Category: On The Bricks

Today is simple. I am simple. For those reasons, I am just going to copy a piece I recently read.

“My first eight grades were spent in a rural one – room school. I struggled to learn to read and had difficulty with spelling and grammar. My high school English papers were returned with red circles marked around the many errors and a D written on the top of the page.

“My senior year English teacher, however, was different. She assigned the task of writing an essay on The Lord of the Flies. My paper dealt with the evil in the world. To my surprise, I received an A. She praised the content of the paper, and this made a difference in my life.

“When I write devotions and sermons, the inspiration for them comes from the Lord, but the encouragement to write is a result of that English teacher. She was an instrument from God making a difference in my life. She encouraged me to write and to make a difference in young people’s lives.

“Which teacher inspired you? How have you been an inspiration to others?”

Provokes some thought, doesn’t it?

Here’s another thought. Just because a preacher speaks to his congregation every week and just because a teacher speaks in front of a class every day, this does not mean that their speaking skills cannot improve. Everyone’s speaking skills need to improve.

The best and most enjoyable way to improve your speaking skills is to join a Toastmasters Club. There are two in Guymon, one that meets in the morning over breakfast and one that meetings in the evening, both on a weekly basis. Sitting amongst others who know they can improve how they speak, or can get to the point that they can talk in front of a group, you work on your speaking skills at your own speed and surrounded by people who understand and who share positive instruction. Call Dianna Brown at 580-338-7270 to learn more about visiting this group.

Now let’s all go forth and be an inspiration.

See you on the bricks.

Generation Z has some really interesting aspects in association with them. They are the young folks who are buried in their cellphones. In fact, they don’t get magazine subscriptions like we do, but they read the same articles on their cell phones. They don’t watch the news on TV, but they see the same reports on their cellphones.

This is the generation that has had social media and cell phone (ie miniature computers) their entire life as a consumer. Social is not “virtual” to them, but is reality.

One Gen Z came up with a great idea … that there should be a phone invented that is attached to the wall so you can’t lose it. A rotary dial phone is an artifact that they likely have never seen, let alone used.

In a study, 46% of the Gen Z would choose to have internet access over owning a car. The reject traditional and authoritative marketing. You don’t tell them to “Go out NOW and buy XXX.” They need to be constantly courted for their attention and they are much more socially responsible than previous generations.

Often, they will buy the lesser brand if that company has made a social statement and commitment that is shared by the Gen Z, such as those who give a portion of their profits to social endeavors like conservation. They look for a personal / emotional connection to products.
This generation is very influential in what their parents are purchasing, too.

These are the people who Big Business has laid off their parents or lost their retirement, Big Banks have taken their homes, and Big Media has lied to them. They have grown up in a recession and they do not trust those entities that their grandparents trusted.

Those companies who are aware of these changing attitudes are changing their marketing plans, their employment strategies, and they are building and growing. Those who do not change according to the changes in their customers, may not grow.

Here in the Panhandle we have a generation of young kids who care about their community, who want to be a part of improving our home and making it better for our people. Sometimes we get so set in our ways that we don’t let the young ones come in and help.

But they young ones have more energy, they have some new ideas, and they are stronger, quite often. We need to be partners with our youth. That means we need to listen to them, we need to talk with them, and we need to teach one another. It’s all about respect.

No matter what your age, I applaud those who care and who put some sweat equity behind the talk. I thank those who support our community, who work as volunteer Sunday School teachers, City Council members, School Board members, community clean – up helpers, Pioneer Days volunteers (and other community events), those who keep the community food pantry, Loaves and Fishes, going, who take care of the Oakes of Mamre, the businesses who are Chamber and Main Street members, the ones who encourage their employees to be part of the civic organizations and community efforts, the entities that are here to help like Iron Thunder Motorcycle Club and Panhandle Partners, Lions Club and Rotary Club.

Thank you to all and when I see you on the bricks, my hat off to you all. And if you’re not involved with some of these, ask yourself why you aren’t. It would be interesting to know.

See you on the Bricks!

The last week or so has been spent cleaning out my desk drawers. Files upon files have been gone through and my mind has wondered why this was deemed worth saving. One set of papers was filed under three different headings. Needless to say, I am feeling more organized. There are also those things that make me go, “Shoot, I thought I had done that!” So, there are more things to complete. It’s all good.

But there in the drawers sit four different books that seemed important to read for my job. They certainly aren’t to read for entertainment purposes. But there are some good thoughts to ponder in them.

I’m in the sharing mood, so let’s go to “The Road Less Traveled.” M. Scott Peck, M.D. has some interesting observations.

