a form of Autism called Asperger’s Syndrome. Hippotherapy helps with his body awareness in several different ways.
I’m sure that there are similar programs near where you live.
Give them a little love if you are so moved and able.
Related articles
- April is Autism Awareness Month (autismsocietyofnc.wordpress.com)
Three Trees on the San Antonio River
Driveway Skywatch
The Kings of Leon at the BOK Center
Last week Sweetie and I dropped the kid off at Nana’s (the world’s best baby sitter) and headed downtown to the BOK Center to see the Kings of Leon in concert.
I didn’t know much about them and I was very surprised. These guys can rock. They are three brothers and a cousin who formed the band in Tennessee in 1999. Check out the Kings of Leon Wikipedia site for my information.
The arena was packed with a very appreciative audience. We were on our feet for most of the concert. What I love in a concert is when the band and the audience are really tied emotionally together. Not too many performers command that. Garth Brooks, Michael Buble, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts get that, so does the Kings of Leon.
There wasn’t a whole lot of chit chat, they just played, and played hard.
(sorry for the fuzzy photo).
I didn’t find out until the next day that the Kings of Leon have an Oklahoma connection. They were awarded a Rising Star Award at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame just prior to the concert. A couple of them were born in Oklahoma and they said they consider themselves “Sooners at heart” and are talking about buying homes here.
I rate these guys five stars out of five. I don’t think Sweetie liked them near as much as I did. If they come to your neck of the woods and you like great rock music check them out.
Mexican Manhattan
Mexican Manhattan is a restaurant in downtown San Antonio, Texas.
San Antonio River Geocaching
I was in San Antonio last week to attend a convention. I have been before several times and have found almost all the caches in the central part of downtown so I have to go farther and farther to find more. I have to do my geocaching early in the morning mostly.
So off I went at first light.
By day and night the walk is bustling. Early in the morning its just walkers, runners, and geocachers, and lots of security folks. I’ve always felt pretty safe on the canal at odd hours. I keep my wits about me, just like I do anywhere.
The canal is a masterpiece. A walker’s paradise.
Away from the core tourist area the canal winds its way among condos, apartment buildings, and office buildings.
The caches are mainly “microcaches” they are small because they are not that many good places to hide big containers.
The above might be the worst hidden cache in Texas. See that black thing underneath the trash can? Yep that’s it. I don’t suspect that this cache will last for long. I spotted it from over a 100 feet away.
There is no cache here, I just liked how the trees wrapped around each other.
No cache here either, I just liked how the rising sun was peeking through the trees.
I just love locks and dams. I don’t see too many so I like to stop and ponder the technology and how they work and all that.
As I got farther and farther away from downtown the caches started getting a little bigger.
The oldest VFW post in Texas. Note the Tower of the Americas. That is close to where I started walking, and it wasn’t a straight line. I just love walking long distances.
I love whimsy. I posted other photos of this scene earlier this week. I love’em.
Mom and her kids on an outing.
There are all sorts of plaques and explanatory diagrams along the canal. This was my wow moment. I always wondered what they did during floods. The divert the river to a 24 feet diameter tunnel, three miles long, 150 feet under the river. It cost $150 million and they have used it a few times.
Aren’t engineers wonderful. Find one and give them a big kiss would you? Be gender appropriate, if you know what you mean. I don’t need any smooches from guys. Just saying.
This is called “The Grotto.” I found it kind of creepy. Sorry.
Found a big geocache! I love the big ones. They are easier to find than the small ones. It was time to get moving. I went back to the hotel overland.
I passed this hotel, The Havana on the way back. Maybe I’ll stay there. I love the look of it. It really isn’t close to anything I need to do but it is cool. Maybe I’ll just see if they have a bar and have a drink. That’s almost as good as staying there in my book.
That’s about it folks. I walked close to to 10 miles, didn’t find that many caches but I had a a great time.
To find out more about geocaching check out my Geocaching 101 Post.
