LIFE IN A FLYOVER STATE: Blizzard 2011

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Blizzard 2011

As our newly elected governor, Mary Fallin, declared a state of emergency for Oklahoma before the first snowflake fell so that, if need be, we Oklahomans could apply for federal disaster aid, let us pause to remember where those federal disaster aid dollars come from: our tax dollars.

So all you Tea Partiers out there, remember, as you whine about not increasing tax revenue, the money has to come from somewhere. We are all in this together. Each of us can give a little to make a big difference in all of our lives or we can complain about our federal and state governments as if they were alien institutions.

Government: of the people, by the people, for the people. Simple concept. Too bad it's so difficult for some citizens to grasp.

North facing window.

Spring is next month!

Why the pet door cover should be installed over the pet door
during a blizzard.

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We can see the beautiful Wichita Mountains from our front yard. People make fun of the fact that we call them mountains, but they are one of the oldest ranges in the United States. The Wichitas are just lying on their collective side. Frankly, I would be lying down also if I were over 500 million years old. Time wears us all down eventually. Even granite!

There’s a lake one mile to the west of us, but it is best viewed from a distance. It is still the ugliest lake I’ve ever seen and though I am fond of this area, my opinion about that lake has not changed over the years.

When we moved here 30 years ago, there were not the neighborhoods just to the south of us that there are now. Our neighbor to the north -- and that neighbor is one-half mile away -- runs cattle on her pasture. The pasture across the road from us is owned by the school district. That land is rented out for farming and grazing. Deer still surprise us and an occasional bobcat or coyote grabs a chicken from our coop. Our Suffolk sheep walk up to our dining room windows and peer in every once in awhile, baaing.

There is a military post on the other side of the Wichitas. If we go out at certain times of the day, we can see rockets streaking across the sky. Also, we will hear booming cannons firing on the practice ranges. It’s especially loud in the winter time when the humidity is low and troops are training on the east range. Once five Chinook helicopters hauling Army tanks flew low over our pasture. The post is the only fort built during the Indian Wars that is still active today. It was staked out on January 8, 1869. Its history is a rich one.

We can walk the same stretch of road everyday of every year and always see something different. We have to pay attention some days to see the changes, but we have the time.