Girls & Boys

DON'T YOU DARE call me a “misogynist”, or even “male chauvinist” or a “sexist”. I’ve gone on record here and other places with my sadness and disgust for the distorted view of the role of women held by the most conservative of the church of my youth. I'm a firm believer in Girl Power.

Just try to tell me these girls can't be anything they want to be

But is it really too crass to say that boys will be boys sometimes, and maybe even need to be? And why does it have to be that if, when boys are boys, it necessarily follows that girls are less than human? It’s not a zero-sum game is it?

I’m 65. Right or wrong, sometimes I will say what’s on my mind. It’s one of the few perks of old age. Cut me some slack.

So I’m going to say this: guys need to be virile (or feel like we are) and a little primal, occasionally. Humor us.

This brings us obviously to the topic of gift ideas for Father’s Day.

Affirm his dudeness. Get him something to gnaw on like some gourmet jerky, or take him out for a plate of ribs and a refreshing beverage. Speaking of cows and pigs, something leather is always a good choice. My favorite place is Saddleback Leather. The quality is outstanding, oh, and the smell of the leather when dad opens his gift… Their stuff isn’t cheap in any sense of the word, but you don’t have to break the bank to buy him something great. I use everyday and highly recommend the ID Wallet.

If you’re unsure of what to get him, let me offer this advice: don’t pretend you’re going to find something for him at Bed, Bath & Beyond, or Kohl’s, or Hobby Lobby, or Target.

If you’re within a day’s drive of Oklahoma City, there is a store where you can’t go wrong. It’s called Weldon Jack. It is the amazing concept of my good friend and the proprietor Jerrod Smith. This little shop is part motorcycle store, part “candy store” for guys where you’ll find leathergoods, knives, hatchets, hats, helmets, and amazing grooming products for guys. And as if this wasn’t enough, there’s a barber shop where you can even get a straight razor shave.

Jerrod named his shop after his grandfather, Jack Weldon Smith

Father’s Day shopping can’t be any easier than a trip to Weldon Jack at 36th and Western Ave. Or better yet, get Dad a gift card for there and let him go hang out with the boys and get a haircut and a shave. Then take him up 36th street a few blocks and feed him at Iron Star BBQ.

While we’re on the subject of food, here’s another gift idea for you. Even the stereotypical Dad likes to think of himself as Master of the Grill. Go with some grilling accessories or maybe even a few big steaks to throw on his grill. If he’s all set when it comes to goods for the grill, check out another option for outdoor cooking—cast iron dutch oven cooking. This is something I’m trying out right now. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. It’s bound to be good—there’s fire and knives and meat and potatoes involved.

Here's just a taste of what you'll find at Weldon Jack.

Home Sweet Home

MAKING A HOUSE A HOME; even if it's a tiny one on wheels. Our little trailer came from the factory with a lovely bedspread and “accent” pillows. We hadn’t even more gotten her home when she was stripped of those generic, factory goodies and replaced with just the right touches by the Amazing-Missus.

“We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us.”

— Winston Churchill

On one of our first adventures we were staying at site #51 in Red Rock Canyon State Park, Hinton, Oklahoma. Returning from a walk I noticed the paper tag on her backside. I thought to myself, “I wonder what license plate number the great state of Oklahoma will give us in exchange for a hefty tax bill?”

Wait a minute! Why settle for some state issued identity? Our little tin hut deserves her own personalized name tag. I mentioned the idea of a personalized tag to someone and they said, “Oh, you mean a vanity tag.” This has nothing to do with vanity. This is about… Well, I don’t know what it’s about, but it’s going to happen anyway.

So we secured the application from the tax commission. You’re supposed to choose six options, in priority order, I guess that's in case one or two or five are already taken or deemed unacceptable or inappropriate by some authority somewhere.

BTW: Remember when the quite contrary daughter of governor Mary had her RV parked in the backyard of the governor’s mansion? I wonder if she had a personalized/vanity tag for her trailer? If not, I would love to help her choose at least six names if she wants me to.

from thelostogle.com

You can read the fun version of the story here.

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Okay, I’m back on track now. We would love to have your help. We’ve come up with at least six possibilities for our tag. Want to tell us your favorite, or better yet, offer another possibility. Keep in mind you only have seven spaces to work with and you can’t use words that might be offensive.