He speaks of children who receive “undisciplined discipline” where they are often “punished frequently and severely throughout their childhood – slapped, punched, kicked, beaten, and whipped by their parents for even minor infractions.” He says this type of discipline is meaningless because it is undisciplined discipline.

This is all following the chapter that says we need to be disciplined to meet the problems in our lives. But more about the undisciplined disciplining parents.

“They may frequently get drunk in front of their children. They may fight with each other in front of the children without restraint, dignity or rationality. They may be slovenly. They make promises they don’t keep. Their own live are frequently and obviously in disorder and disarray, and their attempts to order the lives of their children seem therefore to make little sense to these children.

“If father beats up mother regularly, what sense does it make to a boy when his mother beats him up because he beat up his sister? Does it make sense when he’s told that he must learn to control his temper? Since we do not have the benefit of comparison when we are young, our parents are godlike figures to our childish eyes. When parents do things a certain way, it seems to the young child the way to do them, the way they should be done.

“If a child sees his parents day in and day out behaving with self – discipline, restraint, dignity and a capacity to order their own lives, then the child will come to feel in the deepest fibers of his being that this is the way to live ….\

“Yet even more important than role modeling is love. For even in chaotic and disordered homes genuine love is occasionally present, and from such homes may come self – disciplined children. And not infrequently, parents who are professional people – who lead lives of strict orderliness and decorum but yet lack love, send children into the world who are as undisciplined and destructive and disorganized as any child from an impoverished and chaotic home.

“Ultimately love is everything.

“When we love something, it is of value to us, and when something is of value to us we spend time with it, time enjoying it and time taking care of it. Observe a teenager in love with his car and note the time he will spend admiring it, polishing it, repairing it, tuning it. Or a gardener with time spent pruning and mulching and fertilizing. So, it is when we love children; we spend time admiring them and caring for them.

“We give them our time.

“The time and the quality of the time that their parents devote to them indicate to children the degree to which they are valued by their parents.

“The feeling of being valuable is essential to mental health and is a cornerstone of self – discipline. It is a direct product of parental love.

“When children have learned through the love of their parents to feel valuable, it is almost impossible for the vicissitudes of adulthood to destroy their spirit.”

The author goes on to say that if you don’t get this from your parents, it is possible to get it from other people, but it is much more difficult.

Anyone who has children knows that there are no perfect parents … heck, everyone knows that because they are someone’s child. But we need to continually work at getting better. There is always a need for us to help give some sense of worth to those we love.

That’s the challenge for this week … go and share that love. And while you’re at it, come downtown and I’ll see you on the bricks.

You must admit this recent weather has been very interesting. I love it. Rain to sweltering hot to rain to snow. And the lightning thrown in there while I drove back from home from Gruver was sensational. You can’t get a better show that it from Netflix.

Spring is here. Winter is officially over. The college basketball champion has been named. Major league baseball opens. And then it snows. A week packed with things.

And there are lots of things happening locally, too. In fact, I have a bunch of random sayings that I’ve saved to share and lots of local happenings. Today’s column is just going to be random bits and pieces. If you’re looking for it to all tie together, you might well be disappointed! But then you’ll get over it.

The Heisman Trophy (coveted college football award and trophy) is made in Wilson, Okla., a little town of 1,500. Interesting.

There is a Spring Salad Luncheon at St. Peter’s Parish Hall at 12th and Quinn in Guymon on Thur., Apr. 6. It starts at 11 am and ends at 1:30 pm. There is takeout available and if you cannot get to the hall, you can have free delivery for orders of four or more. There are assorted salads, homemade soup and homemade hot rolls in addition to homemade desserts. All for just $10 a plate and you’ll be supporting the Catholic Fellowship Circle. This is worth putting on your calendar!

“That energy which makes a child hard to manage is the energy which afterward makes him a manager of life,” said Henry Ward Beecher. Beecher was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker known for his support of the abolition of slavery and women’s suffrage movement. He is also the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

There is a dinosaur traveling exhibit, the Mobile Museum of Earth History, with more than 20 fossils coming to Guymon April 6 – 8. On Thursday and Friday, the 6th and 7th, there are tours from 4 – 7 pm and a presentation at 7 pm. On Saturday, the tours run from 9 am to 4 pm and presentations are at 10:30 am and 2 pm. This is presented by the First Christian Church and is to be seen at the Disciples Center, 802 N. Quinn in Guymon.

“We all fear the unknown – the strange, the different. The natural fears of parents are made worse by ignorance, and unfortunately, they pass them down to their children.” Jackie Robinson said this. Robinson was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. When he began his stellar ten – year baseball career for the Brooklyn Dodgers he broke the sport’s color line, bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.

