BLOGAHOMA

When we let our community learned that Michael’s 95 year old mother, Ruth, was visiting from Ohio for the first time the following things happened…

We got free bed slats from leftover wood (from pouring a concrete foundation) from  Hibbett’s building site to construct a bed (thanks Mike and Lee),

The Cadillac of  walkers on loan  from our Big Rock Neighbor (thanks Vycke),

A custom cake from Mrs. Chadwick’s Bakery (thanks Diane) made in Medicine Park and with free delivery to…

the Park Tavern, who kindly let us have an surprise Birthday Party and set up a table for the cake (thanks Jeannette and Bill), a nice showing and singing of “Happy Birthday” by some of our favorite locals,

and for a grand finale.. a Marauder shoot out scheduled so she could see her son in action (thanks fellow Marauders) reserved shady seating under their tree and mister  provided by Ronny and Cindy of the White Buffalo.

Ruth visit was made special by so many people. A smile never left her face for the days she was here. She will have stories to tell for years to come.

Why we love Medicine Park and the people who make it up.

“The Necessity of Appearing in Your Own Face”
There are days when that is the last place
in the world where you want to be …

Like it or not Facebook is the top social media of our day. What one needs to do is to put their own stamp on it, because if you don’t it can become ho-hum. Now that I have a smart phone with a camera it is extremely simple to take a snap and share on Facebook. As an artist I feel l have the obligation to ensure that what I put up on Facebook is something of interest both in subject matter  as it concerns both writing and images. Photoshop or PicSay might be called into play to get that image presentable. I  do get a kick out of changing out the header on my timeline and my profile pic  depending on the season, what’s going on with my life  or pure whim. Frankly since it is my Facebook it doesn’t really matter whether I get likes or comments sometimes I just like to be the audience and see what is happening with others.

My friend’s number around 300 many of them are creative and quite a few are related or are connected through us living in Medicine Park. We are not of one mind when it comes to the 2 areas of American contention that would be religion and politics. It is not my intention to irritate anyone however when I see a story in the news that I feel strongly about I might put a link to it on Facebook. The majority the time I allow people to comment anyway they might feel about the subject. I do draw the line and name-calling or anything that borders on a racial slur or sexist attitudes.

If anyone has a problem with my  political stance, my artwork, my photographs they can uninstall me as their friend and that would be okay. Facebook for me is a way to stay connected, peruse the latest photos, enjoy a little chitchat, share ideas and link to interesting topics and events in the news. Facebook  gives me opportunity to comment on others’ news,  sometimes to congratulate and confirm but other times to console.

….but you
have to be there, like a movie, because it
features you. ~ Richard Brautigan

Reconstructing your house after a fire is done by Restoration companies. The company we are using, Dutil,  is a family owned business located in nearby Lawton. We gave them the go ahead a week and a half ago and it has been cleaning, construction and painting ever since. We escape during the day but have our breakfast and dinner at home if we can. For us it is hopeful to seeing the house being brought back to its former tidy mountain bungalow self. I admit I have been taxed further than I had ever imagined during the past year. Pneumonia (me), Cancer (my husband), chemo, extreme chemo reactions, fire, death of a friend and days and days of 100+ heat and now reconstruction. It is my spirit now that needs the most restoration.

Some of our friends are dealing with the fire aftermath while others the loss of loved family member, not related to the fire. And when you are all in it together, this misfortune, you are all needy as well. So how does one lift oneself up? Can’t say, but I am determined to get through the next hurdles and not feel depressed or completely downtrodden. I picked happy colors for the house and am now sitting in my hot buttered rum freshly painted great room. And yes, I am writing a new post and perhaps I will start an art piece of some sort as creating makes me happy. My expectation is not extreme happiness but not being sad will suit me for now.

I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.
Hermann Hesse

Photo of the Big Rock Fire as taken by the Lawton Constitution Newspaper.

