TexomaOkie

It's interesting you've mentioned that. I listened to him in Waco, TX over the weekend and had that exact thought. I think it's his way of trying to relate, on a more personal level, with a specific audience. I'm a native of southern Oklahoma and I remember thinking how much he sounded like "one of us". Depending upon whom I'm conversing with, I catch myself doing the same thing.

Terry, They haul Marine One and the other birds in the C-140, too. He says the guys play football in the big plane while traveling across the country. Sounds like a bunch of crazy Marines to me!

Phil, He's been all over the country with "W" and the VP the last couple of weeks. He didn't come along today. He's in Waco, TX today waiting for the president to come back to the ranch at Crawford this evening. It's the closet he's been to home on one of his assignments, so we're going down tomorrow to see him and possibly tour Marine One. He says he has lots of cool digital pics. Hopefully I can send some to you.

I've heard President Bush is visiting Southwest Missouri today. Anyone know the details?

February 14th, 2007

According to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife website, by adding pheasant to your list, you'll have included all birds they consider to be non-migratory "upland" game birds. Here's their "upland" list of webless migratory game birds for Oklahoma. (Mourning, White-winged and Eurasian Collared Doves, Sandhill Crane, Sora and Virginia Rail, Purple Gallinule and Common Moorhen, Woodcock, Common Snipe).

You might add pheasant.

I'm 46 and can remember, as a child, when people started talking about seeing them in southern Oklahoma for the first time. One of the funniest stories of my childhood involved an armadillo. My father is a retired Baptist preacher. For four years of my early childhood we moved to far northwestern Oklahoma. He told some of the congregation about these strange new creatures that were beginning to appear back home in the southern portion of the state. Of course they were curious to see one. On our next trip back south to visit family, my dad caught a live armadillo to take back and show the folks who had never seen one. He placed it in a lidded tub and put it in the trunk of our car. Armadillos may be the most prolific "diggers" in the world. It's amazing how fast they can dig into the ground to hide. During the trip, the armadillo managed to get out of the tub and into the trunk of the car. When we got back home and opened the trunk, you can't imagine how much wiring and insulation can be stripped from the inside of a car trunk by a frightened armadillo trying to dig it's way out. One of those childhood memories that will be with me forever!

If you see one on the road, avoid hitting it with your car. When spooked, they instictively bounce or jump. It's like having a flying rock hit your vehicle. Consequently, they've caused costly damage to many cars in our part of the country. Amen on the "dillo dog". I've got a Lab/Border Collie mix that absolutely hates them. He's killed about eight of the things in my yard over the last year or so. Here in southern Oklahoma, a couple of them can destroy a lawn overnight. A good dog or 12 gauge shotgun are the only proven methods I know of to deal with the problem. I don't think they can be baited into a live trap. The shotgun method can be quite entertaining. If you've never seen one bounce, you won't believe how high they can jump when alarmed.

Please be praying for Marine LCPL Cody Hill. Cody and my son, who is also an active duty Marine, were high school football teammates here at Ada, OK. Cody was gravely injured when the humvee he was traveling in hit an IED in Iraq. He was the only passenger in the vehicle to survive the explosion. Cody received head and internal injuries, as well as being severely burned over the majority of his body. His condition has been stabilized enough that he could be moved to a medical facility in the U.S. His condition requires that he be heavily sedated, and his only communication has been to ask his dad for his rifle and helmet. His doctors have told the family that he will require several extensive and painful skin graft surgeries and at least 6 months of hospitalization for a full recovery. Pray that God will keep his body free of infection, which is a major concern for burn victims, and facilitate his healing. Also, pray for the families of the Marines who were with Cody as they deal with the loss of their loved ones.

How can the cheap shot he took not merit a penalty flag? The perpetrator should be fined! I say baloney to the observation he was blocked into Trent. The block was no excuse for him to put his helmet and shoulder into Trent's helmet. Now I feel better!

I was traveling to Dallas, TX on company business and listening to talk radio. As soon as the first tower was hit the station went to live network coverage. At first, no one was sure what kind of plane had hit the tower. Then, as the other planes began to hit the other locations it became apparent what was going on. At first, the media was warning people it might be prudent to limit travel. Consequently, I pulled into a truck stop on I-35 near Denton, TX to try to make sense of what was going on and determine how to best proceed. As I stepped inside, I found people packed inside watching a television in the back of the store. Not a word was being spoken by anyone. It was a quiet in a crowded public business I will NEVER forget. Surreal is the word that comes to mind. As anyone who’s ever been around a truck stop knows, it’s a place you’ll find a very diverse group of people. I can’t adequately explain how it felt to witness people from such a wide array of backgrounds demonstrate the common bond we all have as Americans. It’s sad that it sometimes takes a tragedy to unite us as a country. Let us never forget that, no matter our differences, we are all Americans, first. As a tribute to the lives lost on 9/11/01, let us NEVER FORGET the hatred that crashed down upon us, five years ago today, is as real today as it was then!

