Spring is one of my favorite times of the year.
     The flowers are starting to blossom, the grass is gaining a touch of green and the trees are awakening from their winter slumber.
      So are the local ice cream shops across Iowa and the Midwest.
Even though winter is trying to hang on, local eateries such as Grinnell’s Dairy Barn and Montezuma’s Dairy King are already bustling with business. In fact, Debbie and I have already visited the Dairy King three times for a meal since it opened in late March.
     I got to thinking about a tasty ice cream cone or a double cheeseburger with mayo and pickle and an order of onion rings and it reminded me of my growing up days in the south.
     My hometown of Tulsa was home to a number of drive-in’s and small eateries.
    Pennington’s Drive-In on south Peoria Avenue was a long-time iconic eatery just a mile from the Arkansas River that flowed on the western edge of downtown Tulsa before rolling south. That section of Peoria Avenue was referred to as Tulsa’s Restless Ribbon, a two-mile stretch of pavement where boys cruised in their hotrods with their girls on Friday and Saturday nights. I often took my old 1959 Chevrolet Impala, my first car, to the Restless Ribbon back in the day to park and check out the girls. I’m thankful for the sound advice of my mother and the good Lord for keeping me on the straight and narrow and out of trouble’s way.
     Pennington’s featured 60 drive-in spots and was in business from 1951 to 1987. They served tasty shrimp baskets, burgers and their famous Black-Bottom Pie, a Southern creamy icebox delight made with bittersweet-chocolate and a graham cracker crust. The food was served by a car hop on metal trays that hung on your car window.
    Customers ordered their food at Pennington’s on the Order-Matic speaker systems that according to an article I read about the restaurant, was later used by another famous Oklahoma car-hop stop: Sonic Drive-In.
     Boots Drive-In on south Sheridan Road was another Tulsa favorite where teenagers from Will Rogers High School, my alum mater, and neighboring Hale High School would hang out after a football or basketball game. And I can’t forget about Shaw’s Drive-In on south Yale Avenue, another favorite drive-in eatery in Tulsa.
   And of course, I can’t forget about the numerous 10-stool eateries across T-town. Bills, Ron’s, Ted’s Hamburgers, where customers could eat their meal seated in old wooden school desks; and Freddie’s Hamburgers, a Tulsa favorite owned and operated by a high school classmate of mine, the now late Fred Willis. Freddie’s was a yearly fixture at the Tulsa State Fair. When at the fair, my dad always enjoyed eating at Freddie’s and visiting with Fred, who was known for his friendly demeanor.
      I can’t forget about Weber’s Drive-In where they served famous Weber’s Root Beer and the Chuck Wagon Drive-In in Tulsa. The Chuck Wagon eatery resembled a chuck wagon and they provided car-hop service or you could pick up your meal at the to-go window.
      Goldies Patio Grill was a Tulsa favorite for years. There may still be a few of them around. They featured chargrilled hamburgers, fries and a pickle bar. They bar featured about every kind of pickle that could be pickled.
     A column on food wouldn’t be complete without mentioning another Tulsa institution of tasty delights, Coney-I-Lander. The eatery, which served grilled coneys served on a bun with chili and cheese, has been around since 1926. One of my favorites is still located on the original Route 66 that rolled through T-town, less than a mile from my boyhood home.
     After moving to Missouri, then Iowa, it took me awhile to grasp the concept of a Maid-Rite loose meat sandwich.
     My first experience of eating a loose meat sandwich happened while I was a student at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I stopped at a drive-in on Broadway in downtown Columbia near the university for lunch. I checked out the menu and decided to order a couple zip burgers, thinking they were a local name given to a hamburger.
     I opened the first one and about half of it fell on my lap and the floorboard of my pickup truck.
     “What the heck is this,” I’m thinking, as I try save part of my meal.
     That was a new experience for a southern boy.
    After moving to Iowa, it didn’t take me long to be introduced to the famous Maid-Rite loose meat sandwich. In the south, we called them a sloppy joe, a saucy, tomato-based creation severed over an open faced bun.
Debbie loves Maid-Rites. I’ve eaten local versions of loose meat sandwiches at football games and community events many times through the years. I know people love them and that is OK. I’ll stick with a regular cheeseburger.
    And chili in the north is called a soup. In the south, chili is a meat dish that some eat with a fork, not a spoon. You can still eat it with a spoon if you wish.
    One of my favorite Iowa and Midwestern eateries is Culver’s. I stop every chance I get for a double deluxe with onion rings and a cold glass of iced tea. I hope to see you there soon.
     Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

        I have had the privilege of meeting a number of famous people along life’s way.
        Some years ago, I attended a car show in Tulsa where I met Sorrell Brooke, who played Boss Hogg on the Dukes of Hazard. Most Friday nights Dad and I took a short trip to pick up some Wheel Burgers at the Chuckwagon drive in for supper. We enjoyed the meal while gathered around the television in the kitchen to watch Dukes of Hazard and Dallas.
        And one of my most recent autographs is from Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the 1970s. About five years ago, I reached out to Carter’s agency asking about getting her autograph.
        Lynda herself wrote me an email and sent the address as to where I could send a SASE for her autograph. Her photo did arrive a short time later. I not only have her autographed photo, I have an email note from Wonder Woman herself.
        A few years back Debbie and I met Frank Fritz, the former television star of the American Pickers, at the Iowa State Fair. I saw him walking down the midway and chased him down to shake his hand. Later in the day, we got our photo taken with Frank at the US Cellular trailer. I have a framed photo with autographs of Fritz, Mike and Danielle Colby of the popular show.
       Other famous people I’ve met from afar include then President Bill Clinton. I was in Washington, D.C. in 1995 as a student at the University of Missouri-Columbia to attend an agricultural communicators event and President Clinton was a guest speaker.
       President Clinton spoke to a large room filled with ag communicators in the basement of the J.W. Marriott Hotel, where I was staying for the three-day conference. Everyone was patted down and I had my camera bag checked. The press was everywhere and the photographers even set up lights in the room.
        I was toward the back of the room with the other photographers, many with camera lens I would use on an African Safari, not to take photos of the President. The photographer next to me was clicking away and then stopped. “It’s you’re turn,” he said. All I had was my Konica film camera and a short lens. Talk about feeling out of place.
        I’ve met and photographed former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, current Gov. Kim Reynolds and some years ago, Debbie and I attend an event for the media at Christmastime at the Iowa Governor’s Mansion when Gov. Vilsack was in office. We toured the entire mansion, including the bedrooms, office and kitchen. That was quite experience walking around in the governor’s bedroom.
        One my biggest moments was the time I got to meet and interview the now late Sen. Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee Senator, lawyer and television actor, who in 2007 threw his hat in the Presidential race. He stopped in Montezuma a few days after Christmas that year and I interviewed him in the Montezuma Republican office. I then followed him around the town as he stopped and visited with folks and even struck up a conversation with the fry cook at the Star Lanes.
         And I can’t forget about being backstage at the Grand Old Opry on my honeymoon on Oct. 1, 2004. We got autographs of the late Jean Shepard, Porter Wagoner and Little Jimmy Dickens. We also got autographs of country star Chely Wright, T.G. Shepard and the now late T. Bubba Bechtol, a county comedian who invited us back stage after I wrote and told him we would be at the Opry. Such great memories.
       I have autographs of former OU Football Coaches Barry Switzer and Bobby Stoops as well as the last coach, Lincoln Riley, who left for USC.
         I have a signed footballs by a number of OU players including Brian Bosworth, the “Boz” as he was called when he played for the Sooners in the 1980s. And I once met and got an autograph from Billy Sims, the Heisman Trophy winner in 1978, at the Tulsa State Fair.
        I met Patty Gasso, the OU Sooners Softball coach, at a softball game at ISU a few years back. After the game, I stood in the stands by the dugout and called her name. She came over and met me and signed a hat and softball. Debbie and I have autographs of a number of OU players and professional softball players, including Keilani Ricketts, Lauren Chamberlain, Paige Lowary, an Iowa girl, and Shelby Pendley. I also have an autograph of Chelsea Thomas, a Pleasantville, Iowa native who played for the Missouri Tigers a few years ago.
         I once met the late Hayden Fry, the former Iowa football coach, and was introduced personally to him by author George Wine, who wrote the book: Hayden Fry: A High Porch Picnic in the late 1990s.
          Debbie has met Brad Paisley and was at the state fair when she was invited to a meet-and-greet for Reba McEntire. She also has autographs from coaches and ball players.
          And I once attended a Sawyer Brown concert at Meskwaki Casino. I had a press pass as the opening act was Lynston Blain, a 14-year-old North English singer at the time who opened for the county act. Afterwards, I got all the band member’s autographs.
         Another person who comes to mind is the now late Charles W. Moore. Moore, a photographer for Life Magazine during the Civil Right days of the 60s, took many of the iconic photos that depict that time in our society.
