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CORRIDOR MARCH 2022 / VOLUME I / Issue I

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ON OUR COVER The new owners, Kayla Dees and Trudy Evans, with the previous owner, Joe Gooch. We’d like to thank Joe for almost 16 years of doing The Corridor Magazine. We wish him the best with retirement. Trudy and Kayla, mother and daughter, hope to continue the corridor legacy with The Oklahoma Corridor Magazine. Carrying on a tradition that he began with his late wife Judy in August 2006 at times it may be difficult, but with Kayla’s experience and Trudy’s business experience, we have no doubt The Oklahoma Corridor Magazine will be around for many more years to come! We appreciate all The Corridor readers and advertisers. Together we will be “Growing Businesses in Oklahoma”.

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PUBLISHED BY OKLAHOMA CORRIDOR MAGAZINE, LLC PUBLISHER:

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Hello Oklahoma Corridor Magazine Readers! This is my very first editorial for my very first magazine. So… what do I write about? I have no idea! There are voices I keep hearing that sound just like my Mom and Dad saying, “You can do this, Sis! We are right beside you. Just like WE were when you took your first steps, when you graduated high school, and at your first marriage. And just like YOU were at all of our cancer treatments, at every doctor’s visit and when we took our last breath. You got this! Kayla is right beside you now. Just like you were there for HER first steps. You were there when she got her autism diagnosis, and when she graduated from high school. You were with her as she learned to drive. Kayla was there when your husband Brian passed away and has been every day since, right next to you. You got this! You both can do this!” OK Mom and Dad, I CAN do this…see I did it! You are reading our first issue!!

Joe Gooch and his precious wife Judy started The Corridor Magazine back in August 2006. That was almost 16 years ago! I started reading then and have read almost every issue. My daughter Kayla started helping Joe in February 2019. She attended Central Tech prior to that and her course of study was Digital Printing and Imaging Communications. Danny Hoggatt was her instructor. He called and asked if Kayla would be interested in helping a friend with his magazine. So, after her evening job, and on her days off, she would help Joe at The Corridor. Magazine. Fast forward three years, and Joe called us. He needed to retire, to give up magazine publication and really wanted Kayla and me to take it over. After discussing this request with his family and mine, with lots of prayer, here we are!! Kayla and I are so excited to begin this new adventure. WE are ready to meet new people and watch small town businesses grow and prosper along the Oklahoma Corridor. WE GOT THIS!!

Welcome to the all new NEW! OKLAHO MA CORRIDO R M AGAZI NE / M ARC H 2 0 2 2 4

PUBLISHED BY OKLAHOMA CORRIDOR MAGAZINE, LLC Trudy Evans, Publisher

We hope you enjoy our first issue!

IN THIS ISSUE...

OUR MARCH 2022 FEATURE STORY:

A Window into Springtime: The Birds and the Bees by Alana Owen on page 6

Editorial by Trudy Evans

A Window into Springtime: The Birds and the Bees by Alana Owens

Kids on the Corridor by Jeree Milligan

Pastor Paul’s Passages by Paul Ragle

God and the Weather by Harlan Bryan

God and the Weather Poem by the late Mary Bryan

Notes on the Corridor by Rick Reiley

Delilah’s Dilemmas by Diane Brown

Recipes by Jeree Milligan

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A Window into Springtime – The Birds and the Bees

by ALANA OWEN

Let me tell ya ‘bout the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees And the moon up above, and this thing called love

PHOTO by ALANA OWEN

Garden rooms can be created by recycling old treasures found on your property, or on Oklahoma farms belonging to friends and family members.

PHOTO by ALANA OWEN

Garden rooms attract many butterflies, along with this beautiful Monarch.