Friday morning, April 7, starts bright and early with Eggs and Issues. A Chamber of Commerce event, this is the perfect time to learn what is happening at the state capitol. Representative Casey Murdock and Senator Bryce Marlett are invited to come and tell what is happening with our law makers. This is the time you can state your concerns. It’s a lot more effective to state your concerns here than to whine about them at the coffee shop or hair dressers! Eggs and Issues has a full breakfast sponsored by TCEC this month and good people are there. Everyone is welcome to come to the meeting at the Ambassador Restaurant on Highway 64 North.

“Little girls are in fact smaller versions of real human beings, whereas little boys are Pod People from the Planet Destructo,” according to Dave Berry. A native of New York, Barry is a Pulitzer Prize winning American author and columnist.

Lifeway Christian Church is holding an Indian Taco Dinner and Silent Auction and Bake Sale, also on Friday, at the Methodist Enrichment Center, at 6th and Quinn in Guymon. Get advance tickets and they’re $8 for adults and $5 for kids. The dinner goes from 5 – 8 pm.

“If men do not keep on speaking terms with children, they cease to be men, and become merely machines for eating and for earning money,” said Pulitzer Prize winning writer John Updike.

The Senior Citizens have a dance on April 15 with Cottonwood playing. The country and western dance is at the No Man’s Land Center, 515 NE 15th Street and is open to all. It goes from 7 – 10 pm.

“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children,” wrote Alex Haley, the author of “Roots.”

Community Clean – Up takes place on April 22. Be a part of this. Lend a hand. Give an hour or two. Make a difference. Find out more by call the Main Street office at 338-6246.

“Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the United State. Ask any Indian.” So stated Robert Orben, a professional comedy writer and magician.

We are putting together a group of classes designed for the business owner and manager or someone wishing to become an entrepreneur. If you have any classes you would like to see offered, call 338-6246. A list of the classes being offered is soon to be released.

Hope you have a fine time in this interesting weather on the bricks.

March is almost over and I’m so confused. I have to turn the air conditioner on when I go home because the house is so hot. Then in the morning it is so cold, I need to turn the heater on. How inconsistent. How wasteful. How irritating. Same thing in the car. Heater in the morning when driving to work. Air conditioner when driving home after work. No wonder we’re all confused.
Saw a red tulip of the neighbors had bloomed. Spring really is here. I guess it is. Can’t promise about tomorrow. Wasn’t it about 90 degrees plus the day after the official last day of winter? Made me laugh.

Read these words recently that are great to live by:

Live beneath your means.
Return everything you borrow.
Stop blaming other people (be a doer, not a blamer, and find out what is happening at the state capitol at the Chamber’s Eggs and Issues at 7 am on April 7 at the Ambassador. Free breakfast.)
Admit it when you make a mistake.
Give clothes you don’t wear to charity (drop them off at the Methodist Clothing Ministry).
Do something nice and try not to get caught.
Listen more – talk less (and dance on … at the Senior Citizen’s Dance on April 15 from 7 – 10 pm, 515 NE 15th).
Every day take a 30 minute walk (maybe you should sign up to walk in the April 1 Guymon High School Color Run … call Jennifer Reynolds for more information).
Strive for excellence, not perfection.
Be on time.
Don’t make excuses (get out and help with the community clean – up on April 22. Call 338-6246 for more information).
Don’t argue.
Get organized.
Be kind to people.
Let someone cut in ahead of you in line (at the Lifeway Indian Taco Dinner in the Methodist Enrichment Center on April 7 in the evening).
Take time to be alone.
Be humble.
Realize and accept that life isn’t fair.
Know when to keep your mouth shut.
Go an entire day without criticizing anyone.
Learn from the past (take part in the Dinosaur Skeletons and Fossils program at the First Christian Church on April 6, 7, and 8).
Plan for the future (attend the Chamber General Membership lunch meeting on April 3 at the Ambassador).
Live in the present.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
It’s all small stuff.

I love these words of wisdom. Let’s all try to get better at doing them!

See you on the bricks!

In our Career Focus classes, one of the teachers kept quoting the book “The Road Less Traveled” by M. Scott Peck. So, I ordered a used paperback version of the book and I’m finally getting around to reading on it. I’ve made it 29 pages and it’s interesting.

Self – help books are not my favorite to read. There are so many things that need to be changed in me that it is a little overwhelming. And, to be honest, I would so much rather be reading “The Sugar Cookie Murder,” a really fine book that keeps my attention very well.

But it is “The Road Less Traveled” for me today during some wait time at work. And it is interesting … not so much as the cookie murder mystery, but interesting, nonetheless.