         After he spoke to our photography class at MU, Moore joined a number of us for lunch at Shakespeare Pizza in Columbia across from the J School. I remember the day well as well as his words of wisdom.
          “Whatever you do in life, do it with passion,” he told the group that day.
          Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

​     Every so often I start talking out loud to myself and it can bring stares from those around me. I’ve been so loud at times that some people think I’m talking to them.
    When that happens, I usually say it is “nothing,” as I continue on with the business at hand. It is usually something on my mind or a brain toot of some sort that gets me going.
     I’ve heard it said that it is OK to talk to yourself, just don’t answer. I don’t know about all that. If you are going to have a conversation, might as well have a question and answer session and get whatever it is on your mind worked out.
     Experts on the subject say it is more common for people to talk to themselves than to not. According to one study I found on the Internet, 96 percent of adults say they have an internal dialogue (the voice inside their head). While self-talk out loud is less common, 25 percent of adults say they talk to themselves, mainly due to everyday situations they encounter.
    There are 329.5 million people living in America as of 2020. That works out to 316.5 million people who commonly talk to themselves or have some sort of internal dialogue. I guess I am in good company.
    In another study I found on the subject, talking to yourself out loud is perfectly normal. In some cases – such as when you’re trying to increase focus – it may even be more beneficial to jabber away than keep whatever it is giving you an itch bottled up. However, the study did caution those who talk out loud to always be mindful of their settings. That is something I need to work on a bit more.
   Another study I found on the subject indicated that talking to yourself may indicate a higher level of intelligence. The study noted that according to scientists at Bangor University, speaking out lout to yourself was “found to be a trait of higher cognitive function.”
    I don’t know if talking out loud makes me smarter, but I do know that hard work, diligence, not giving up and keeping on when the odds are against you will go a long ways in helping you have a successful life. So will praying.
     Sometime I pray out loud. It’s not that God can’t hear me when I pray silently, I just prefer to talk out loud. Praying, in my thoughts, is not the same as jabbering away to one’s self while working out a problem.
     I remember some years ago while attending the University of Missouri-Columbia. It was my 36thbirthday in September 1995, and I was preparing to take the grammar test to get into the MU School of Journalism for a third time. I needed to score 80 points out of 100 questions, all grammar and sentence structure related, such as he, she, who, whom, they, them and the likes.
     I had taken the test twice before and failed it with scores of 73 and 68. The idea that I was taking the test at one of the top journalism schools in the nation was a feat in itself. I barely passed high school English nearly 20-years earlier and to be there on that day was quite an accomplishment on my part.
    Anyway, I had spent hours studying and attending tutoring sessions with editorial professionals at the journalism school. On test day, a large group of test-takers had gathered on the lawn and steps outside of the test center at the journalism school. Many were talking and others were complaining as to the purpose of the test.
     I left that gathering and went down the hall to an outside door and found a place of solace, where I began to pray out loud.
    I didn’t ask God if it was Ok for me to be there, I told God that I was going to pass that test because I believed that I belonged there. I was saying these words out loud while walking up and down the sidewalk. Every so often someone would leave the building and I would stop for a moment, greet them and continue on.
    I finished the test on time and passed with a score of 82. I went on to have a great experience in journalism school, outside of a class in advertising. I didn’t do so well in that class.
   Even though I have shared this and other stories about my time at MU in this column, it’s good reminder of where I’ve been and where I’m going. It gives me time to reflect on the good things in life and to remember that success is available to all.
    Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

        I don’t drink coffee, but my dad and mom did and my brother does to this day. I guess I am the odd ball out.
       I will drink coffee if it is loaded with sugar and creamer, but I haven’t done that for years. I much prefer cold drinks, even on cold days and nights.
       Back in the day, it would be nothing for me to enjoy a 16-ounce bottle of Pepsi at 4 a.m. or 6 p.m. Today, my favorite drink is unsweet iced tea. I drink it by the gallon. Well, not all in one day. But I drink a lot of it.
      I remember as a kid in elementary school once joining my dad and the other men in his Sunday School department at the First Baptist Church in Tulsa. The men always enjoyed a cup of coffee or two after the Bible lesson and I wanted to be there with my dad.
      I poured a cup of coffee and then added sugar and creamer. There I was, a little man, sipping on my cup of coffee along with my dad and the other men.
      In spite of that and many other experiences, I never gained a taste for coffee or any kind of hot drink. 
