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On The Bricks

June 5, 2018

On the Bricks TV Show

OPSU Aggie Football Families

April 2018

Courtesy PTCI

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On The Bricks

June 2018 TV

On the Bricks, Part One
PTCI Channel 2 video
June 2018
What’s Happening in June with Jada Breeden and How to Make a Spring Roll with Darcy

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On The Bricks

May 30, 2018

There are some days you just can’t catch a break.

There are days when you just aren’t impressed with yourself.

There are days when you wish you could just send yourself outside to play.

You know what I’m talking about, right?

An article entitled “Dealing with Challenging Personalities” looked pretty interesting to me and I decided to read it. It’s in the May Toastmasters magazine.

It started out, “We all know them: the club members who irritate, agitate, and aggravate others. Maybe it’s their strong personality or annoying behavior…. They are maddening!” And then the article proceeded to talking about the personalities and how to work with them.

  1. They named seven type of maddening members.
  2. The Over – Talker. This person “talks endlessly, barely stopping to breathe in conversation, unaware that their listener has zoned out and lost interest. They can come across as opinionated, disrespectful, and extremely self – absorbed.
  3. The Recruiter. He uses every opportunity for “a personal networking or proselytizing event to market their own business or evangelize their own faith. Every conversation and comment is sprinkled with a thinly veiled attempt to gain more clients or converts.
  4. “The Googler is the know it all, the self – proclaimed (and often prideful) keeper of all knowledge. They may know a lot of people. They may be name droppers. They many have memorized every aspect of Robert’s Rules of Order. They protest incorrect procedures, or pontificate about ‘why we must do this.’ They can come across as pretentious and inflexible.”
  5. The High Conflict person is toxic. They “exhibit behavior consistent with narcissism and histrionic, borderline and antisocial personality disorders. They argue, debate, even intimidate. They often initiate, escalate, and perpetuate conflict, usually with themselves at the center. They blame others and will not take responsibility for their part in a conflict. They think people are either with them or against them, or 100 percent good or 100 percent bad. If anyone is against them, they’re forever against them. They can be explosive and unpredictable, and will try to gather allies in their conflicts, often creating division in a group.
  6. “The Latecomer is consistently late. When on the agenda, their tardiness causes last minute role shuffling. Even if they are not on the agenda, their arrival is disruptive and distracting.
  7. “The Gossiper delights in passing along juicy information about someone else. The information may be true, but it’s rarely flattering. Gossips speculate, criticize, and divide.
  8. “The Eccentric is unusual, quirky, or peculiar. They just seem out of step with conventional standards. Maybe they dress differently, have an unusual habit, or are hyperfocused on a specific topic. Other may think they are mentally deficient, but they are not. In Eccentrics: A Study of Sanity and Strangeness, psychiatrist David Weeks writes how eccentrics are often physically healthier and significantly happier than ‘normal’ people. He says they typically exhibit five similar characteristics: they are nonconformist, creative, intensely curious, idealistic, and unconcerned with how they contrast with conventional culture. Their presence can be unsettling to some.”

I don’t know about you, but I saw myself in about half of those people. I thought maybe I should read the part on how to deal with them, but then I changed my mind. I think I’m stuck with myself. If I haven’t learned in 58 years how to deal with myself, it doesn’t seem likely.
Lots happening this summer. What are you looking forward to?

I’ll see you on the bricks!

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On The Bricks

May 22, 2018

My mother is a beautiful 80 – year – old woman. She’s married to Bob and she is smart as a whip. She is also half a step from being a perfectionist and being raised by her wasn’t easy, although she certainly tried to teach me how to work hard and well and to be socially acceptable. I wasn’t always a good learner.

Mama is different these days than she was when I was young. She is more accepting and more forgiving, more positive and just generally more relaxed. And I like the new Mama.

The last couple of months she has had yet another transformation.

She has fallen in love.

Hard.

Head over heels.

She is crazy about Walter.

She calls me sometimes to tell me the wonderful things that Walter does.