Spring is in the air everywhere you look. The birds and bees are becoming an active presence in our world. To some extent it would seem the earth is awakening from its winter hibernation. It is a time of promising new opportunities, new seasons, new memories, and good outdoor times. It is hard to discuss springtime without recognizing the important role plants and bees play in our lives, even if you are primarily a carnivore. Bees pollinate our food crops and keep them healthy. Plants are important for all living things. They absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which we need to breathe. Plants are an essential food source for some living things and a secondary food source for others. When I thought about the spring edition of the magazine, my mind drifted off to an old song I heard as a toddler, The Birds and the Bees, where singer Jewel Akens sings about the beauty in the reproduction of all species, along with loving one another (quoted above). However, the phrase was coined by author Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his collection in 1825. Spring is upon us. I am anxiously awaiting the birth of our granddaughter while continuing to watch the decline of my parents’ health. The cycle of life holds out OKLAHO MA CORRID OR M AGAZI NE / M ARC H 2 0 2 2 6

PHOTO PROVIDED by STEVEN ANDERSON

Local bee keeper Steven Anderson enjoys the health and financial benefits of keeping bees and harvesting honey.

to us the promise of the new and the old and, sadly, the ultimate end of a life on earth. Every spring I try to embrace and celebrate life by experiencing new and familiar things, the warmth of the sunshine, gathering of friends, and the growth of healthy food sources. I took a tally of all the superfoods I have grown in the past and was pleasantly surprised by how many are on my list. Garlic. My California roots brought crops of garlic with me, and it grows exceptionally well in Oklahoma soil. Garlic is a superfood because it offers properties that eliminate cholesterol from our bodies and helps to reduce quantities of unhealthy fats. Berries. Beautiful blackberries grow wild (in small portions) on our property. Blackberries offer high fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and are low in calories. While they are excellent eaten right off the vine while picking, they make an excellent cobbler for those who are willing to indulge. Eggs. Farm fresh eggs are the best! You can pay attention to your chickens’ diet to enhance the health properties of their eggs. Farm fresh eggs are just that fresh, allow

ing for optimal nutrients benefits. Eggs offer us an excellent source of protein. Kale. Kale has major anti-inflammatory effects. Kale is also one of the most nutrient dense vegetables due to its vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The texture can be an issue for many, so hiding it in those smoothies and soups is a great way to use it. Nuts. Pecans are abundant on a good year in Oklahoma. That is lucky for those of us that grow or hunt for them because they are extremely expensive when purchased commercially. Pecans can help fight the development of chronic illness, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. They can give your metabolism a boost to assist in weight management too, not to mention all the vitamins and minerals they offer. Green Tea. Green tea is believed to help in fighting colds and boosting moods! It also has antioxidants that can help fight cancer and reduce the risk of other diseases. I grow lemon verbena, bee balm, various mints, and anise. The combination of these plants makes for a delicious hot drink especially when combined with local honey. Red Bell Peppers. Peppers pack more vitamin C than oranges. They are easy to grow in a large container. Peppers are believed to be a mood booster by many and contain many vitamins and nutrients. In most households their use may require some planning and negotiating. Curiously, my husband will pick them out of my cooking, yet he will pick one fresh off the vine and eat it raw. Okra. This vegetable is low in calories and high in heart soluble fiber. This is another food that may require some negotiating in its use. I insist on sautéing it while many people prefer (or will only consume it) fried. Add in fresh garlic, tomatoes, and home-grown herbs and sauté it in olive oil, you will not be disappointed. There are many other superfoods; the above are simply what I typically grow and share with friends and family. I recently spoke with a past coworker, Ow Thomasson, who attended an agriculturally themed class at

Oklahoma State University (OSU). Ow gardens primarily as a hobby and enjoyed learning about topics such as planting and pruning. He said the discussion about pest control and soil conditions was also very helpful. OSU maintains a website that includes various upcoming classes for those interested in expanding their growing knowledge. A quick look at their calendar revealed an herb and succulent festival April 30, 2022, a must attend for me since I grow various herbs for their health benefits too. But what about those bees? Local beekeeper Steven Anderson began beekeeping following a trip to see his uncle in Columbia. Steven’s uncle had a few beehives and introduced him to beekeeping. For many years following his trip to Columbia he considered becoming a beekeeper. When Steven’s wife bought him some bees and a bee keeping kit for Christmas, he never looked back. Steven has bees on our property and we reside with them in complete harmony. They particularly enjoy the tea herbs, and their hives sit close to my berry patch and my berries are typically among the best around (in my opinion of course). Hummingbirds have a significant presence in our great state. They also navigate to the herbs and their flowers during the growing season offering pollination. The shape of their bills and tongue allows them to drink nectar from flowers giving them the energy they need to keep working. My personal wild bird favorite is the red headed woodpecker, which I can often hear and see from inside my home. In terms of bird production, it is hard to beat hatching chicks. Each spring for the past 12 years one particular chicken has hatched chicks for us. What fun it is watching them emerge in the light of spring, followed by feathering out, knowing the value they bring to our food source. The process makes you feel more connected to this beautiful earth we all share. I challenge you to get growing. For the fun of it, the exercise, and the value you can add to your diet. While gardening and growing, remember to enjoy each free moment of your spring and embrace this life and all it has to offer. n

Bee keeper Steven Anderson’s bee hives residing in Lincoln County.

