A CHRISTMAS POEM

Toward the Winter Solstice

by Timothy Steele, 1948 - no copyright infringement intended

Although the roof is just a story high,

It dizzies me a little to look down.

I lariat-twirl the cord of Christmas lights

And cast it to the weeping birch’s crown;

A dowel into which I’ve screwed a hook

Enables me to reach, lift, drape, and twine

The cord among the boughs so that the bulbs

Will accent the tree’s elegant design.

Friends, passing home from work or shopping, pause

And call up commendations or critiques.

I make adjustments. Though a potpourri

Of Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Sikhs,

We all are conscious of the time of year;

We all enjoy its colorful displays

And keep some festival that mitigates

The dwindling warmth and compass of the days.

Some say that L.A. doesn’t suit the Yule,

But UPS vans now like magi make

Their present-laden rounds, while fallen leaves

Are gaily resurrected in their wake;

The desert lifts a full moon from the east

And issues a dry Santa Ana breeze,

And valets at chic restaurants will soon

Be tending flocks of cars and SUVs.

And as the neighborhoods sink into dusk

The fan palms scattered all across town stand

More calmly prominent, and this place seems

A vast oasis in the Holy Land.

This house might be a caravansary,

The tree a kind of cordial fountainhead

Of welcome, looped and decked with necklaces

And centuries of green, yellow, blue, and red.

Some wonder if the star of Bethlehem

Occurred when Jupiter and Saturn crossed;

It’s comforting to look up from this roof

And feel that, while all changes, nothing’s lost,

To recollect that in antiquity

The winter solstice fell in Capricorn

And that, in the Orion Nebula,

From swirling gas, new stars are being born.

“Toward the Winter Solstice” from Toward the Winter Solstice (Swallow Press/Ohio University Press, 2006, www.ohioswallow.com).

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!

NEW READING PROGRAM

THANK you to all who came to the 1st United Methodist Church last Tuesday night to hear the story of Rikki-tikki-tavi from "The Jungle Book". We had youngsters from age 3 to age 65!   I'm excited about this program and looking forward to the next reading session on Tuesday, November 24 at 5:00 pm.
This week's selection is ALL SUMMER IN A DAY by Ray Bradbury.  It will be on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 5:00 PM at First United Methodist Church.  The program is sponsored by Phoenix Circle Foundation and the 1st UMC Watonga has graciously allowed the use of their building for this program that we hope will encourage the love and enjoyment of reading by all ages.

School-age children and adults of all ages are encouraged to come listen while we read a classic short story aloud.  All you have to do is sit and listen and enjoy. Program is 30-40 minutes. Children under age 9 must be accompanied by an adult.  After the reading we will have a light snack to take home.   See the Phoenix Circle Foundation facebook page for a list of the stories that will be read in December.  
/Linda Barrett

Working Together

Nov. 23, 2015
Kudos to our community for coming together and getting on the bandwagon to have a presence in the 2016 Red Carpet Country Visitor's Guide.  It is a very affordable way for small towns and small businesses to get publicity throughout the State of Oklahoma, into Kansas, and down south into Texas.  We have one of Oklahoma's jewels in our area, Roman Nose State Park, and I wish more people knew about it.  The larger parks get a lot of press - everyone knows where Alabaster Caverns and Robbers Cave state parks are. Even Black Mesa State Park is well known.  The "Live at the Liberty" shows are always good. Whirlwind Winery is attracting a lot of people from out of town. 
The next Red Carpet Country Assoc. board meeting is in December in Alva, and I hope to schedule a  board meeting here in Blaine County for next year!
/Linda Barrett 

Cheese & Wine Festival

Nov 17, 2015
Preliminary information gives us both good and a little not so good news about the 39th Annual Watonga Cheese & Wine Festival.  Overall attendance (wrist-band sales) was down from the previous two years but the Rat Race did pull in more entries than last year. 
The Race the Rail event, held on the Saturday morning of the Cheese &Wine Festival, had a record number of participants. 
There were not a lot of vendors in the Festival Tent, but that just meant more money to spread around the street vendors.  The Armory was full, and the wine tasting area was busy most of both days of the festival.  The art show may not be continued in future festivals, but that is still under discussion. It was a beautiful weekend weather-wise, and overall, it was a good festival even if it was a little smaller than past years. 