Walter is a rescue Schnauzer who has found the good life. Mama feeds him and waters him, has a backyard that he owns, and he has the run of her immaculately clean house. She buys him toys and any day I’m expecting a collar with jewels. We’ll see. Last night he slept with Mom and Bob … under the blankets. Yes, she called and told me.

Who is this person that used to be my mom? I don’t know, but I really enjoy her. Probably not as much as Walter does, but close.

When we get to retirement age and go on into retirement, it is a life change that we really need to prepare for.

Recently I read an article that a man wrote about his retirement. H decided to devote more time to photography; reread One Hundred Years of Solitude and every mystery written by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler; and to learn the guitar riff or the first 10 bars of every Beatles song. And he did all that and then said he had a “what now?” moment.

“I had simply spent more time indulging existing talents and interests,” said James Petersen. “And none of those goals took me out of the house, involved other people, or kept me connected. I was no longer taking risks.

“The learning curve, I realized, should lead somewhere.” He explained further. “A friend who took up online dating apparently mixed up his likes and dislikes in his profile. It took him months to notice that the women he was meting were drawing him into activities he had previously avoided – and that he was enjoying himself.

“The learning curve should lead you out of the house.

“I have attended Story Slams … sat in intimate Irish pubs being moved to laughter or tears or heartache by the sound of human voices.

“Find a microphone. Tell your story. This campfire has been burning for millennia. It is human connection in its purest form, the exact opposite of what often happens in social media.

“For most of my life I was inclined toward adrenaline sports, velocity. Then I inherited a garden. Over the past few years I have built a vocabulary and a library of reference books. I’ve started a calendar, photographing the arrival of bluebells, lilies, wood anemones, lobelias, bleeding hearts, astilbes. If this is July, that must be echinacea. I have seen plants change in the course of a day. I have sat in the backyard watching the fireflies rise.

“To be on the learning curve you must be willing to be a beginner again, to wrestle with skills not entirely under your control.”

Facing a challenge ignites the brain. To have full engagement, focus, and enjoyment, you have to tackle challenges that are just beyond your abilities, that are new.

Feeling challenged? Wondering what you can do that is new? Want to visit about volunteering? Would love to talk to you about it!

One of the challenges that might be perfect is to get involved with the Guymon Community Theatre. They have a play this weekend. Go check it out.

You might challenge yourself to expanding your culinary skills. Virgil Gibson is teaching a cooking glass through the All Fired Up Gallery on May 31.

Think on it. This could be great fun.

And I hope I’ll see you on the bricks while you’re pondering!

