One Good Turn

Helen, my okra giving, red dirt living, Oklahoma friend, saw the Name Doodles that I created for Alice. She commented that she really like them, and so (of course) I was happy to create one for her. One good turn deserves another, as they say.

Thank you again Helen, for the Okra treat. We enjoyed it dearly.

The Boys of October

Just a doodle that I did a few years ago that I thought I would post now. October is close at hand and the baseball playoffs are just around the corner. I'm not big into baseball, but I like doing a doodle or duo (meaning "or two") about it.

In other news...

One of the joys of blogging is making new friends. While doing some blog surfing the other day I ran across the name of Reddirt Woman. I knew right away she had to be from Oklahoma. I've got some red dirt flowing in my viens too.

On her blog she had a photograph of the okra plants in her garden. I commented that the wife and I LOVE okra. We can never find fresh okra out here in Oregon. (If you don't know what I'm talking about you're not from the south.)

The next thing I knew I got an e-mail from Reddirt W., offering to mail me some. I couldn't believe it, but it was an offer that I could hardly refuse.

Offering to pay for the postage, the only thing she require was that I "pay it forward" to some other person in need. What a deal!!

I didn't tell my wife about the surprise coming in the mail - Dirt Lady mailed it last Saturday with two day postage, no less. It arrived this afternoon.

Our daughter brought the package in and I knew right away what was inside. When my wife step into the room I asked her, "Do you love me?" She looked at me and then that the box and asked what it was. I said something about, "You know how I connect with people through my blog...?" She said, "Oh no, what is it?"

I opened the package and showed her what was inside. She just laughed, and laughed. I told her the story about my Okie friend. She was amazed that someone would go to so much trouble, and spend so much money to send us some fresh okra. I was too.

We cooked them up right away. A little oil, corn meal in a frying pan and it tasted great. (Boiled okra? Slimy and YUCK! Fried okra - crispy and yummy! You've got to try it.)



Thank you Reddirt Woman for your terrific kindness to a stranger. We have been blessed by your generosity and I will not forget my debt to pass it forward.

Oh, and thank you for the fresh tomato too. Another lovely treat.

Why don't the rest of you give my friend the DirtRed Woman a visit on her blog and do a little electronic drool over her garden. (But I suggest that you just scroll past the photos of her doggie. Sorry RDW, I just had to add that.)

Sooner Fans

This is another example of some of the custom work that I do. It is a caricature that I did of the sons of a former secretary (great gal). They are obviously big fans of the Oklahoma University Sooners. In Oklahoma, you're either a Sooner (OU), or a Cowboy (OSU).

Some of you may wonder what a Sooner is. Well... when the government decided to open up some of the indian territory to settlement back in the late 1800's, they conducted various land runs. If anybody wanted to get a piece of land FOR FREE all they had to do was line up at the appointed place on the appointed date and when a cannon was fired, they had to run, ride, crawl, skip, to plant their stake on a piece of property. (See the movie "Far And Away" for visual clarity.)

My great grandfather was in the Oklahoma Cherokee Strip Run - 1893. (Many Oklahomans forget that there was more than one land run.) Anyone that participated in the land run was called a Boomer, i.e. Land Boom. BUT, if you cheated and snuck across the line earlier than you were supposed to, you were called a Sooner, because you went across the line "sooner."

So, the Oklahoma University mascot is basically a cheater.

Now, I have MANY friends and relatives that live in Oklahoma (In fact I was BORN in Oklahoma). Those people are fairly passionate about their college sports. So, I'm a bit concerned about the effect that my earlier statement will have on our relationship. But... if there are any hard feelings, I would say that I think it's better to be be named after a cheater than after a water fowl - like a Duck.