DISCOVER OKLAHOMA tv episode

Nov. 15, 2015

 

RE: the DISCOVER OKLAHOMA story on the Chaparral Retreat & Guesthouse -- I just heard from the producer of the show:

"It was supposed to air from 6-6:30pm on KTUL. The football game ABC Network was airing went into Double Overtime and then it was time for the OU pre-game show to start. We are working on when it will re-air and will let you know. It will absolutely get on TV...we just have to figure out the date. Thanks for understanding!" The people at Discover Oklahoma are fantastic to work with!! 

 

/Linda 

Quote

Nov. 4, 2015 
I saw this on a facebook post and am reposting here -- no copyright infringement intended.  Guess who said it:

“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me.

I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.”

 

Red Carpet Country Tourism Conference

Oct. 7, 2015
Yesterday I spent the day in Woodward OK at the RED CARPET COUNTRY TOURISM CONFERENCE, and came home reignited and inspired.  I made a lot of contacts there.  And every one of the speakers reinforced and confirmed that we have the bones for what can be a fabulous tourist destination -- the state park, the winery, live music, two different bed & breakfasts, and historical spaces; the town leaders need to all work together to make good things happen.  Andy and I have tried to work with the Chamber of Commerce and have gotten nowhere, so all we can do is continue to push forward by ourselves.  We have lots of supporters but it is sad that the civic group that is charged with working to promote our town is not doing its job.
The Cheese Festival is coming up this weekend and there are lots of frustrated people in town over the lack of communication and information and promotion of the event.  One thing that struck me at the tourism conference yesterday was the statement that our audience, the group that we, as a town, an event, a business, should be targeting are NOT the local population, but people from out of town, out of state.  Yet this year the Chamber didn't advertise with Travel OK, Red Carpet Country Tourism, Oklahoma Tourism, or any other statewide event guide.  I tried to get them to let me post the event on the tourism facebook page and Red Carpet Country website, but they weren't interested.
Andy and I are getting calls and email messages daily, asking us questions about what/where/when, and all we can do is give them the phone number for the Chamber office.  Then we get calls back saying they've left a message and aren't getting a call back from the Chamber; and then more calls saying that the Chamber voice mail is full and so they can't leave a message there.  Most of the artists who have exhibited at the Art Show for years have not been contacted.  The Canton Schools student art that has been a part of the Art Show for the past ten years has been excluded from the Art competition, and so they will not be exhibiting their work this year.  That is sad because those students create some fabulous works of art.  This past year they worked with a well-known Oklahoma artist, Patrick Riley, and made masks.  Drew and Jenna were asked to judge the masks, since they didn't know any of the students and could be impartial.  They were all wonderful!  It is unfortunate that the masks will not be shown at the Cheese Festival.  As of this posting, nobody seems to know where the Art Show is going to be, not even the local newspaper.  I saw the festival tent going up today (Wednesday), and it is blocking the winery--unfortunate since the wine aspect of the festival has been growing over the past couple of years and lack of access to the local store could leave a bad taste in some mouths (pun intended). 

The Rat Race seems to be well organized, and the cheese tasting and food contest are on track.  The Kiwanis is lined up to sell cheese on both days, at the Armory and in a building on Main Street.  But the Chamber lost their partnership with Race the Rail, which was a unique and well-attended event and a huge money-maker from the festival--that was $5 a head for over 200 registrants that the Chamber lost.  We are going to work with the organizers of the Race to try and keep the bicycle event here in future years and hope for the best. 

Speaking of tourism, we received a call from the local Oklahoma tourism show, Discover Oklahoma, saying they would like to come out to the Chaparral Retreat and shoot some film for one of their episodes.  We are so excited -- this is what we've been working towards for a couple of years!!!  We have a full house this weekend, and next weekend we are hosting the 2014 Oklahoma poet laureate, Nathan Brown, for an Oklahoma House Concert.