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On The Bricks

April 30, 2018

Last week a busy week and this week is going to be even more fun. Thought I would share some oddball tidbits of information that are floating around in my head and really causing a little havoc in there. Maybe if I share it, then there will be a little more order up there.
One of the Aggie Baseball Families went to Dodge City to see the OPSU baseball players play. Now that’s cool. Just knowing that there are people who care enough to do such nice things makes me happy.
Not sure if I shared these science sayings already. If I did, they’re probably worth being told again. I told a chemistry joke. There was no reaction.
Thank you to those who have brought in vases for us to reuse. We have a couple of small boxes so far. We could sure use some more! So maybe you would consider cleaning out the cupboard with all those glass vases saved from when the old boyfriend would send flowers.
Hey, baby. I got my ion you.
The Pub on the Bricks is one of my favorite Main Street Guymon members. And last week I ordered the chicken fajita wrap. It was delicious! You should try one.
Are you full of beryllium, gold, and titanium? Because you are BeAuTifull!
If you’re wanting to try something new this Pioneer Days, take the kids and visit the Point Rock Riders camp on the evening of May 3. The Chamber of Commerce has all the information on Pioneer Days that you need. But, before you call them, print off the Schedule of Events at www.GuymonRodeo.com.
My teacher threw sodium chloride at me. That’s a salt.
The Rodeo Queen Luncheon is Thur., May 3, at Top Value Market starting at 11:30 am. Meet the queens. They’re friendly and interesting coming from states all across the nation. The Pioneer Day Breakfast is at 5:30 on Sat., May 5, and is one of my favorite events to attend. Go there and then register as an Old Timer at the Methodist Church from 7 – 9 am. You get done just in time to watch the parade that starts at 9:30 am.
I blew up my chemistry experiment. Oxidants happen.
Did you know the Pioneer Day Rodeo is one of the best outdoor professional rodeos in the nation? Right here in our backyard! Even the TV show Criminal Minds knows that and chose to have the rodeo clown episode take place in “the sleepy town of Guymon, Oklahoma.” We’re famous and we owe it all to the volunteers through the Chamber who make it happen. The rodeo takes place Fri., May 4, at 7:30 pm; Sat., May 5, at 2 and 7:30 pm; and Sun., May 6, at 2 pm. It costs $20 at the gate, but if you go by Dizzy B’s or Bank of the Panhandle or PTCI or Farm Credit in Guymon, or TCEC in Hooker, you can get advance tickets at $15. But don’t be ignorant and think the advance tickets continue to be on sale after the rodeo starts. Really. That’s not happening.
Community Clean – Up went on all through April. Have you done your little bit of community cleaning? Hop to! It’s time for a little Spring cleaning. The Guymon High School Business Club under the leadership of Summer Behne helped out. They worked hard and were a friendly group of kids. Awesome kids. I feel lucky to have gotten to meet them. I feel even luckier to have them help with the trash picking up.
Enjoy May! This is usually the busy month that brings in the Spring. A wonderful time of year in the Oklahoma Panhandle!
See you on the bricks … probably at the parade!

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On The Bricks

April 23, 2018

There are times when we feel pressured to get results. Whether it’s in our business, with a volunteer organization, or a government department, it is time to get things done, to deliver value and meet some goals.
It happens to most everyone. And so, what do you do to get your team going? Here is some insight presented in the article, “8 Ideas to Revitalize Your Team’s Morale and Productivity” in the April 2018 Toastmaster magazine.
Focusing on results exclusively may improve outcomes for a time, but it also burns out employees and volunteers, increasing apathy and killing morale. The key to sustaining excellent results over time is to combine a focus on achieving results with building healthy professional relationships.
Rock your role. The team’s moral and performance begins with the leader. Can they look at you and see the excellence you’re asking of them? Most effective leaders show to play every day. It’s about progress, not perfection. Hone your craft. Find a mentor. Invest in a leadership development program for you and your team. Keep learning.
Mind the M.I.T. Often the number one cause of poor morale, performance problems, and subpar results is a lack of clarity. You can boost morale and productivity by communicating clean, shared expectations. One way to make sure everyone is on the same page is to “Mind the M.I.T. (Most Important Thing). Be sure to prioritize. What is the most important thing your team can achieve this year? This quarter? This week? What is the most important thing they do today? Does everyone on the team know what winning looks like?
Ditch the Diaper Drama. The team needs direct feedback to help them know what to continue and what to change. Most struggle to give direct feedback in a what that helps their employees. Like stinky diapers wrapped with plastic in the modern – day diaper pail, they wrap their feedback in layers of self – protection so it doesn’t offend anyone. Effective leaders speak the truth. Improve your team’s moral and productivity by having the tough conversations and speak truth with compassion.
Channel Challengers. Effective leaders recognize the value every person on their team contributes. They deliberately surround themselves with people who will challenge their thinking. It’s not enough to have an open – door policy and passively wait for people to tell you what you need to hear. Instead, seek out feedback. Ask “As your leader, what is one thing I could do that would help you be more productive?” Listen, respond, and watch your team’s morale and performance soar.
Own the Ugly. When you make a mistake or hurt someone, apologize and make it right and move on. Your people will be able to trust you more, and they’ll be more likely to take responsibility themselves and morale will improve.
Play the Game, Don’t Game the Score. Keep the team focused on what matters most. Your customer doesn’t care what you get on your scorecard. They care about the value you deliver. Isolate the key behaviors that truly drive the value you contribute to your clients, customers, and members.
Put People Before Projects. Know the unique strengths and perspectives each person brings to the team. Take the time to look at a person’s potential to perform beyond their current role. Build trust with, and between, your people. Listen to what is important to them and encourage their success.
Trust the Trenches. In your team, you have a tremendous source of knowledge, insights, and performance improvements. Listen to what they have to say. Your people are your number one competitive advantage.
Interesting thoughts from the article.
To me, it seems like the article is basically telling you to respect people and their skills, listen to them, and work together. Whether it’s in your work, in your family, or in your church, these are things we should all work on to do better.
So, if the community is my team … what would you like to see happening at Main Street Guymon? Email me your thoughts to Director@MainStreetGuymon.com.