Let me share some of it with you.

The first sentence is “Life is difficult.” Then it goes on to say, “Once we truly know that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.

“Most do not fully see this truth that life is difficult. Instead they moan, more or less incessantly, noisily or subtly, about the enormity of their problems, their burdens, and their difficulties as if life were generally easy, as if life should be easy.

“Life is a series of problems. Do we want to moan about them or solve them? Do we want to teach our children to solve them?

“Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life’s problems. Without discipline, we can solve nothing.

“Wise people learn not to dread but actually to welcome problems and actually to welcome the pain of problems.

“Most of us are not so wise. Fearing the pain involved, almost all of us, to a greater or lesser degree, attempt to avoid problems. We procrastinate, hoping that they will go away. We ignore them, forget them, pretend they do not exist. We even take drugs to assist us in ignoring them, so that be deadening ourselves to the pain we can forget the problems that cause the pain. We attempt to skirt around problems rather than meet them head on. We attempt to get out of them rather than suffer through them.

“This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness. Since most of us have this tendency to a greater or lesser degree, most of us are mentally ill to a greater or lesser degree, lacking complete mental health.

“Some of us will go to quite extraordinary lengths to avoid our problems and the suffering they cause, proceeding far afield from all that is clearly good and sensible in order to try to find an easy way out, building the most elaborate fantasies in which to live, sometimes to the total exclusion of reality.

“But the substitute itself ultimately becomes more painful than the legitimate suffering it was designed to avoid. The neurosis itself becomes the biggest problem. True to form, many will then attempt to avoid this pain and this problem in turn, building layer upon layer of neurosis.

“When we avoid the legitimate suffering that results from dealing with problems, we also avoid the growth that problems demand from us. It is for this reason that in chronic mental illness we stop growing, we become stuck. And without healing, the human spirit begins to shrivel.”

The “tools, techniques of suffering, the means of experiencing the pain of problems constructively” that are discipline are delaying of gratification, acceptance of responsibility, dedication to truth, and balancing. …they are simple tools and almost all children are adept in their use by the age of ten. The problem lies not in the complexity of these tools but in the will to use them.”

So, let’s confront some of our problems this week and work through them, living through the pain and growing. We can do this together.

See you on the bricks!

Last weekend my youngest daughter had the wedding dress shopping adventure. It went very well and she found a beautiful dress. Myself, the bride, the bride’s sister, the bride’s sister-in-law, the bride’s granny (my mom), and the bride’s nieces (my granddaughters) all took part. Pretty sure the brothers would have been there, had they been invited.

What fun.

The big day is Sept. 23. And there is a reception with the groom’s family in Baton Rouge, La. That’s a big day, too, as far as I’m concerned.

There are so many reasons that this is perfect. The bride and groom aren’t babies, they’re like 30 or so. They don’t fight, they make one another laugh. I think they’re exceptional people. They are not rushing the planning or picking things that cost a lot. They know that the marriage, the ceremony itself, the commitment and the people are what matters, not impressing with fancy clothes or over the top decorations and such. This is their first marriage for both of them and they have no children. It’s like in proper order, you know?

It’s family at its best.

Marriage advice is probably not something I have earned the right to give, so I looked some up on the internet. Yes, really. I’ll share with you.

“Always strive to give your spouse the very best of yourself; not what’s left over after you have given your best to everyone else.” ~Dave Willis

“Marry someone who has a different favorite cereal than you so they won’t eat all of yours.” No idea who first said this.

“Marriage is … Finding the person who puts up with your crap, admires your weird little ways, and still says they love you at the end of the day.”

There were some other opinions and statements there with the advice that I thought bear mentioning as thoughts by a bride.

“He stole my heart so I am planning revenge … I am going to take his last name.”

“I love you today more than yesterday. Yesterday you got on my nerves.”

And then the final one, as stated by the pastor, “I now pronounce you man and wife, you may now change your Facebook status.”

Ah, what fun. And a full six months to pray for them before they become man and wife. Life is good.

And I read somewhere that newlyweds should save an item from their wedding ceremony to use as a treasured Christmas ornament. Neat idea.

While you’re being attentive, there are a few happenings coming up that should be shared.

The Toastmasters are hosting a workshop that will help you get over the heebie geebies when you have to speak up in front of people. This workshop will help you conduct and participate in a business meeting, motivate people, interview for a job, sell ideas or products, and solve problems. That’s what the flier says. It should say that it will help you to not break out in a rash on your neck, sweat profusely, or stutter while having to do any public speaking.