Alana’s “Show Girl” chicks is a breed of chickens that provide an amazing source of egg production and entertainment for their antics and appearance. O K LA H O M A C O R R I D O R M AG A Z I N E / M A R CH 2022 7

WISH YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES

A feature that we will offer in this BRAND NEW

OKLAHOMA CORRIDOR MAGAZINE is a way to extend birthday or anniversary greetings to your special folks!

CALL, text or email TODAY AND ASK US HOW!

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Oklahoma

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HAVE ‘STUFF’ TO SELL? OR HAVE ITEMS YOU NEED TO FIND? NEED TO FILL JOB VACANCIES? HAVE A SERVICE TO OFFER? Another feature that we will offer in the BRAND NEW

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APRIL is PET MONTH!

Send us a photo of your favorite pet!

If you have a cat, dog, horse or cow...or a sheep, goat, llama or alpaca...even a snake or reptile...any animal that you call a pet...send us a pic, along with your name, the pet’s name and your city of residence and we will include your photo and info in our April issue.

We need to have your photo and information by March 21, 2022 We have a limited number of spaces,

so go ahead and send your good quality, high resolution (clear and not out of focus or blurry) photo

to okcorridor@gmail.com

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Missing Mom

Mom was an optimist and genetically, she passed it on to me and my brother and sister. Mom had the amazing gift of looking at things from different perspectives to see “the other side.” Sometimes to the detriment of herself. by HARLAN BRYAN Part of that gift was seeing the positive in all things. Something would happen to her or the family and she would say “God’s got it all in control.” She would look for the silver lining when it was nowhere to be found. That was just the way she was. Please don’t get me wrong, My Mom, Mary Bryan, had her battles, too. She dealt with depression and occasionally loneliness in her marriage when Dad was working on the road, or even sometimes when he was at home. They didn’t always get along until the last years before she passed. There were times she rejoiced and knew that God was working in and through her, and just like some of the prophets from the Old Testament, she had very deep and dark times…but she was always looking for the good in every situation. One of the phrases/scriptures she would quote was Philippians 2:14 which states “Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” That scripture also went with another phrase she would say that I’m sure all of us heard in our lives, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all.” I think those two were meant to be together. Those phrases are carved deep into my soul and I still hear them in her voice in my mind. In my own past, I’ve dealt with similar depression, even attempting to take my life when I was in my own emotional “winter.” I couldn’t see “spring” coming and all I could feel was dark and cold. Everything seemed dead to me and it made me wish I was, too. But just like Mom said, “God’s got it in control” and eventually the first blades of grass started popping up from the cold hard ground. Life comes out of the darkness one piece at a time and then it grows, it warms up, the birds start building nests and looking for love. Even in my winter of despair, the love of spring reached out to me to show the silver lining of what I was going through. God did indeed have it all under control…and I just needed to stop complaining about the cold and thank Him for the warmth that was coming soon.

When I started thanking Him for all of the things winter brings in my life, that’s what started the grass to grow and the sun (Son) began to shine in my life. When I’m grateful for “all things that work together” and not just the good things, seasons change, people change, and your world will start to change for the better. I’m trying to pass the same sentiments down to my children. I remind them about “do everything without...” and that lasts for a little while. But when I point out that complaining doesn’t help make the situation better, it just makes them feel worse when they do…well…sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I then realize that they are just like me in that we need to learn, even in the winter, there are things to be thankful for, there are things to appreciate no matter what season it is, and God’s got it all under control. My kids do love sledding down a snow-packed hill when the white stuff starts to fall. He made the winter and the spring. He knew that we would need to have a new life that comes from our “death.” He knows which season you and I are in. We just need to thank Him for leading us out of winter and into spring. Love and miss you, Mom! n

A young Kayle Dees with her Nana, Mary Bryan.