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On The Bricks

April 6, 2018

Good advice can’t be given too often. Someone shared these tidbits on facebook and they’re worth passing on.
Live beneath your means.
Return everything you borrow.
Stop blaming other people.
Admit when you make a mistake.
Give clothes not worn to charity.
Do something nice and try not to get caught.
Listen more and talk less.
Everyday take a 30 – minute walk.
Strive for excellence, not perfection.
Be on time.
Don’t make excuses.
Don’t argue.
Get organized.
Be kind to people.
Let someone cut in ahead of you in line.
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.
Plan for the future.
Live in the present.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
It’s all small stuff.
Wow. Lot’s of ways to improve who I am and the world I live in. Goals are good to have and to re-examine every once in awhile.
Remember this is April, Community Clean – Up month. It’s the perfect time to take the cleaning into your house and clean a closet. Give what you don’t use to someone who will. Clean the garage and donate some of that stuff to someone who needs it. Clean up your blocks alley … mow and pick up trash and make your world better. Share your puzzles.
Support and encourage someone this month. Attend the Main Street Guymon Silent Auction and Soup Bar. It’s $10 to a good cause and you might find a treasure perfect for you or one of your friends. Or run in the Color Run.
Have you thought you might like to try being an Aggie Family and helping out a football or baseball player at OPSU who is a long ways from their family and would love to have someone at some of his games? Someone who might bring a pizza over for a hungry college guy to share with his roommates? Call 338-6246 if you would like to know more about the program. We’re all having a pot luck and game night (dominoes, board games, etc.) on Monday if you call soon, you can join us.
April is a good time to get better, to improve.
Did you know U.S. adults aren’t eating enough fruits and vegetables according to the Centers for Disease Control scientists, who warn that this puts us at risk for diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses. Federal guidelines recommend having 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit and two to three cups of vegetables daily. Nine percent of adults meet the recommendation for vegetables and 12 percent for fruit, with men, young adults, and poor adults faring worst.
Share an orange with someone you love. Pass the broccoli. And plant a garden.
While you’re at it. Conserve some energy. Take your TCEC Coop Connection card (check it out at www.tcec.coop) and get 5% off any energy star rated products. They can help you conserve without changing much at all. Maybe just a few light bulbs … or more. Be brave.
Shop local. Locally owned businesses give more than twice as much to our schools, civic organizations, and other community organizations. Need proof? Check out the backs of the Kid’s Inc. team sponsors, look at the list of Chamber and Main Street members on their websites, notice who gives to those After Prom parties.
Shop local. If you’re asking a business for a donation for your group, only allow someone who has spent money in that business to ask. That’s some good checks and balances. I wonder if those we ask for donations were to check what we spend there and match, how well our donations would go. Bears some thought.
Let’s work at this getting to be better people.
See you on the bricks!

