Labor Day Weekend 2011

It all started when we hit “the sticks”. In Okie language “the sticks” refers to the country, a rural area, and land space without large amounts of buildings or people; terrain this city girl doesn’t see or experience too often. I have to report it is more than country - it is a whole different culture, a way of life which crept into my youngest son’s mentality in less than 24 hours as he adamantly declared he didn’t need to brush his hair or teeth!

The Sticks

Joe is one of my husband’s high school friends and now a brother-in-the-Lord who invited us out to the Choctaw Nation Festival (Talihina, OK) to hear Third Day in concert. On the way out to the sticks I fought nausea from the long and windy road, what my dear husband referred to as “horseshoe sections”; see I told you we were in the sticks. Then couple those horseshoe sections with Darryl’s quick turns and sudden stops and let’s just say the natural color is just beginning to come back in my face.

They make them BIG in the sticks! Darryl's friend Joe. See the hat? Told you...Country!

Before we proceed, let me give a disclaimer, I am an Urban Indian, I know most Indians have lived in rural areas most their lives, but I have only had concrete under my feet and I am comfortable that way. I guess that is why when I visit the sticks, a reservation, or any land area that isn’t cemented down erecting tall buildings I become the brunt of jokes. I am pretty sure I could write my own Foxworthy style book, “You might be an Urban Indian Chick if…” One of my first entries would be: You might be an Urban Indian Chick if you wear bling-bling flip flops to the pasture and hop around saying, “ewww…ewww….ewww…..this makes me really uncomfortable.”

This was at my cousin's wedding. Another entry for my book.

This was in the Last Frontier (a.k.a. Alaska) I thought we were going to have
a BIG SMORE over the campfire.

First stop was to Joe’s home, where Gwen, his wife was trying to give him some Stacy London assistance with his choice of clothes then she told us about his special Caribbean Cowboy outfit that he had recently thrown together. I don’t think the Caribbean Joe Clothing line meant for plaid shorts to go with their Aloha Oasis shirts. Let’s just say in the sticks, it’s okay to wear any pattern with any other pattern and the Country Clothing Motto is “you can wear all things through Christ who gives you strength.” Such as polka-dots with plaid, or if you are feeling really adventurous you can wear one pattern of plaid with another pattern of plaid and it’s all good. If you ask me that could be a pretty comfortable way to live and Darryl and Jayden would fit right in!

My Spirit-Filled son...where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.
See what I mean? Purple and yellow basketball gym shorts
with blue cross t-shirt and flip-flops...freedom!

All I can say about this picture is I am SO thankful I did not wear flip flops!

Next we went to get Jayden a slice of pizza at Simple Simon’s Pizza which should have been a simple task, I thought, let’s just say some things in the country are simple, other things not so much. Simple Simon’s was nestled into the grocery store, which was great I thought. You could go grocery shopping at lunch time, your kids can sit and eat while you do the shopping without your kids throwing things in your basket that you don’t need or want. As we walked up to the counter we noticed a lady cleaning the countertops, the warmers was empty and there was no aroma of pizza filling the air. I asked, “Do you have any pizza?” She replied, “Not cooked”. No additional information, such as I can make you one, what kind would you like? Or we closed at 2:00, which by the way most places in town that day were closed or closed at 2:00 p.m. So we went to the little café next door to eat lunch, Jayden however elected to wait and eat at the carnival because his stomach was set on pizza. After lunch we went back to the grocery store to buy a few snacks for the concert that night when I seen a table of people eating pizza! So I asked her, “Can I order a personal pan cheese pizza?” and she said, “Sure.” Can you say MAJOOOOR communication breakdown?

The free carnival was the next stop and was a lot of fun, but windy with lots of dust blowing and long lines. Remember I am comfortable with concrete under my feet and this place was full of dirt and blowing dirt at that, if I added a little water to my face I could have had a facial mud mask and called it a spa day. The long lines I am okay with they are a part of life here in the city, but tragically my new Addidas were getting dirty! I wished I would have known the country fashion motto before arriving I would have thrown on my old boots and saved my new Adiddas. After all the boots and shorts combo is one thing I can live with. I love my boots and I could live every day in them, so there may be countrified hope for me yet. The best part of the carnival was the people watching especially when the little girl “run smack dab hard” into a mirror in the House of Mirrors and scared the worker.

Yes, it was a FUN slide!

My favorite ride!

After the carnival ride area we headed towards  “Rip Off Alley”. I think the encouraging taunts of “Step right up it only takes one to win” must have rang over and over in Jayden’s mind because he would not quit asking to play a game because he had the utmost confidence that he was going to win. His game of choice was the three heavy milk bottles stacked on top of each other and you throw one ball and knock them all down and off the table, one try $3, two tries for $5. Joe, Darryl and I all tried to explain to Jayden that those games are set up so you fail. You lose, feel defeated plus they get your money, but he was convinced that he could do it. Then the guy running the milk bottle booth, told Jayden, “I’m not going to lie to you, it is very hard to do, almost impossible. If you want to win something you should go around the corner and shoot the cork gun, you shoot until you win.” Jayden decided he wanted to shoot the cork gun. First shot he knocked one down and he won a $3 plastic kazoo! Woo Hoo!

