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Digital Duplicates

I have been sorting through and organizing the hundreds and hundreds of photos I have accumulated since purchasing a rocking digital camera last year. It is overwhelming actually at how many photos I seem to take of the SAME THING!

Here are a few of the empty beach photos….

I suppose the hot, humid and sunny beach day photo is not the same as the rainy day beach photo…..

And, then there are the numerous photos of the Senator’s daughter.

This was last year’s beach photo.

And, again. Same time next year.

The subject matter might have aged over the past twelve months, but the sand and surf…….not so sure!

Then there are the campaign photos….

Hundreds and hundreds of campaign out takes. I must have at least fifty photos of this similar shot….

And this one….

Do you think anyone would notice if we used these same campaign photos next time around?

Just kidding…sort of.

Oklahoma

This past week I was a tourist in my own town. I hosted a fly-in retreat for the executive officers of a national organization and learned that this can be a bit….tiresome, exhausting, energizing, inspiring all at the same time.

These women, yes they were all women, flew in from Portland, Houston, Salt Lake, Bismarck and Atlanta… all different airlines, all different times. Just trying to arrange airport shuttles for that crazy schedule made my head hurt. Thank goodness only one lady had a connecting flight in Dallas because she ended up being diverted to Shreveport, Louisiana. I suppose there was a thunderstorm hovering over DFW and they closed the airport. She missed her connection and spent the night at a Holiday Inn some twenty miles away. Bummer. You always hear about people having bad luck at the DFW airport and now I know this to be true. Avoid it at all possible costs!

On the other hand, our Oklahoma weather preformed miracles, or rather they brought a couple of cold fronts in with them. In fact, a past National Young Mother of the Year who happens to be from Georgia remarked how she was having humidity withdrawls. We like her.

While their time in Oklahoma was mostly spent in meetings, we did manage to tootle (is that a word?) around town. Bricktown, which is a renovated and fun area just to the east of our downtown was all a buzz. They all took note of the horse drawn carriage rides, the river walk, the restaurant scene and the crowds of people randomly walking around on a Tuesday evening.

I decided that the Iguana Lounge would be a good spot for dinner because it is a hip and trendy joint and it was Mexican food. Guess what? They don’t have Mexican food in Bismarck, North Dakota. BIG hit! A big, hip and trendy hit!

After dinner amongst the hip and trendy ( yes, I am intentionally redundant here) these ladies wanted to see the Bombing Memorial. I suppose that is what we are most notable for nationwide, the bombing memorial. So, with just a little time left to spare, we strolled over there after dinner and ….

…walked in silence.

It is such a peaceful, pretty place. My guests were consumed with the story of how it all came to be, how we caught the individuals who did this to our city, the gifts and notes that are still being placed on the chain link fence, and the tree, the survivors tree that still stands in its place.

The sun was setting in the west and the night time lights popped on at the site. It was breathtaking really. Even though the museum part of the memorial was closed, dusk is definitely the time to visit.

The memories of the individuals who lost their lives here that day are well preserved and justly honored.

I was proud to be an Oklahoman.

The Senator’s Wife

Watercolor

We have been at the most beautiful beach this past week. I think I must have taken twenty photos that all look like this…
The water was so clear you could see the fish swimming around your feet. And for those individuals like myself who worry about sharks and jelly fish and barracudas and sea weed, the clear water was rather comforting!

This beach was also great for playing football with your buddies, especially when one of them turns out to be the son of the New Orleans Saints head coach. You never know who you might meet on the beach these days.
Actually, at this place people are extremely nice. You end up talking to the families sitting around you and almost always find out you know someone or have something in common. In this instance, the Senator’s son had been playing in the ocean and on the beach with a group of boys.

When all of a sudden, these dark clouds moved in and it started raining. Not the drizzly, sprinkling kind of rain, but a torrential downpour.

As we scrambled to gather our things and relocate, we noticed the Senator’s son had gone inside a very nice home with the boys he had been playing with on the beach.

Great. I never just let my children go inside a strangers home, especially when they are wet and covered with sand, really, I don’t. But, there we were discussing what the best plan of action would be in the pouring down rain and I had lost total control over the situation.

Then, out of nowhere appears this very nice lady who asked if we might want to continue our conversation on her porch. The Senator seized the opportunity because he had finally realized that it was actually raining outside and sitting on the beach in hurricane like conditions was no longer enjoyable.

So we did relocate to her porch and out of the rain, which at this time was a moot point because we were thoroughly soaking wet. But as we sat and talked with our kind hostess we found out that she had lived in many, many places the most recent being New Orleans. This prompted the Senator to ask what her husband did for a living to have moved around so many times because he is just curious like that….and that is how we found out he was the head coach for the New Orleans Saints.

The Senator was now a little star struck. Probably a good time to claim our son and exit this nice porch. But, no the Senator pressed on only to learn that this cute family had hosted Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson the week before we arrived. I could tell he was bummed he missed that on the beach.

Not to impose on her kind hospitality, I attempted to pluck the Senator off her porch and grab the Senator’s son even though you could hear the boy’s laughing and having a marvelous time inside. She kept offering to let the Senator’s son stay because it was obvious they were having fun and her husband was bringing back lunch. So we did, let him stay. But, then this place is just friendly like that.

Having chatted with our fellow beach mates, we learned that over 150 people from Tulsa were in town for a wedding. The Senator also ran into another Senator from our state who was there with his family. He is from the other party, but my Senator doesn’t discriminate. They met for coffee and rode bikes around the area. Although, this other Senator didn’t want me to take a photo of them hanging out because he knew I would place it right here….and he thinks my blog is “too Norman Rockwell”.

Maybe it is, but when did that become politically incorrect?

One thing is for certain, this “undisclosed location” is the essence of Norman Rockwell. Kids roam freely here and families are abundant. It is old world and full of charm.