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On The Bricks

April 2, 2018

A new month is staring us in the face. Time to begin anew just as the trees and flowers are blooming anew.
Let’s talk about what sort of community happenings we have in April. And I’ll throw in some of those fabulous quotes that seem to find me.
April is the month that the Community Clean-Up. Happens all month long and some of the posters for the Trash Off contest will soon hang in the Main Street Guymon window. Come by and see how talented some of our students are! The office is located at 116 NE 5th Street in Guymon. The posters address conservation and litter control. Big issues. Big statements made by the students.
“Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.” ~Roy T. Bennett
Apr. 6 is Eggs and Issues at the Ambassador Restaurant, 7 am. Lunch is provided by TCEC and you have a chance for conversation with our districts government representatives. Senator Casey Murdock is always there and tells us what is happening at the State Capitol in OKC. This is your chance to visit with things that matter to you and to say thank you for things you appreciate. I wonder how many of the teachers who were planning to walk out ever took the chance to first visit at Eggs and Issues. It’s been going on since the 90s, always brought to us by the Chamber of Commerce. Have you been?
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” ~William Arthur Ward
“That same evening of Apr. 6, Lifeway Church is hosting an Indian Taco Dinner at 5 pm. Need to share that in case you’re not in the mood for cooking and you would enjoy supporting one of our community’s churches. You can even have a great argument on where Indian Tacos and frybread comes from. The story I heard was that when the Native Americans were on the reservation and the government was providing their food, they had flour and they had oil and frybread came from necessity. But there are other stories, too, and who knows which are correct?
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower
Apr. 7 is a busy day. A color run is happening in the morning, put on by the Guymon High School Student Council. That same morning is a community clean-up day for some. Are you and your friends helping with the community cleaning? Take an hour and participate.
That evening of Apr. 7 is the Main Street Guymon Priceless Silent Auction and Soup Bar. So many donations have come through and for things that you can’t buy. There are antiques brought in by Hal Clark and Dorothy Countryman, many that would be perfect for the furniture refinisher. Or you can buy a golf lesson by Dwayne Mauldin, landscape design by Anita Helms so your yard is as pretty as your smile, or a weekend getaway plan by Melyn Johnson who loves to tell people where to go. So much, and all up for bids at Draper’s Headquarters from 5 – 6:30 pm. And you’ll have time to look at Draper’s treasurers and eat some hearty soup from the soup bar. There is chicken and noodles, vegetable soup, chili, seafood soup, chicken enchilada soup, shrimp and potato soup, vegan soup, and more. Treasures galore!
“Always remember people who have helped you along the way, and don’t forget to lift someone up.” ~ Roy T. Bennett
The list goes on, but it’s time to take a rest for now. There’s quite a bit to do with that much. Remember, it doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down. All that matters is that you get up one more time than you were knocked down.
Take your TCEC Coop Connections card in to PTCI next time you some sort of phone accessory and you’ll get 25% off. It’s a great deal!
See you on the bricks!

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On The Bricks

March 28, 2018

Just get to the point.

I don’t have all day.

Reading an article in the Toastmasters magazine, Joel Schwartzberg, talked about getting to the point. It made a lot of sense. Some of it goes against our Southern conversation skills, but it made sense.

“I was sitting in an auditorium listening to a senior vice president deliver one of the least effective speeches I’d ever heard,” Schwartzberg wrote. “With nothing more than a jumble of thoughts in his head, he rambled, tossed out ideas as they occurred to him and didn’t know when to stop. It was a tortuous hour for his captive audience.”

He needed to make a point. A point is a statement that you can defend and prove with reasoning. “Because I said so” does no count in the proof and reasoning section, by the way.

The article went on to give five questions you need to ask yourself to make sure you’re making a good point with your presentation.

First, do you believe it? The author says to “place the words ‘I believe that’ in front of what you think is your point and see if your statement is grammatically correct. If it is indeed a complete thought, you’re well on your way to a real point. If not, rewrite the statement until it would satisfy your middle school English teacher. These three words force you to commit to a contention and make an argument for it.

“The ‘I believe that’ test is helpful for emails, job interviews, pitches, performance reviews – any situation in which you’re trying to make an impact.

“Is it a truism? If your point is instantly true (Ice cream is delicious), dig deeper to find a point you can argue. (Soft serve ice cream is the most convenient summertime dessert.) One way to root out a truism is to follow up the point by asking yourself ‘why?’. It it’s a truism, there won’t be much of an answer. It answers itself.” Your point needs to have a reasonable opposite point of view.