Feel free to comment here or on Facebook or Twitter. Here are our choices so far:

Love Stories

WARNING: This is going to get pretty sappy. But, Love Stories can be like that. I’m not really an expert on love or stories, but I thoroughly enjoy both. Speaking as a layperson, so to speak, I’m guessing that the Love Story is the oldest and most enduring of any storyline. Let’s hope it stays that way, or as The Beatles sang: sometimes, “All you need is love.”

LOVE STORY No. 1.

Ours began in June 1972. Well that’s not really true. It started before that. That’s just when we formalized it all with public vows, rings, flowers, cake, punch, etc.

Back in the day when our romance was emerging, there was a little slice of pop culture that in some ways became a part of the 70s courting lifestyle. It was a cartoon series called “Love Is…”. Here’s an example:

Love Is… is the name of a comic strip created by New Zealand cartoonist Kim Casali in the 1960s. The cartoons were published in booklets in the late 1960s before appearing in strip form in a newspaper in 1970, under the pen name “Kim”. They were syndicated soon after and the strip is syndicated worldwide today by Tribune Media Services. One of her most famous drawings, “Love Is…being able to say you are sorry”, published on February 9, 1972, was marketed internationally for many years in print, on cards and on souvenirs. The beginning of the strip coincided closely with the 1970 film Love Story. The film’s signature line is “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” --Wikipedia

By the way, as it turns out, the movie was wrong; the cartoon was right. Love does from time to time include being sorry. (I’ve learned something in 44 years.)

Even though we will be celebrating 44 years of the marriage part of our Love Story in a few weeks, we’re really just getting started, relatively speaking.

LOVE STORY No. 2.

Tomorrow we will celebrate Anniversary Number 70 with my Mom and Dad. That’s a lot of togetherness. Not only can they finish one another’s sentences, they can actually start one another’s sentences. I am grateful for the wonderful way they prove the beauty of marriage, still.

Their story began in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Mom grew up there. Dad was in town as a part of an assignment as a young soldier during WW II. They both happened to be at the local skating rink one night. He asked her to skate, and as my Dad likes to quip, “We’ve been going around together ever since.”

What do you buy the happy couple for their 70th according to those anniversary charts? Google, google, google. The lists seem to skip from 65 to 75, like 70’s not significant. As I was searching the lists though, I peeked at the anniversary category for #44, hoping it isn’t “Hearing Aids”. 

“Groceries”. “Groceries”??? What the what? So, I guess on June 16, you’ll find us at Whole Foods. We’ll splurge; it’s our anniversary.

Even though we’ve been married almost 44 years, we’re partying like it’s #10. The 10th year is the “Aluminum” anniversary. And since we now adventure in our tiny, aluminum love shack on wheels, it’s like we’re young and broke again.

LOVE STORY No. 3.
Our oldest son and his beautiful wife Kara, just celebrated anniversary #11. Corey posted this on the Facebook:

He must have thought this was the “Groceries” anniversary. How do I know that 11 years later their story is a Love Story? You can see it in the kids.

They have three happy, confident, tender-hearted, wonder-full little girls. That kind of stuff sprouts and grows in the fertile soil of loving relationships.

LOVE STORY No. 4.

In a few weeks, we’ll celebrate the formal start of another amazing Love Story. This is one that I never would have seen coming. It’s one of those that if you had any doubt about Providence, you wouldn’t now. Our youngest son, Kyle is engaged to Brooke. If you know these two, you have a glimpse of how special this is. If I lived in one of those country’s where the male of the family still got to pretend like he’s the All-Knowing Patriarch, in a country where the marriages are all arranged, this is the way I would have arranged it.

Turns out they didn’t need my arranging anything. It’s like they have discovered something that was there all along. Maybe that’s what Love Stories are really all about.

And they all lived happily ever after.

For [Pentecost] Sunday, May 15, 2016

“And in the last days,” God says, “I will pour out my spirit upon every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams.” Acts 2:17

As an old man, my dream this Pentecost Sunday is for honest, humble, fearless, fearful, awe-full voices to speak clearly.

The Descent Of The Spirit by Gustave Dore