Mary Bryan May 17, 1939 - January 21, 2003

The writer of this tribute, Harlan Bryan, is Publisher Trudy Evans’ brother, who lives in Manhattan, Kansas. Harlan is Kayla Dees uncle.The poem, God and the Weather, on the oppisite page was written by Mary Bryan, Harlan and Trudy’s mother.

OKLA HO MA CORRID O R M AGAZI NE / M ARC H 2 0 2 2 1 4

by MARY BRYAN

We wait for the groundhog To tell about the weather But God is the only one To know if it will be one way Or the other He brings the sunshine to our life To make our day a little brighter To lift our spirits when we’re low And make our load seem lighter. But we must have rain For flowers to grow And there is, I’m sure, A reason for the snow. No need to complain We have not the facts We know not the reasons For this or for that. So let us enjoy and be thankful Whatever it is God brings For He has ALL to consider AND He is in charge of ALL THINGS. © Mary Bryan, Willing Words 1988

O K LA H O M A C O R R I D O R M AG A Z I N E / M A R CH 2022 1 5

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L I V E

M U S I C

O P P O R T U N I T I E S

N OOKLAHOMA T E S CORRIDOR ON THE

with RICK REILEY

Celebrating

RED DIRT MUSICAL ROOTS For well over a hundred years Stillwater, and the surrounding Cimarron Valley area, have been a proving ground for singer/songwriters and musicians. It’s considered by many to be the birthplace of Red Dirt music. A claim that seems bolstered by this fact: Billy McGinty, one of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders during the Spanish American War and a champion bull rider with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, started a band in the 1920s - Billy McGinty and the Oklahoma Cowboys, headquartered in Ripley, Oklahoma. The band was reported to consist of cowboy musicians from various local area farms and ranches. “McGinty played music with some of his friends throughout the early 20s, but that was just for fun – to get together, sing songs and send echoes of their instruments into the Oklahoma sky.” (From a January 8, 2017

OKLAHOMA CORRID O R M AGAZI NE / M ARC H 2 0 2 2 2 0

article in the Stillwater News Press by Cameron Jourdan, CNHI News). Later when McGinty became the Postmaster of Ripley, Otto Gray took over the band and began touring the country performing on radio stations and vaudeville venues. The band toured well into the 30s. (For more info on this see the book, ‘The Oklahoma Cowboy Band’, by Carla Chlouber/Arcadia Publishing, available on Amazon). According to some, the band was noted as the first western band ever to be played on the radio. The way I see it, that was the groundwork that planted the roots of what became red dirt music! Here it is 100 years after Billy McGinty began the Oklahoma Cowboy Band and that musical spirit is still alive and kickin’ in Payne County. Independent musical spirits always looking for new

audiences and new experiences find a home here. At least for awhile. And then they move on ‘spreading the dirt’ wherever they roam, making room for new talent here to take root and grow. In that spirit the Bob Childers Red Dirt Gypsy Cafe is marking it’s 11th anniversary on April 27th in Stillwater. The Red Dirt Gypsy Cafe is an annual celebration of the fruit of the Red Dirt music scene in Stillwater, which has grown to encourage and encompass a wide variety of bands as well as singer/songwriters. The event is held as an annual celebration to raise money for the Red Dirt Relief Fund, a 501 (c3) which assists Oklahoma music folks in times of hardship. It’s called ‘Gypsy Cafe’ in honor of Bob Childers, who some refer to as the Godfather of the Red Dirt music scene. He was a central figure in the Stillwater songwriter scene beginning in the late 70s, 80s and beyond. A native of West Virginia, he wandered here and stayed until his death in 2008. Early on he held forth in an old farmhouse at a place known as The Farm west of town, where he lived and wrote and co-wrote hundreds of songs. A friendly, generous, adventurous spirit he encouraged others to write and perform as well. There was an old, rundown, garage outside the farmhouse where folks would gather to pass around the guitar and trade stories by the fire. Bob named it ‘The Gypsy Cafe’. He was a mentor to a whole generation of Oklahoma songwriters. The farm house is long gone but the garage has been stabilized and still stands as a reminder of that rich part of Red Dirt music history. (On occasions old ‘farmhands’ gather there to reminisce and ‘‘sing songs and send echoes of their instruments into the Oklahoma sky.’’) Details are still in the finishing stages but will be updated soon. For more information go to www.reddirtrelieffund.org or follow on Facebook. Confirmed artists for this year’s event as of this writing are as follows: Bo Phillips, Mike McClure, Kaitlin Butts, Mike Hosty, Carter Sampson, Corey White, The Washitas Reunion set (Dylan Stewart, Buffalo Rogers, Bryon White), Tequila Kim Reynolds, Mallory Eagle, Monica Taylor, Brandon Jackson, Gib Stones, Nick Gibson, Dan Martin, Ken Pomeroy, Chris Jones, Chuck Dunlap, Chloe Beth, Scott Evans, RC Edwards, Cale Lester, Amber Watson, Celia Monroe, Great American Wolf (Derek Webster), Ahna Jennings, Autumn Ragland, Greg Jacobs, Gene Collier, Desi & Cody, Buffalo Jones (Hayden Harris & Scott Carson), Red Dirt Rangers, John Goolsby, Jake Flint, Blake Lankford, Ali Harter, Billy & Bobby Moore, Adam Aguilar, Randy Crouch, Steve Liddell, Brandon Clark, Ben Brock, Travis Kidd, Giakob Lee, Rigby Sum-

