Veteran’s Day Parade 2010

The Annual Veteran’s Day Parade in Downtown Tulsa.

Thanks Guys, Gals.

Skywatch Friday – Sunsets from the Office the Past Week

(Sorry for the reflections)

A flock of birds flew by just as the shutter opened. I kind of liked it.

Thanks to Daylight Savings Time I get to see some nice sunsets.

A Slap for a Mid-Century Modern Smart Guy

We went camping a few weeks ago. We needed some ice so I went looking for some. Couldn’t find it anywhere so I had to drive a ways.

Except for this.

A Shell Station. Hmmmm. What’s wrong with a Shell Station? For a guy that used to work for BP I sure seem picky. Well let me tell you about Shell Oil. I used to work for them also. When they sold the assets I was working on, they included a clause in a bidding agreement that prospective purchasers agreed to not hire the employees of the assets unless they bought the assets. Huh!!! Yep that caused a few problems since everybody in the natural gas gathering and processing business in Oklahoma bid on the assets. Employment lawyer’s office said, “you have a great case if you can prove damages.” Good luck with that.

So as Sweetie can testify I do not buy gasoline from Shell and certainly not ice. It’s not an option. So I drove another five miles, for a total of about 15 miles round trip to find some ice.

Of course I felt pretty stupid when I drove back to the State Park where we were camping. Note the striking mid century modern Eufaula State Park Office.

Notice the big old white ice machine out front?

A fish slap for a blind crusty gas guy. One for Shell also!

Have you ever done anything as dumb as that? You don’t need to elaborate.

Two Faces of Oklahoma

Cowboy and Ballerina Mosaics near the Performing Arts Center in Tulsa

Check out Wordless Wednesday

John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park #3

Reconciliation Tower by Ed Dwight at the recently dedicated John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park commemorating the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot.

The tower depicts the story of Blacks in Oklahoma starting in Africa then to slavery in America and then their migration as slaves with their Native American owners on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma and on through Emancipation, the Land Run of 1889, the Race Riot to the present day.

I’m told the Tower was originally designed to be located inside a building with a spiral staircase winding around it.

Please check out That’s My World for other views from all over our world.

Bronze Memorial Plaques Tell Story of Tulsa Race Riots (prweb.com)
Dedication of John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park Marks Major Milestone in American Civil Rights History: Reconciliation and Civility Were Among the Important Themes (prnewswire.com)
Remembering the Worst Race Riot in U.S. History (race.change.org)

Smarts and Arts 2010

The Autism Center of Tulsa had their second annual Smarts and Arts Trivia Quiz Friday Night.

A good time was had by all. My employer, the gas company, sponsored a table so I had some coworkers attending.

Left to right, Eric and Teresa, and Georgette. Eric and Teresa are fellow geocachers but they have let the recent arrival of a new grandbaby cut down their finds. I’ve counseled them about that. I don’t think they took me too seriously.

Jamee, Rebecca, and Pat. Pat brought his toe shoes to the event.

He and tried to start a new thing at work. “Toe Shoe Tuesday” we figured out that the gurgling sound we kept hearing was our careers going down the drain so we put our plans on hold pending further advisement.

The event featured trivia, a silent auction, and art by local children diagnosed with autism. Much of it is quite good.

We ended up buying the piece below. It as a team effort by several children coordinated by an Occuptional Therapist. SuperPizzaBoy participated in its creation.

I helped out at the event. I hauled stuff in and arranged it. My crowning achievement was the creation of the scoring spreadsheet.

The heavy lifting in terms of hours and intensity of work was done by four women: My wife Sweetie, our friend Jonni (of first class blog “That’s Baloney“, and the co-founders of the Autism Center of Tulsa, Jennifer and Michelle. Sweetie and Jonni were co-chairs of the event.

Sorry, I don’t have any photographs of any of them at the event. They were in constant motion all night long. I tried, they were too busy. Below is a photo of Jonni on the left and Sweetie on the right from last Spring. They could hardly stand still then for a photo.

You know, I didn’t notice until just now but their race numbers are anagrams. 718 and 817 each have the same number. Wow. I don’t know what that means. I wanted 666 for my number but it was already taken. Darn it.

The verse of the day is John 20:1, “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb…”

What I think of with this verse is that while the guys were all fast asleep, Mary Magdalene got up to do the work that needed to be done. And some people think that women should not be ministers?

As a bonus, one of my favorite hymns: “God of Wonders” by Third Day. (Thanks to Driller’s Place for for reminding me.)