Isn't this little Cheeto Eating boy the cutest? He had orange
hair to match his orange lips and fingers and his shirt
said, "Lock Up Your Daughters" LOL!!

Three hours before the Third Day concert, we made our way over to the Bandstand Arena to get good seats. Since it was Gospel Day we got to enjoy hymns sung in the Choctaw language, which was just beautiful. Next on stage was an American Indian family who sang gospel music that made me swing my legs and tap my Addidas! The Kingsmen, a quartet followed them these men can sing (some so high I thought a lady was on stage), plus they add a little comic relief in for a good show.

Hymns being sung in the Choctaw language.

The Kingsmen

Then prior to Third Day, a young man named Trevor Morgan sang a few songs. He is (as they say in the sticks) “brand spankin’ new”, so new you can’t hear him on the radio yet or buy his CDs anywhere but at the event, or at least that is what they said. He sang a really cool rendition of Psalm 23, and then he sang my favorite of all his songs “Jesus Rides The Subway”. Jesus Rides the Subway’s message was based on the fact that Jesus ate with sinners, hung out with tax collectors and the outcasts. That is SOOOO me, an outcast, a minority, one who gets looks of disgust and distrust, one who is followed around stores because they think I am going to steal something, and one who gets “the look” up and down and then turned away.

Trevor Morgan singing "Psalm 23"

Jesus Rides the Subway is a reminder that the people and places that we are so quick to distance ourselves from are the very people and places that Jesus invested in – reminds me of the convicting words in the book Radical – a reminder that we need to love the "least of these"...and when we do, we love the One who first loved us.

I HEART my Shirt!

Third Day was an awesome concert, no wonder they have 25 Number One singles and armloads of Grammy and Dove Awards. Mac Powell and his band played for an hour and a half, singing and giving testimony to the faithfulness of God and the saving power of Jesus . We had great seats which allowed me to capture some great pictures. I loved Mac Powell’s performance not only is he very animated but he connects with the audience on a personal level. His testimonies were God glorifying and the gospel was presented clearly.

Trust in Jesus ~ My great Deliverer ~ My strong Defender ~
The Son of God ~ I trust in Jesus ~ Blessed Redeemer ~
My Lord forever ~ The Holy One, the Holy One

They put on a GREAT show!

I want to sing a song for You, Lord
Lord, for You I want to sing a song
And I want to lift my voice to Heaven
And listen to the angels sing along

After the show Jayden got a Strawberry Lemonade that hit the spot for him, so much that he went back to the concession stand and told the guy there that he gave it FIVE stars! I think Jayden made that guy’s day, possibly week, because as our little food critic walked away, the guy puts his hand up in the air swooping a number one on his hand declaring “FIVE STAR LEMONDADE!!! Get yours today!”

Then we went back to Joe’s to call it an evening, when Joe who is “rurally funny” shared a story about him going into the big city to purchase some window valences for his wife at Sears. He went to the counter and asked the clerk if they had “E-full” brand window valences. She asked for clarification, “E-full? Don’t you mean Eiffel?” Joe said he spelled it for her, “E-i-f-f-e-l  - E-full, can’t you read?” She told him, “It is Eiffel. Like the Eiffel Tower.” He laughed and joked about the city folk probably enjoys country folk coming to town and I am pretty sure they like it when we city folk go to the country.

It was evening and Joe still had his sun glasses on, he's cool like that.

Before leaving we took a quick trip to the beginning of the Talimena Drive to the Winding Stairs Mountains. Guess what? It’s cold on top of a mountain! Another addition to my book. It was a beautiful and I am pretty sure I saw a putting green, I can do country if it is a Country Club! The biggest difference was that most of the grass and trees were green and not yellow.

Had to stop for a Kodak Moment.

Guess what? It is cold up on a mountain!

Do you see that putting green way out there? I was ready to tee it up!

So we headed to Shawnee to the Harjo-Lena Labor Day Picnic and Volleyball Tourney. All I can say is that Talihina is a long ways away and it doesn’t help when you have a 9 year old saying, “Are we there yet?” every 10 miles, then of course we had to make stops in which at every stop Jayden begged for a 5 hour energy drink (which he has never had), then he would make sure the cashier heard him say “Awww…come on mom, I have to work the graveyard shift!”

The visit to the sticks was great! We experienced so much and learned new things. One is country folk like to talk… A LOT…so Jayden and I might fit right in! Jayden is the chatty one and me, I love words too, but I want them to flow from my fingers because then I have a delete button and spell check!

I’m thankful for life, city or country and the faithfulness of God to bring spiritual perspective to this Urban Indian Chick. I love reflecting that the temporal beauties of this world –mountains, green grass and trees and winding roads  -- will one day be replaced with eternal beauty, lasting and incorruptible only found in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ. Mismatched clothing, dirty Addidas and Eiffel window valences will fade, but our white robes will last forever.

I am thankful. I am humbled. I am glad. I am grateful.