     My mom had an Corning Ware Electric Blue Cornflower Coffee Pot. Many households back in the day had one and I’m sure still do to this day. That coffee pot lasted for years. They don’t make appliances like that these days.
     We carried it with us on our family camping and fishing trips and August vacations. I can still see my mom frying fish and potatoes in an iron skillet on the Coleman camp stove while a pot of coffee brewed nearby. If there was no electricity, she took the insides of the pot out and made brewed coffee the old-fashioned way on the camp stove.
     In my teen years, my family enjoyed Sunday lunch at the Eastside Café on Admiral on the north edge of Tulsa. It was a greasy spoon that served good food, especially the onion rings and fired chicken, and plenty of hot coffee. I always enjoyed eating at the Eastside Café as I got to drink a cold Pepsi with my meal.
     It didn’t matter how the long the line was to get in the café, my family stayed put in the booth until my dad was finished drinking a pot of coffee. The waitress would come around with the pot of coffee and he would motion her over to fill his cup. It took him awhile, too. Finally, once Dad had his fill, it was time to leave.
     I don’t know how I got off on the subject of coffee, but it sure does stir up a lot of good memories. Maybe it was driving past a Starbucks during a recent trip to Ankeny with Debbie to pick up supplies at Sam’s Club and Tractor Supply. I noticed that folks were lined up in the drive-through like traffic in New York City.
     People like their coffee and are willing to sit in their SUVs and sports cars for hours and pay big bucks for it.        According to statistic on the subject, almost 50 percent of Americans who buy coffee outside the home do so at a drive-through. Another statistic I found on coffee noted that specialty coffee sales are increasing 20 percent every year. No wonder Starbucks is doing so well as our the sales of Keurigs and expresso machines for coffee drinkers.
     Even in small towns coffee houses are quite popular these days. Brooklyn and Montezuma both support local coffee houses and Grinnell has two coffee joints, including a drive-through on Highway 146. They all seem to be doing quite well.
     And of course, the local convenience stores, eateries, farm stores and other small-town haunts are favorite stops for locals to enjoy a hot cup of coffee and chew the fat during an afternoon break. I can visit with the best of them, but forget the coffee. I would much rather enjoy a pizza and have a glass of iced tea.
     I leave you with the following coffee-drinking stats from urbanbeancoffee.com:
• 64 percent of American adults currently consume coffee every day.
• More than 150 million Americans drink about 400 million cups of coffee per day or more than 140 billion cups per year.
• 79 percent of Americans prepare coffee at home.
• 35 percent of coffee consumers usually drink black coffee.
• The average U.S. Coffee drinker consumes 3.1 cups per day.
     An Internet search on the coffee drinking will provide you with the above stats and enough more to write a book.
     I leave you with this, enjoy a cup of coffee and I’ll enjoy the memories while drinking a cup of iced cold tea.
    Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

       When March rolls around, a craziness takes over the Parker house and the family television set.
       It’s basketball and March Madness.
      Debbie and I both enjoy and love the game. To be truthful, I think Debbie loves it a little bit more than I do, even though I can be up pacing around in the living room during a game.
      She analysis the games, serves as a referee, calls missed fouls and comments on the players, coaches and fans. She is in tune with the action!
      If I am at work or running an errand and ask for an update on a game Debbie is watching, I not only get the score, I get the play-by-play breakdown and detailed explanation of what is going in the game. And she takes the time to type it and send it in a text.
     It starts in November with high school and college basketball, especially Iowa, Iowa State, OU and Missouri, my alum mater, and it gets more intense as the weeks roll along.
      And last year, we got to add in five trips to Wells Fargo to watch the Montezuma girls’ and boys’ play in their respective state tournaments. And I got to be on the sidelines with my camera covering all the games and capturing the intensity of it all. That was one of the highlights of my journalistic career.
     Beside basketball, I have to throw in college softball. We are both huge OU Sooner softball fans. They are fun to watch. Unfortunately, for some crazy unknown reason, the Sooners are only on television this spring for a handful of games. The number one team in the nation and 2021 National Champs and they are not on television. Whoever is in control of scheduling games for television needs their head examined.
     I didn’t play sports in school outside of my ninth grade year when I ran the mile for the Wilson Rebels. That’s a mascot name you might expect in the early 1970s at an Oklahoma junior high school.
     Anyway, my most memorable race was at a neighboring high school. There were five of us in the race – three ninth graders and two seventh grades. My mom was in the stands, which was a big morale booster for me.