mer, Beau Jennings, Rick Reiley, Jordan Cox. And the Jimmy LaFave Contest Winner, who will be announced at the event, will perform their winning song. There will again be three stages this year, Eskimo Joe’s, George’s Stables, and Still Chill (formerly Stonewall Tavern). (I’ll be playing one of them!) A favorite part of the affair will be the 5th Annual Jimmy LaFave songwriting contest. La Fave, an Austin favorite whose distinctive voice and songwriting talents were loved by admirers all over the country, never forgot his red dirt roots. The songwriting contest is named in his honor. La Fave passed away after a battle with cancer in 2017. The contest is open to all unsigned songwriters. Last date for entering is March 3, 2022. For complete information, go to www.reddirtrelieffund.org. They will also present the annual Restless Spirit Award during the event. New stage sponsors this year are Grand Casino of Shawnee and Oklahoma Film + Music Office. It will be an afternoon/evening filled with a variety of talent, with several performers sharing each stage at all three venues from late afternoon into the night. Curious about what sustains the ever present talent around here? And where it comes from? This will be a fine time to find out! n

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DELILAH’SDILEMMAS The Royal Flush Ranch had quieted, and the only two left on the premises was Delilah and Joel. The dinner leftovers had been refrigerated and the kitchen cleaned. with

DIANE BROWN

The last sweep of clutter-collecting had been done, the doors had been locked, the lights turned off, and it was time to retreat upstairs. In Joel’s opinion there was nothing on television worth staying up to watch, so he went to his room to read. Delilah followed suit. She read for an hour and then turned on her television and DVD player. The DVD resumed where it had gone off the night before, and within 20 minutes, she was fast asleep. Delilah woke with a jolt. She lay in bed, heart rapidly pounding, waiting for another sound like the one that had just awakened her. Had she been dreaming? What had she been dreaming? The only way she could describe the sound was a loud pop followed by someone shuffling a deck of cards. A huge deck of cards.

It was a bit unnerving when Eli and Dooby were gone, and things like this happened. She always professed to being able to take care of herself, and indeed she could. But having to defend herself was unpleasant at best, terrifying at worst. It was a bit unnerving when Eli and Dooby were gone, and things like this happened. She always professed to being able to take care of herself, and indeed she could. But having to defend herself was unpleasant at best, terrifying at worst. Her overactive, frightened mind imagined that ditsy Lizzy was actually a first-class assassin who’d OKLAHOMA CORRID O R M AGAZI NE / M ARC H 2 0 2 2 2 2