“Am I jamming too many ideas into my point? If you have multiple thoughts or adjectives to convey, don’t jam them into a single point like clowns into a Volkswagen. Pick the most important one, focus on it and bring up the other later, one at a time. It may seem like you add value to your point when you add new words and ideas, but when you throw multiple point at an audience in a single sentence, you actually dilute the impact of each one. The audience is not only forced to split their attention between multiple points, but is left clueless as to which idea is more relevant.

“Am I using ‘badjectives’? B adjectives are adjectives so broad that they convey no value. They’re deceptive because they seem to project a clear impression. Who wouldn’t want to be connected to something ‘excellent,’ ‘fantastic,’ ‘terrific,’ or ‘very good’?

“But being general robs your point of substance. What does it really mean to call something ‘great’? What makes it great? The audience has no idea. Using badjectives is like when a Little League baseball coach says, ‘Come on now, Johnnie!’ versus ‘Keep your eye on the ball as it comes to you, Johnnie!’ One has no value, but the other makes a substantive point.

“Dig for words that say what you truly mean.

“Can I speak about this for more than a minute? Chances are if you can’t, your response does not have much of a point. Without a point, you have nothing of value, you’re pointless. But armed with a strong point, you present to your audience an idea they can digest, take home, and even benefit from.

“So, the next time you convey a thought, don’t just describe or discuss it. Make your point, put power behind your words and champion your ideas.”

Let’s focus on the Heritage Community Annual Easter Egg Hunt at 2 pm on Mar. 30. And, let me point this out – the hunt is for the children, parents, not for you. Stand back behind the line and let your kids learn to be a little independent. They don’t have to find all the eggs, they just should be having fun. To hush up and stand back. Did I make my point clear?

It’s Easter weekend. I hope that the weekend has in it all the things that you would wish. Maybe attending church is a part of your Easter weekend. Maybe you have thought about it but don’t know where to go. Victory Center is a Main Street Guymon member. Yep, they pay their dues and support what Main Street Guymon does in the community. It would be a good idea to give them a chance to be your home church, if you don’t have one, in my opinion.

Shop and Dine is Apr. 5 starting at 4 pm. Check out the fun downtown happening in the Shop and Dine.

And I’ll make it a point to wave at you when you’re on the bricks!

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On The Bricks

March 26, 2018

Treasures galore. Just priceless. Yours for the getting.

Those are the offerings at the Priceless Silent Auction fund raiser for Main Street Guymon that takes place at Draper’s Headquarters on Sat., Apr. 7. From 5 to 7 that evening you can bid on antiques to priceless opportunities like the “Fireman for an Hour” donations. The bidding actually goes until 6:30 pm and are then announced and settled.

While you’re waiting for the auction to end, you can partake of the delicious soup bar for supper and look around at the wonderful collection gathered by Jim Draper. It does cost $10 at the door to come in and be a part of the auction.

Hal Clark is cleaning out old furniture from his ranch in Cimarron County and there are items of furniture and more from Clark. Even an early 1900 set of golf clubs is included, a steamer truck, picnic hamper, and an old stereo are a part of his collection. Several chairs date from the late 1800s. Then there is a graduation cake decorated by Brooke Tuttle, Fireman for an Hour by the Guymon Fire Department, batting lessons by OPSU Assistant Baseball Coach Keith Schulz, handmade wooden toys by Mel Grantham, Texas Hold ‘Em instruction for up to four people by Paul Montgomery, a pan of homemade chili rellanos by Norma Green, and more. Mel’s Creations will make a memory bear from a piece of clothing that was worn by someone you love for a Memory Bear.

All auction items are donated so the funds raised can help continue the many Main Street Guymon community programs.

Be sure to look on facebook at the items.

If you are interested in donating or for more information, please contact Melyn Johnson at Director@MainStreetGuymon.com or call 806-681-9881.