      I laced up my Puma track shoes and put it into high gear on the old cinder track. I ran study in second place in my class until the last lap when I got passed. It didn’t stop me from kicking it into gear to finish the race. I was so proud of earning a third-place ribbon. In my mind, I all but won that race.
      I didn’t play football but did go out during spring drills in the tenth-grade to play my eleventh-grade year. At that time, Oklahoma high schools had spring drills.
     My good buddy, David, and I walked into the room and some of the players laughed. We didn’t care, we were there to play ball.
      Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for both of us. I was big, but not coordinated enough for the game. I tried my best to run the drills but was having a tough time. I kept falling down and the coaching staff sent me home to find another choice of activity.
       I also went out for basketball in the eighth grade but didn’t make the team. 
      Debbie played softball and pitched for the Bravettes in junior high. She tells the story of the time she was playing in a tournament for the now late Coach Denny Johnston.
      She hit the ball and took off for first base and was not going to be denied. The first baseman was blocking the bag and Debbie collided with her and ended up with a bloody nose, elbows and knees.
     “They took me out of the game and the person they put in my place went on to score and help win the game for Montezuma,” Debbie said.
     I hope we don’t have any bloody incidents watching a basketball game while yelling at the television. Well, at least it is fun!
     Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

      I was strolling through Facebook the other day when a post about National Old Day on the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion page caught my attention. They have old things there and I enjoy attending the reunion on Labor Day weekend and watching how old things work from back in the old days.
      Well, there’s a national day for about everything from, well, everything. So, I’m thinking National Old Day is a topic worth learning more about. I’m old, but not that old. I like old things and talking to old folks and even have some old traditions. 
     Anyway, after digging into this subject a bit more, I discovered that March 2, the day I was on Facebook, was National Old Stuff Day, not National Old Day. That puts a whole new spin on getting old.
      According to nationaltoday.com, National Old Stuff Day, is the day when people across the country clean out their closets and garages, rediscover old treasures and declutter their lives. Just in time for spring cleaning, National Old Stuff Day is a great opportunity to devote a day to tend to one’s closet, attic and other cluttered spaces that don’t get a lot of attention.
       Heck, my whole house needs a good decluttering. 
      And here’s the fun part, National Old Stuff Day is also about changing an old habit or trying a new activity. That’s a lot to tackle in one day – cleaning out your closet and garage and stopping eating potato chips.
Nationaltoday.com suggested folks get creative with new ways to organize, appreciate or get rid of ‘old stuff’ in their lives.
       I want to get this out of the way. I work two jobs – my day job and the newspaper. I don’t have a lot of time in the middle of the week to declutter my house. I like to take an afternoon nap because I’m getting older. That takes a lot of time.
     The biggest problem in our house, as I see it, is we need more storage space so when I declutter the bedroom closet, I have some place to put all the stuff in the closet that I want to keep, which is most of it. This opens up the bedroom closet for another truckload of stuff.  It’s good to have goals.
      We all understand about keeping stuff – you might need it one of these days. You can keep it for 29.5 years and never use it. But if you throw it out or donate it, three weeks later it’s a sure bet that you’ll be looking to replace whatever it is that you tossed out. If you keep whatever it is, you will never, ever need or use it.
      I love to go antiquing and have had dreams in the past about getting a call from the American Pickers to hit the road for some picking. I’m sure I could find some goodies to pick and also sure that is probably not going to happen.
     I have an old three-way antique lamp that was owned by Debbie’s grandmother. I found a new lightbulb socket for it at the hardware store in Grinnell. I’m going to replace the electric cord and clean the tarnish off of it and put it to use in our house. It’s a beautiful old antique lamp that deserves to be used.
     I also have lots of photos and other items such as my dad’s old handsaw collection that I want to keep. I also have a set of harnesses that my grandfather on my dad’s side used in the WPA (Works Progress Administration) days on his team of horses to help build roads in the Sooner state. I’ve thought about donating the set of harnesses to the Old Threshers Reunion or a horse museum. If there was a way that I could display them, I would keep the harnesses.
     I have some other small antiques and enjoy spending time looking for treasures. I have my ever growing postcard collection, a collection of old cigar boxes and some Pepsi memorabilia. I also have two shoeboxes filled with seed corn books, pop bottle openers, Old Threshers pinback buttons, old board games and an assortment of other smalls.
    It’s fun to look back on the old days and reflect on life in simpler times. Even with all the technology at hand, there’s something about stopping by your neighbors and visiting about old things and old times.