penetrated the ranch defenses and was prowling the house ready to eliminate Delilah. Or maybe . . . but no. Surely Daniel hadn’t come back to the ranch. Thump! Thump! Thump! The sound came fast down the hall towards Delilah’s bedroom. Delilah quickly reached for the 9MM Ruger in the bedside table. Her door burst open. The gun was jostled in her hands like a hot potato, and dropped to the floor, discharging a bullet through the baseboard and into the bathroom. Delilah looked up to find Joel’s silhouette standing in the door. “Are you trying to get killed?” Delilah shouted as she flipped the bedside table lamp on. “Did you hear that?” Joel whispered. There he was shivering even though he was clad head to toe in mismatched flannel pajamas. It was summer. He was in flannel. “The gun firing?” Delilah said, climbing out of bed and robing herself. “No!” Joel said. “That tremendous pop followed by the huge fart.” Delilah stopped mid-stride and gave that some thought. She thought it sounded like cards being shuffled. But fart worked, too. “Where are you going?” Joel asked with a tinge of fear. “To the bathroom to make sure that bullet didn’t hit the toilet or tub,” Delilah said. Joel followed closely behind Delilah and once they were in the bathroom, they found the bullet hole in the baseboard which had missed the toilet by millimeters. Following the trajectory of the tiny missile, they discovered another hole in the baseboard of the opposite wall. At last, they found the bullet lodged into one of the legs of Eli’s bed. “Are you going to check on the sound?” Joel

asked, staying particularly close to Delilah. “Yes, we are,” Delilah said. She picked up the plunger and handed it to Joel. “What are you giving me this for?” Joel asked with horror. “Hey, listen,” Delilah snapped. “That thing made a pretty darn good weapon for me once.” Little more than a year previously, she had used the plunger to knock a would-be intruder down the stairs. As it turned out, the intruder was Eli. Which of course has no bearing on the plunger’s effectiveness. “What? You get the gun and I get the plunger?” Joel whined. “Yes,” Delilah said. A cautious Delilah and a reluctant Joel ventured forth into the hall armed with gun and toilet plunger. “Why are you going downstairs?” Joel whispered loudly as they reached the top of the stairs. “Because it sounded like it was coming from below,” Delilah said, taking the stairs slowly. “It did?” Joel asked, staying extremely close to Delilah. “I mean, yeah, I guess it could’ve been coming from below.” “Where do you think it came from?” Delilah asked. “Could’ve come from below,” Joel said again. “Or could’ve been the attic. Might’ve been outside.”

Delilah stopped, nearly at the bottom of the stairs, and turned slowly to give Joel a look. Joel’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head and shrugged. POP! PLPLPLPLPLPLP! Delilah jumped and shrieked. Joel shrieked and threw his arms around Delilah. Delilah looked down at the floor. Joel looked up at the ceiling. “What is that?” Delilah exclaimed. “Could be aliens,” Joel offered, his arms still holding on to Delilah tightly. “You’ve been binge watching Ancient Aliens again, haven’t you?” Delilah said, shaking loose from Joel’s grasp. “No. Maybe,” Joel said sheepishly. “It’s not aliens,” Delilah said, continuing her descent down the stairs. “Could be aliens,” Joel said under his breath. “Remember in the Tom Hank’s movie, Castaway, when the coconuts kept falling from the trees?” “It’s not coconuts, Joel,” Delilah said. “I know, I know,” Joel said defensively. “I’m just saying. That noise, the coconuts, was perfectly innocent.” They made their way through the first floor of the house, checking everything they could imagine that

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could cause the racket. They checked the HVAC return unit and the water heater in the utility closet. They checked all the appliances in the kitchen. They peeked through all the windows, checking if there was anything unusual outside. Finally, deciding to abandon their search, they decided to go back to bed. Before they reached the stairs . . . POP! PLPLPLPLPLPLP! Again, they jumped and shrieked. “That is so bizarre!” Delilah gasped. “I can’t tell where it’s coming from.”

“I know. It sounds like the whole house is making that sound,” Joel said. “It’s haunted. The house is haunted and that is some sort of poltergeist.” “I know. It sounds like the whole house is making that sound,” Joel said. “It’s haunted. The house is haunted and that is some sort of poltergeist.” “Hmm,” Delilah pondered, as she started up the stairs.