Tractor Wheels and High Heels by Ree Drummond (Improved Version)
If you are in blogland anywhere from Kansas to Kazakhstan you have heard of Ree Drummond and her blog Pioneer Woman. I can tell you that us here in Oklahoma are very proud of her and her success. I cheered like the Dallas Cowboys actually won a post season game when she kicked Bobby Flay’s butt in their throw down. (Really though, he never had a chance.) Her cookbook was a fabulous success, shoot I even cooked one of her recipes.
Now she has put a book out about the romance between her and the Marlboro Man and how it all got started. I thought I would review it, but I have to tell you, I am kind of busy right now and I didn’t actually read the book. But that is alright isn’t it. I mean if politicians can invoke the Bible and the Constitution without actually reading them, then why can’t I review a book without reading it? I mean I’ve read enough other reviews that I think I get the “sense” of the book. Besides, I’m just going to offer a few suggestions on to make the book more marketable to men.
Now some may object that this book is true and my suggestions are not the truth and in fact didn’t happen. Well, as we know the truth is different things to different people. I’m just going to offer some truths that may sell more books. Is that a terrible thing? Besides if the suggestions are plausible then they could have happened. What is the difference between could of and did happen? These are questions to think about when you are trying to sell the truth.
First, there are no good love scenes in the book. I mean of the physical kind. That’s all I’m going to say about this except that when guys pick up a romance they skim until they find the good parts. So think about adding some good parts.
Second, you know this is Oklahoma, you need to have a fistfight between Marlboro Man and J. Something that starts in a bar and spills out in the street and goes on a long time. Marlboro Man beats the crap out of J but J hold his own and so there is this mutual grudging respect. You know they don’t become friends exactly but they tip their hats to each other when they see each other. You may quibble that such a fight didn’t take place. Well perhaps it should have. Think about it.
Third, you need some sort of crisis where the Marlboro Man jumps in and saves the day. You know like the horse you were on takes off and is about to jump a cliff and Marlboro Man stops it, and you are so grateful, you know that sort of thing.
Fourth, add some sort of emergency that you and the Man overcome. It could be a grass fire or a grease fire. Something where you both save the day.
Fifth, add some sort of murder that you and he solve. It could be out on the ranch or in Pawhuska, anywhere. That would add a little suspense and mystery. It could be like a former ranch hand that did it or something. You could add a little Patricia Cornwell riff if you like, help solve the murder. Plus you could draw in some crusty local characters like the sheriff and some of the Osage indian leaders. Lots of good material there! I know there might be a little problem with there was no actual murder to solve but you have to think about possibilities. If there was a murder, then you most likely could solve it, right? Are you getting the idea?
Sixth, put in some environmental stuff. You know like the evil wind power companies are going to take over the praire with their towers and the only one stopping them is you. Environmental stuff is good. I mean not so much in Oklahoma, but elsewhere.
Seventh, guys like to see terrorists. Put a terrorist cell in Pawhuska and then have the Marlboro Man root them out. It would be great if he had to use the ranch tank to do it.I mean, you guys got everything else out there, I’m sure that you have a tank. I see the Marlboro Man in a little bit of a Lee Child type thing.
Eighth – You have to do something about the cover for the Improved Version. Think back to Sarah Palin in a bikini and a machine gun. You have to put yourself out there Ree. (I know the photo is a photoshop fake, but Sarah still looks good doesn’t she?)
Ninth – How about a new title. Something like “High Heels and Hand Grenades.” It’s competitive out there Ree. You have to grab people’s attention.
Anyway Ree, this is a few ideas off the top of my head. Feel free to use any of them. If you want to talk more have your people call my people.
Best Not to Mess With Me
On my recent trip to San Antonio I took a long walk through not the best area of town to go see my attorney, Ernest G. Valdez. I’m glad he is my lawyer and not yours. He is a good attorney but very mean. He is so mean…
We keep him in a cage.
You don’t want me to let him out.