    My dad loved going back to the river bottoms east of Tulsa and visiting the old timers who he grew up around. And my mom loved going back and reliving memories of growing up in southeast Missouri. I enjoy it as well.
      Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

      Losing a parent, family member or even a friend can be a tough pill to swallow. It’s never easy. Even to this day, I still miss my mom and dad who died nine months apart.
        Losing a pet can also be tough and that was the case in our home late last month.
Debbie came into the house Sunday night a week ago and told me that Houdini, one of our outdoor cats that winters in the back garage, was acting like he didn’t feel good.
       “I think we are going to have to take him to the vet,” she told me as thoughts of what that was going to cost rolled through my head.
        In all seriousness, no matter the cost, I wouldn’t want any pet to suffer. We didn’t know what was causing the problem.
        Debbie decided to watch Houdini until Monday to see if his condition improved. 
We ended up taking him to the vet in Oskaloosa. I left my day job early so we could be there for the 2:45 p.m. appointment.
      At the vet, we learned that Houdini had a blocked bladder. Medical procedures and a three-day stay would be required. However, the vet was concerned with the condition of Houdini, that he might not make it through the ordeal.
      It was news we didn’t want to hear.
     Debbie was upset and I was upset because she was upset. My heart ached for her. I wanted to find a way to save the cat. I didn’t know what to do.
     The outdoor cats and all of our animals are her babies. She takes care of them every day. I only stop in on occasion and make a run to the farm store for a big bag of cat food or a sack of horse feed.
     We decided to have Houdini put down. It was tough decision, one that is never easy. But in the end, we felt it was the best plan.
     “It’s nothing you did,” the vet assured us several times as we talked about what to do.
     We were losing one of our best friends.
    We lost our Great Pyrenees dog, Jay, in July 2019. He was so loveable and part of the family for more than half of his 16-years on this earth. I would come home from work and Jay would put one of his big paws on my foot and rub on me while I petted him all over, including his belly. He was so loveable.
    Since our trip to the vet, Debbie has been talking about Houdini and how some of the other outdoor cats seem to miss him.
    “He was the center of attention,” she said.
   When Debbie and I first met, she had a beloved cat, Squirty. That cat was everything to her. I remember going to Debbie’s home when we were dating in 2004.
    As we sat on the sofa, Squirty jumped on me and dug his claws into my knee. That hurt.
    I don’t know if he was reminding me that Debbie was his or just leaving his mark on me. Squirty died in June 2007 while Debbie and I were in Branson with my parents as part of their 50th wedding anniversary celebration.
    I know losing Squirty was hard on her, but as with lots of things life, when someone or something dies or moves on, God brings along a simple reminder that love is everlasting.
   Our indoor cat, Smokey, came to live with us in December that year and is family and one the many reasons our pets are so important to us.
    Cherish the moments in life with your family and your pets.
    Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

     One of my favorite things about Facebook is looking at all the photos, celebrations and memories that family and friends post.
      I have also enjoyed looking at photos a cousin on my mom’s side of the family has been posting lately. One of them pictured my mom when she was a young girl. The photo caption noted that the photo was taken when my mom’s sister, Genola, passed away in 1948 at age four. My mom was quite fond of Genola and talked of her often. I now have Genola’s doll, which was stowed away in my grandmother’s truck, which I got in my parent’s estate. I had the doll refurbished by a doll person in New London a few years back and now have it on display in my house. I am also a member of a private family photo group on the Horton side of the family on Facebook. I have enjoyed looking at the old family photos in the group of my mom’s dad’s side of the family.
      It was my parent’s wishes that I end up with all the family photos – four large plastic tubs and a few boxes worth. I hope someday to scan them for others to enjoy. There are photos of fishing trips and vacations, family gatherings, birthdays, Christmases, other celebrations, backyard BBQs and much more.
     As a community journalist for more than 20-years, I have the wonderful opportunity of recording life in word and photos for others to enjoy. I have just about every photo I have taken as a journalist, outside of North English, which ended up at the Iowa County Historical Society. There’s a lot of history there. And now I have the opportunity to tell the stories of the children of those I interviewed years ago.
     I’ve taken a lot of photos at the Poweshiek County Fair and the Iowa County Fair before that. I’m now seeing young people come through 4-H that I took photos and wrote stories about their parents some years ago.
     I recently attended the letter of intent signing of Eddie Burgess, the four-sport athlete at Montezuma who will play football in the fall at Upper Iowa University, Iowa’s only Division II school.