“Really? So, you’ll believe it’s ghosts but not aliens?” Joel said, traipsing behind Delilah. “Yes!” Delilah exclaimed. “If you’d had the experiences with the paranormal that I’ve had, your mind would go there before it would go to aliens.” “Well, technically aliens are paranormal,” Joel said as they reached the top of the stairs. “No, they’re not!” Delilah argued. “Sure they are,” Joel went on, following Delilah into her room. “By definition paranormal is anything beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.” “Great,” Delilah said, as she returned the Ruger to drawer in the bedside table. “Well, good night, Joel.” “Can I sleep in here tonight?” Joel asked sheepishly. “What?” Delilah said with alarm. “I’m scared,” Joel said. “I don’t want to sleep alone.” “You sleep alone all the time,” Delilah said. “Not when there’s aliens and ghosts lurking about,” Joel said with a shiver and a look over his shoulder. POP! PLPLPLPLPLPLP! After the screams and physical relocations of their bodies, Delilah stood perfectly still despite her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She studied

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Joel. Truth was, she was spooked, too. Truth was, she’d probably feel better with Joel in the same room with her. She glanced over at the bed. “Okay, but you stay on your side of the bed,” Delilah said pointing to the far side. First there was a look of confusion on Joel’s face. And then it slowly morphed into one of absolute disgust. “Ewww,” Joel cried. “You don’t think I’d . . . Oh, Lord! Your old enough to be my mother.” “I beg your pardon!” Delilah shrieked. “I am not old enough . . .” she stopped and did the math in her head. “Whatever. You just stay on your side of the bed.” They both climbed into bed, Delilah closest to the door, Joel on the far side. Joel turned on his side, back to Delilah, seemingly perfectly content, and was asleep within minutes. It took Delilah a bit longer to doze off what with trying to work out what the sound could be and trying to justify letting Joel sleep in her bed. With her. The next thing Delilah was aware of was Eli standing beside her bed, yelling, “what’s going on here!” and stomping around the bed threatening to kill Joel. With one hand Eli had pulled Joel out of bed by the front of his flannel pajama top, and his fist was raised to strike. n

UH OH!! Poor Joel.

Will he survive Eli’s wrath? Will he be exiled to parts unknown? Answers to these questions can be found in the April installment of Delilah’s Dilemmas only in the BRAND NEW Oklahoma Corridor Magazine!

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O K LA H O M A C O R R I D O R M AG A Z I N E / M A R CH 2022 2 9

by PAUL RAGLE

I remember watching for the first heralds of spring in my mother’s front yard. As the winter snow was melting, I would be outside preparing to deliver my paper route. How many of those late winter mornings did I see the green shoots of mama’s crocuses pushing up through the snow and grass? I’d run inside the house, down the basement steps where she was ironing clothes, “Mama! The crocuses are up!” When I was in high school, I began to look for spring when wrestling season had ended and Coach Soazbie would announce the first baseball practice. Excited, ball players would meet in the gym after school and begin with stretching and calisthenics. One might think a guy would be in pretty good shape after wrestling season, but Coach new we needed a different kind of strength and flexibility for baseball. I was one of the few players who could reach my right arm and hand behind my head and firmly grasp my left hand behind my back. I don’t come close to reaching that any more.

OKLAHOMA CORRID O R M AGAZI NE / M ARC H 2 0 2 2 3 0

Because of muddy ballfields, the first couple weeks of practice were held indoors. What fun to take infield practice in the high school gymnasium! Wow! Baseballs rocketing around the gym! Trying to get a ball glove on fungoes bouncing up off a hard gym floor! Pitching batting practice and guarding the gymnasium windows from the top of the bleachers. One can imagine how excited we ball players were when Coach sent us outdoors to shag fly balls in the high school parking lot. It was a sure sign to all of us that spring was about to happen. In those first outdoor practices we buried many baseballs in the mud. Often the very first game of the season was also the very first time we got to play on the actual ballfield in the spring. As a grown up, I still look for the first heralds of spring. Just as the grass starts growing again and the trees are leafing out, flower fields in Oklahoma start popping up everywhere. As the weather permits, I love to get outdoors for my daily walks to watch the brown vegetation of winter be replaced with vibrant color. Did you know that we have Bluebonnets growing native in Oklahoma? My favorite spring wildflower is Indian Paintbrush. What a splash of reddish-orange these plants bring to our roadsides! I also look to see the brilliant yellow Canola fields. Did you know these can be seen from space? Another bright yellow wild flower is Coreopsis. They look a bit like daisies and bloom well into summer. A sure sign of spring for me is still to see kids returning to the ballfields to play baseball and softball. I love to watch them play! I love to hear the sounds of balls smacking the pockets of ball gloves and the crack of a ball off a bat. I remember putting on a fresh uniform to play the first games of spring. I think kids are just as excited as I was so many years ago to head for the ball field. They don’t call it America’s pastime for nothing!

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