Anyway, the Toastmasters workshop goes Mar. 7, 14 21, 28, and Apr. 4 at 7 pm. The cost is $15 a person. Call Barbara at 338-7570 or Velma at 651-2474 for more information.

Maybe Lisa and Keith should enroll so they can say “I do” with confidence.

Brayden Lehew is giving a public presentation on Alopecia Areata, which is an autoimmune disease resulting in the loss of hair, on Tues., Mar. 7 from 7 – 8 pm at the Guymon Public Library, 1718 N. Oklahoma. You should go just to meet this fabulous young man who has some health issues that are good to learn about. What is really good about his presentation is that he and his family are kind and caring and make the best of what has been given to them. You are blessed when you get the chance to meet them.

Family, again. A very special family.

And Panhandle Services for Children has a great opportunity for mothers and sons on Sat., Mar. 11. That evening is a date night where you come and go, having dinner together and just having fun. Relish in your relationship with your son. The cost is $30 per couple and $10 for extra son tickets … or mom tickets? This Dinner with a Prince takes place at the Methodist Enrichment Center, 6th and Quinn.

That morning of Mar. 11 is also the Livin’ Green 5K / 10K. You can walk or run with your friends or family. Go to www.runguymon.com to get your registration forms and see the route maps. There is even a half marathon run with it!

Now, go enjoy your family.

I’ll catch you on the bricks!

PTCI Channel 2 video

March 2017

Oklahoma Trivia with Jada Breeden and Melyn Johnson

    Three boys came to help me on Saturday at the Main Street office. All three are from the OPSU Upward Bound program. Jonathon Ibarra, Valdemar Sanchez, and Jonathan Guerrero were all on time and willing to help however I asked. They took out trash, swept the floor, and started hanging posters in windows. People are shocked to learn how much time it takes to hang posters around town. People are showed to learn how long I can avoid sweeping the floor and taking out the trash. So, you know I was happy to see the kids.
    I’m in the office on this Saturday because it’s the day I can work and have less visitors and meetings. And because this morning three Main Street Transformers left with two adult Main Street mentors to visit Alabaster Caverns. They all left the office at 8:30 this morning laughing and knowing they are going to have a wonderful time. I am not sure whether Terry Brand and Kristine Scott are more excited about going or the kids, Taos McIntyre, Alfonso Ortega, and David Ortega.
    I am so lucky to work with people with such giving hearts and great attitudes.
    There are a lot of people who don’t have such great attitudes. Some are also very unappreciative. For them, instant gratification takes too long.
    The kids that I see when we have the community clean – up are probably the ones that are going to continue working as community volunteers. Likely they’ll be the Lions Club members who run the boats and trains at the park. One of them will probably be the Tail Twister at the Tuesday meetings (first and third of each month at 6:30 pm).
    There are some great youth in our community.
    “As far as rearing children goes, the basic idea I try to keep in mind is that a child is a person. Just because they happen to be a little shorter than you doesn’t mean they are dumber than you.” ~Frank Zappa
    Sometimes we just need to make it a point to teach these kids things that are important. It is unfair to just expect them to pick it up automatically. That’s why Theresa Carillo is teaching a free class on Interview Techniques at the OPSU Guymon Classroom at 304 NW 5th on Feb. 21. The class runs from 6 – 8 pm. Be sure to get an advantage on that job that you want and learn about ways to come out ahead in the interview.
    It is always good to improve ourselves.
    It is always good to educate ourselves.
    On Wed., Feb. 22, there is a free Healthy Heart Luncheons for ladies. It’s a Red Dress event, meaning the ladies are encouraged to wear red. You have a chance to learn more about your heart. There are some excellent speakers, including a cardiologist, the mean is healthy and catered by Virgil Gibson. There are folks there to give a BMI (body mass index), blood pressure check, blood sugar test (Ac1), and a voucher for a blood cholesterol check, all free of charge.
    Some folks really want to help us get healthier.
    The next day, Thur., Feb. 23, has another free lunch available to seniors (over 55 years in age) at the Senior Citizen’s Center on their Appreciation Day. They are also having some BINGO. That fun starts at 11:30 am and ends at 3:00 pm. The center is located at 515 NE 15th Street in Guymon.
    That evening from 6 – 8 pm, Carillo is teaching another class, this one about writing a resume. That, too, is at the OPSU Guymon Classroom and has no charge.
    At the same time, on the same evening, is the Main Street Guymon Awards Evening at the RC Party Room on 5th and Main. Some great folks are getting recognition that night and we would love to have you come to it. The cost is $25 a ticket and this is another Virgil Gibson meal.
    Time for me to get some work done.
    See you on the bricks!