I’ll try not to preach a sermon, but sometimes things can become very personal. In my opinion, the most important factor to consider in regards to gambling is the moral dilemma it creates. I would like to relate a personal experience with gambling that has reinforced my feelings. I have a close personal friend who has been swallowed up by an addiction to gambling. He had never gambled until the Indian casinos became prevalent here in Oklahoma. However, he is now at the bottom of the barrel. His addiction has contributed to his loss of a job as a public educator. It has caused his financial ruin and forced his family into bankruptcy. It seems likely the deceit and mistrust the addiction has caused between he and his wife will result in a divorce that will destroy his family. At this point, my primary concern for him is that he won’t decide life is not worth living. Through the years, He and I have been able to lean on each other for support in tough times. As much as I’d like to help him in this situation, the guilt and shame he feels won’t allow him to face me. It’s heartbreaking to have a friend in such dire circumstances! And never say it can’t happen to us. He’s just like many of us. He has always been active in our church and an outstanding professional in our community. He’s been a hard working, tax-paying American all of his life. I understand it could be easy to believe that his problem is not our problem. However, in this case, if there had not been enough support to build the casinos in Oklahoma, my friend wouldn’t be in this situation. Whether we gamble or not, is it morally responsible to support the expansion of an industry that, in order to be financially successful, must create more losers than winners? Is just one wasted, ruined life worth the benefit gained by many others? We must all make our own decisions about what is right or wrong, understanding that, ultimately, we will all be held accountable for those decisions. As for me, in good conscience, I can’t say its “okay”. On Judgment Day, what if God were to ask me, “Why did you support an industry that caused the demise of others”? If I’ve supported an industry that contributed to the demise of even one soul, I believe it would be impossible for me to defend that position before the Master. Since I’ve posted here, I won’t post on the Prayer Request board. But, if you’re a believer, please be praying for my friend.

If I needed a guide I'd contact Bill Babler. I'm sure one of the other members on the board can pass on his contact info.

Because of the designers lack of importance placed on incorporating the lake into the design, it could have been built just as effectively in a number of other places. How about a mountain ridge with a view? There's plenty of those around!

If anyone cares about the thoughts of an outsider, here they are! I wouldn't say that area of the lake was totally unspoiled previous to the new construction. However, in my opinion, they definitely didn't take full advantage of the waterfront when planning the development. Seems to me no common sense was used, in regards to the lakefront, when planning the site. It's as if The Landing was designed to fit it's location in spite of the lake, as opposed to becoming an extension of it. If the lake had been incorporated into the plan correctly, there could have been a trade off for what was lost by what could have been gained. As it is, a wasted opportunity has created a lose, lose situation for the waterfront. When walking the streets of The Landing, the lake might as well be 100 miles away. When cruising by in a boat, it's very unattractive to look at the service entrances on the back of all the shops. The Landing could have been built over the next hill and still had the same feel when walking down the street.

I have a digital thermometer in the shade on my porch. It has registered at least 108 everyday this week. It was still 107 at 7:00pm Tuesday. We took Danny to the DFW airport Monday evening and it was 112 when we went through Denton.

What is the real temp in Branson this afternoon? Lilleys Landing website is reporting 110 degrees at 3:00pm and the National Weather Service is reporting 101 degrees. When it's that HOT, I don't guess it really matters!

We were successful on Taney a few weeks ago with 5" Senkos in the Smoke w/ Purple and Black flake color pattern. The clearer the water the more I like something with purple flake. You can go to "yamamoto.baits.com" to see a chart of all the colors they make.

I suppose a largemouth bass will try to eat anything that swims. I was bass fishing with my son this past Thursday in a small local lake. We had caught several bass up to three pounds on wacky rigged Senkos. In an effort to try to catch a really big fish, I decided to try something different. I tied on a Texas-rigged twelve inch plastic worm and casted close to a moss bed. I got a bite on the first cast and set the hook. It was a five pound bass. As I removed the hook from it, I noticed the fish appeared to be "passing" something that was hanging out of it's bung hole a couple of inches. My curiosity got the best of me. Before releasing the fish, I gently tugged at what was hanging out. As it started to slide out, I realized it was a snake. I removed about twelve inches of a partially digested snake. I told my son that the fish must have thought he was getting another snake when it bit my big plastic worm. Does anyone else have any interesting stories about unusual prey they've found in fish?

This removal technique works nicely for bigger hooks, too. A few years ago my son implanted one point of an Excaliber treble hook into a finger, completely burying the barb. After using pliers to remove the hook from the lure, we popped the hook out using this technique. It saved a day's fishing and a couple hundred bucks at the ER. When we removed the hook, he had his eyes closed and didn't believe that it had come out. It was that painless! Removing the hook from the lure caused him more pain than removing it from his finger. By the way, when the hook came out, the cord threw it so far that we never found it.

Thirty to thirty -five years ago, when I was a kid, we fished in the lake in the deep water against the dam at night for trout. Does anyone still do that?

I bass fished on Taney for three or four days a couple of weeks ago with Phil and had a blast. We caught several fish, mainly throwing soft plastics around laydowns and brush piles. TexomaOkie

tippet7, I live near Ada, which is less than an hours drive from Texoma. I fish it fairly often, usually with pretty good success on striped bass, white bass (sand bass in these parts), and catfish. In fact, I'm headed there after work today. I plan to fish this evening and tomorrow morning with my brother and a nephew. They were there this morning and limited out throwing topwaters to surfacing three to six pound stripers and smaller white bass. Can't wait to get there! I'll pass along the "Semper Fi" to my son. He's been a Marine for just over a year. He completed his basic training, combat training, and job school last July and went directly to Quantico. He gets to come home Monday on a 15 day leave. I can't wait to hug him, tell him how much I love him (even if he is a Marine), how proud I am of him, and go fishing with him. TexomaOkie

Kicknbass, The show was a simulation of a "typical" assault on a Viet Cong encampment. The white smoke came from an explosion when the copters fired on the little hut you can see on the ground in the middle of the smoke. The show was awesome to see! The explosions set off car alarms all over the airport parking lot. TexomaOkie tippet7, Are you active duty or retired? My son is a devil dog. Presently, he's stationed in Quantico, VA with HMX-1. He's in Memphis for tomorrow's visit by President Bush and the Japanese Prime Minister. TexomaOkie