Category Archives: The Senator’s Wife

Just give me a home, where the buffalo roam…

A few weekends ago, the Senator and I woke up at dark thirty and headed North to the Tallgrass Prairie in Osage County for a little adventure. About this time each year, the Nature Conservancy rounds up the “Bison” who live on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve to get an accurate head count, provide them with vaccinations and tag any newborns who were born during the year. In order to keep the numbers manageable for the land, some are then sold at auction (think bison burgers) and others donated to Native American tribes up North who also herd these animals on their land. The fate of each individual bison is based on their sex and age when they are rounded up annually and their tag is scanned as they go through the chute.

It was a very high tech operation, but it’s not a very pleasant process to watch. And, they give you that disclaimer right up front! The first bison I watched come through the chute had lost his horn and there was a lot of blood. I don’t have a picture of that.

If you noticed I swapped out the word buffalo for bison there’s a reason for that! The animals who roam the great plains of North America are technically called “Bison,” while the term “buffalo” refers to the Water Buffalo found in Southeast Asia. I’m not sure I knew that distinction, but then, this road trip was already a learning adventure! The folks at the Nature Conservancy shared so much information with us about the Tallgrass Prairie and their efforts to restore the land and its inhabitants back to the original factory conditions, it felt like we earned college credit.

It was fascinating to watch the process. It was also windy and cold up on the prairie but not for the bison. They are equipped with the thickest of coats.

A huge shout out to the folks at the Nature Conservancy for sharing their admirable work with the public and to my dad, for arranging our educational field trip. Ending the day in Pawhuska truly iced the cake. Especially when you befriend a cute dog at the local watering hole.

If you’re looking for a fun activity in northern Oklahoma, not far from the Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile and Pawhuska, take a drive through the tall grass prairie where you might catch a glimpse of the American Bison who reside there.

Political Prom

Last Saturday evening was the Speaker’s Ball in Oklahoma, an event that signals the Legislative Session is drawing near. I penned a few reviews of past Speaker’s Balls we attended while Cliff was in the Legislature. You can read about those HERE, HERE and HERE. The theme, venue and beneficiary of the proceeds changes with every Speaker of the House, which keeps things interesting.

We did not go this year because I was in charge of another event benefiting the Oklahoma Contemporary Museum of Art. So, still had a chance to play dress up and momentarily feel like a princess just at a different venue!  It was fun and my Senator in a tux did not disappoint.

If you read this and attended the 2020 Speaker’s Ball, please send me your pics!! Dying to know what I missed!

The official start to the legislative session in Oklahoma begins next week and the Governor appears to be on a goodwill tour speaking about his agenda and providing people with a glimpse of his goals for our state. Honestly, he needs all the goodwill he can get considering he is still in a dispute with the Tribes…but, I’m not gonna go there. And, it’s also rumored that his Senior Advisor, (Donelle Harder), the individual who is writing the State of the State is resigning. Oy!

My Senator will have an opportunity to hear the Gov. speak at Rotary today.  Did you know, that Rotary Club 29, located in Oklahoma City, is the largest Rotary Club in the WORLD!?  Who would ever guess that to be the case considering the size of our City…unless you know the people who live here and their dedication to serving others. Can’t wait to hear about today’s meeting and kinda of bummed I didn’t get the invite to go as his guest haha.

UNCSW Part 2

At the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), there is much discussion about the issues impacting women around the world. Depending on where you are from, the issues vary in their level of impact and importance.

For example, access to affordable childcare might rank high on the list for the American mom, but for mothers in Sweden, the economics of the socialist government depend on new mothers quickly re-entering the workforce, so the social mechanisms to deliver care are solidly in place.

Sounds great, right? Well, not exactly. During my time at the UNCSW, I have engaged in discussion with moms from Sweden who are deliberate and are conflicted about this very issue. My Swedish mom friends are very aware of the studies which show that the ages of zero – to – three are critical for young children and many Swedish mothers are choosing to stay at home with their kids for these first three crucial years of development. These same social protections that afford women access to quality childcare also frown upon mothers who drop out of the national economy to stay at home with their children.

Access to an education is an issue for many women in under developed countries and is often met with unequal treatment under the law. In America, you could successfully argue that those rights are engrained in the American constitution and innate for all American women. While you can argue about the quality of a public education, it would be difficult to say that American women and girls are forbidden to go to school in the United States.  There is one issue however, that is discussed at length during the CSW which seems to be a topic without borders or boundaries – and that is Human Trafficking. Panels are conducted annually at the CSW on who is impacted by this scourge, how to help the survivors, how to negate the traffickers. This year, with the theme of the CSW being about Gender Equality and Social Protection Mechanisms – trafficking was not at the forefront, but it was there, in discussions and being talked about and what panels were addressing the issue were standing room only.

I am still haunted by a conversation we had with a Central American woman prior to a panel on women in the media.  I am not sure she was there for the information or if she was there hoping to speak to members of the media about the horrible kidnappings taking place in Central and South America and along the northern border of Mexico.  She handed us a card and spoke of how women with children, both boys and girls, are afraid to leave the house for fear their children will be taken from their arms and used as pawns at the US border by the smugglers, traffickers and cartels.  She told of how women live with this fear and that so many children have been kidnapped for these purposes…and that this is really happening.

I remain haunted by her emotional plea and passionate voice. So, if you find yourself complaining about the children who have been separated from their families at our southern border…you might want to take another look.