How often have heard that question? The most common answers are:  they would grab photos of the family and important papers if forced to run from a burning house and medications. When I had asked myself that question in the past I was sure I wouldn’t grab family pictures even though I love my family. On June 23, 2011 that very situation arose. We were told to evacuate NOW! as ashes fell from the sky on our burning mountain road. This is what I grabbed:

• dogs & dog food
• Cooler with water and soft drinks
• purse with credit cards,
• my ipod with my music
• digital camera
• Flip video camera
• macbook pro (which actually does hold a lot of family photos)
• Cellphone
• change of underwear, shorts and blouse
• pajamas
• tooth brush, tooth paste
• my inhaler and vitamins
• a second pair of flip flops

And I put the dinner dishes in the dishwasher and ran it and the disposal, as if we were going on a weekend get away.

The rest, well I left it all behind: a life time of art, photo albums, antiques, family mementos… left behind. After being away for a day and watching from the distance the with flames shooting up all around the mountain road that we lived on I had a moment to reflect on whether or not  had chosen the “right stuff”.  Well here’s the rub… had I selected the photo of my dad as a bus driver, the Weller vase with sycamore leaves, Michael’s painting of the rocks, the oldest stapler I own, my children’s baby teeth, my baptismal record or that pair of fused glass earrings it would have put me in funk about having to leave the others behind. Had we lost it all (the fire chief said it was touch and go) and I had taken one of those major, meaningful pieces of my life and history I would forever have the other pieces, my mother’s picture at sixteen, the Caddo artist, Silver Moon’s, bison painting, the Neva Clog deco stapler or my first grade report card, my portfolio of character art, popping in and out of my dreams allowing the sadness to creep in every time I looked at the saved piece. So what I took was living things, tech things and mundane useful things. I didn’t even take nice clothing.

Whether our house would burnt to the ground went from not believable to almost certain in a days time as the flames engulfed the mountain. At night I lay awake picturing every nook and cranny of our house and all the treasures and how they were the last time I saw them. So many treasures. And I thought what if it all goes. Would I really want to return to the Park? I needed my neighbors just where they were. How could I stand it losing it all and yet be in the same place. That is how my brain works. I came up with several scenarios of starting over, rebuilding on Big Rock Rd, in Medicine Park but only if my favorite neighbors were still there,  moving to El Reno near where my daughter was relocating, moving back to Norman, OK where we have other special friends.

None of that is necessary now. We are singed and charred but still standing and solid. Thanks to our guardian angels.. the volunteer fire departments of SW Oklahoma. So it’s clean up time.

Next time you are asked the question, maybe the answer, like mine,  will be “to let it all go”.

Disclaimer: After a 6 month chemo-rama for Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma we’ve learned a few things not gleaned from outside sources these are personal findings. Some are universal other, like I said, are more of who we are.

Chemo-Sabe: I didn’t know what it was going to be like. Was I going to be there for every one of the 24 treatments, 6 reviews with the doctor and 3 scans? As it turned out…. yes. How was I useful? … In an emotional, stand-by-your-man way that counted and and as an extra voice and ear to ask as well as listen.

Friends + Family + Facebook : It turns out that the those that said “we will be there for you” really were, practically for getting us to and from on heavy chemo days but also to ask how things were going and warmly listening. Empathy, prayers, prayer blankets, laughs, good thoughts all counted.

Nurses and Staff at The Leah Fitch Cancer Center of Lawton, OK: Skilled, positive, responsive and caring.

Self Education: Learning all we could about Non Hodgekins Lymphoma, the chemo drugs & their side effects, the blood work and nutrition.

Nook Color eReader: My husband, Michael, got his for Christmas. He is mega reader so he could throw several books on it to read. If he got tired of reading there was crossword puzzles that we completed together, magazine to leaf through on it, or a movie he could watch on it. Note: they do have cable TV in every cubicle but that soon lost its appeal for us.

A Sketch Pad: That was for me. I found I could get lost in drawing and then at the end have something that I could give someone including the nurses on staff.

Fishing Therapy: Monday (and sometimes Tuesday) chemo, Tuesday and Wednesday side effects, by Thursday or Friday Michael went fishing.

Friday night at the Park Tavern: Not for drinking but for socialization.

Rewards: A lunch once and a while, a Medicine Park event, a Marauder shoot out, a cultural trip to OKC for an art show or two.

Not ever losing sight of who we are.