     As I sat on the bleachers on signing day earlier this month, I was reminded that in March 1998, I had the chance to interview Eddie’s mom, Janel (Grimm) Burgess, a DR-M and Montezuma grad and basketball standout at Iowa State University.
     I was new to community journalism and working at the North English Record at the time when I heard about Janel. Her mom happened to work at the bank in North English at the time.
    I drove the company Geo Metro to Ames and met Janel at the local Perkins Restaurant on Duff Avenue. It was kind of funny. She was telling me her story and I was telling her my story. Maybe she should have interviewed me.
    After the interview, I gave her a ride to the ISU Athletic Department where she introduced me to a coach and got me a photo of her playing basketball. That next Saturday, Janel’s mom and dad invited me to their home west of Millersburg for breakfast. Talk about making me feel welcome.
    I followed Janel through the years at her various coaching stops in Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Missouri and back to Michigan before returning to Iowa a half dozen years ago where she and her husband, Tim, spent a time at Williamsburg before joining the Montezuma teaching and coaching staff five years ago. I had the opportunity to do a few stories on Janel during that time span.
   There is no better job than being a community journalist. All the events and hours spent writing stories, editing pictures, putting newspapers together and staying up all night putting together special sections has been worth it. Everyone who I have written about and photographed are important and to have the opportunity to tell their story has been a blessing.
When I look back on my life, I am reminded that in high school, I could barely piece a sentence together, let alone write a news story.
No matter where you are in life, what you have experienced or the challenges you have faced, the future is wide open to possibilities and good things.
Some people are naturally talented. They could take a test blindfolded and ace it. For others, it’s a struggle. For those in that class, don’t give up, don’t quit trying and don’t look back. The future is bright.
I encourage you today to keep your focus on what is important and not get caught up in all the garbage and more garbage going on in the world these day. Put your hand to the plow and keep sowing seeds of good things. It will payoff for you!
Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.
 
 

           A number of famous people attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, my alma mater.
Opened in September 1939, Will Rogers High School, home of the Rogers Ropers and also known as “Will on the Hill,” is the third oldest high school in Tulsa and is well-known for its art deco architecture design.
      Some well-known names who graduated from WRHS include Anita Bryant, the Miss America Runner up in 1959 and Florida Orange Juice spokesperson; Gailard Sartain, an illustrator and actor who was on the Hee Haw cast for 20-years and actor of at least 27 movies; Leon Russell, owner of the Church Studio and session musician who recorded 31 albums and wrote 430 songs; Elvin Bishop, musician known for his song, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love;” David Gates, a founding member of the 1970s rock group, Bread; Russell Meyers, creator of the comic strip, Broom Hilda; Paul Brooks Davis, an American graphic artist; Charles Bell, a photorealist painter; and S.E. Hinton, author of such novels as “The Outsiders,” “That was Then, This is Now,” “Rumble Fish,” and “Tex.”
       I mention Hinton, who graduated from Will Rogers in 1966, because of the popularity of the movie, “The Outsiders,” her first novel that was adapted from her book of the same name and released March 26, 1983, nearly 39 years ago.
     Hinton began writing “The Outsiders” at age 15 and sold it at age 17, quite a phenomenal undertaking for someone that young.
       Much of “The Outsiders,” movie was filmed in Tulsa in 1982 under the direction of Francis Ford Coppola. The movie featured Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, S.E. Hinton, who played a nurse in the movie, Leif Garrett, Darren Dalton, Tom Waits and Gailard Sartain.
        I’ve never read the book, but do I have a signed copy I purchased at Barnes and Noble a few years ago. And I have seen the movie.
     My interest in “The Outsiders” was peaked last week after reading an on-line story in the Tulsa World about sixth-grade students from Will Rogers who toured the museum and learned about the movie. 
     Will Rogers is much different than it was in the 1970s when I attended. In 2011, Tulsa Public Schools converted Will Rogers to a dual enrollment school for students in grades, 6 – 12. Once they complete their course work, they will have up to 66 college units, the equivalent of an associate degree. The school has since been renamed “Will Rogers College Junior High and High School” with the first graduating class in 2014.
       The Outsiders House Museum, which is located at 731 N. St. Louis Ave., and located north and east of downtown Tulsa, was the primary film set for the coming-of-age movie. The movie is about a teen gang in rural Oklahoma, the Greasers, who are odds with the Socials, a rival group, and what follows between the two groups. 
     In 2015, hip hop artist Danny Boy O’Connor, a fan and memorabilia collector of “The Outsiders” movie, purchased the house, which had fallen in to disrepair, for $15,000 and spent four years turning it into a museum, which opened in 2019.
     O’Connor first learned of the house while in Tulsa in 2009 to perform a concert at the iconic Tulsa honky tonk, Cain’s Ballroom.
     Anyway, last week 200 sixth-graders from Will Rogers Middle School toured the museum. According to the Tulsa World article, the tour was part of their English class, along with reading Hinton’s book, and watching the movie in class.
     “I can’t think of another scenario in which young people can walk the halls of the same school as the author, read the book, watch the movie, visit the movie location and see memorabilia from the production,” O’Connor said in the news release.
     It reminds me of my high school days at Rogers. I took an English course on rock music of all things. The goal was to learn about a rock group and write an essay about how the band started. I chose the rock group, Boston.
     I was telling Debbie that I rode my bicycle about a mile from my boyhood home down 15th Street to the Oz (CuriOzity) head shop to purchase a copy of a Rolling Stones magazine that featured an article on the band. For those who don’t know, a head shop sells smoking papers, tobacco products and other goodies. 
      Somehow I entered and escaped the head shop while remaining true to my beliefs and values. But it was still scary and was not what Dorothy called home.
     I’m all for learning outside the box. I think students gain real-world experiences when they can step outside the classroom and experience and learn about life. What a great opportunity for these young people.
    If you love “The Outsiders” and are in Tulsa, you might want to check out the museum. For more info, visit https://www.theoutsidershouse.com/
     Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

        With both the Supreme Court (President Biden’s Covid mandates) and Iowa Supreme Court (South Central Regional Airport in Pella) in the news of late, I was reminded of the time I stood before a Missouri Supreme Court judge.
      I wasn’t in any hot water. I was just a curious photojournalism student at the University of Missouri-Columbia wanting to do something different.
      One of my photo assignments was to do a personality portrait of an important person. I thought, outside of the governor, you can’t get much higher and more important than the Supreme Court.
      So, I called the Supreme Court in Jefferson City and asked if I could make the drive down and take some photos of one of the judges.
       “Sure, come on down,” the person on the phone told me.
       I loaded my gear in the back of my Chevrolet S-10 and headed south to Jefferson City.
      Once I was in the stately building and my gear had been checked, I was ushered upstairs to one of the judge’s chambers.
      I don’t remember the judge’s name, but he welcomed me, allowed me to set up my lights and take all the photos I wanted.
      I asked if he would be willing to put on his robe and let me to take some photos in the courtroom. He said yes and we were off to the main courtroom for photos. He was so gracious.
      I took a number of photos of the judge. As we headed back to his chambers, I missed a great photo opportunity of the judge carrying my light stands and umbrellas down the Supreme Court hallway.
     I was quite nervous, yet excited about this opportunity. The University of Missouri-Columbia was filled with important people, but a chance to take a photo of a Supreme Court judge was a fun project that took me out of my comfort zone.
      When I arrived on the MU campus in August 1992, I was a man on mission.
It didn’t take “no” for an answer. When I failed, it got up and went after it again.
     You are going to fail in life. You are going to make mistakes. If you don’t give up, you can see projects and dreams become a reality.
     In February 1993 I was reading the school newspaper, “The Maneater,” regarding a story on the school chancellor, Dr. Charles Keisler, who took the reins of the school that previous fall.
      Access to a new vehicle was one of the many perks he received as part of his job.
    Students were complaining in the school paper about this benefit, saying that tuition was being increased as a result.
      I decided to write Dr. Keisler a letter to show my support of him and MU. I noted that I was glad to be at the school and that I planned to graduate. I also touched on the fact that students may not have realized that the chancellor was in their shoes one point in his life.
     To make a long story short, about three weeks later, I received a personalized letter from Dr. Keisler, who has since passed away, thanking me for my kind words. He offered me the opportunity to come visit him.
       When word got around the agriculture school about this meeting, my academic advisor called me at home on the telephone.
       “Do you realize that the vice provost of MU Extension can’t get a meeting with the chancellor, but you are,” my advisor said.
        Anyway, I met the chancellor about six weeks later for about 5 minutes. He offered to help me get a job on campus and thanked me for my kind words.
        All I did was write a letter.
        I ended up getting a job as a campus custodian. It was great job for a returning college student. I always said I swept a lot floors and cleaned a lot of toilets to get through journalism school.
        I leave you with this. Your dreams can be realized.
       Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.