Week of November 2nd

This one was almost too easy. Of course we had to rent the musical and fully enjoy one of the great classics from Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Our son goes to Mizzou and last year one of the football games we went to see was Mizzou against Oklahoma State. We sat in front of an avid Mizzou fan who shouted “Cowboy Cheaters” the entire game for penalties he thought they had committed. From that point on we will always associate the chant “Cowboy Cheaters” with Oklahoma. Since that’s not really fair I decided to do a little research.

Oklahoma is the “Sooner State” but does anyone really know what a Sooner is? Well, let me share my new found knowledge. A Sooner is a person who settled homestead land in the western US before it was officially made available. Cowboy Cheaters!

Oklahoma is the home of some very famous cowboys… Will Rogers, Garth Brooks, Chuck Norris and Gene Autry. It’s also the birth place of Woody Guthrie, Anita Bryant, and Dr. Phil, so go figure.

To make it more of a celebration, we decided we had to dress the part for our Sunday evening viewing of “Oklahoma”. Since gingham hasn’t been a part of my wardrobe since…………, well I can’t remember it ever being a part of my wardrobe, I decided to opt for jeans and cowboy boots.

Since the “corn is as high as an elephant’s eye” in Oklahoma, popcorn will be on hand for the viewing.

So Sunday came and our friends arrived (with DVD in hand) looking like Rodgers & Hammerstein meets Brokeback Mountain in white cowboy hats. My husband’s outfit looked remarkably like Curly’s in the opening number, although we did notice that there wasn’t a single pair of jeans in the movie. Lots of pictures were taken but I put a stop to it before this gang played “my gun is bigger than yours”.

We settled in to a movie that some of us remembered as a childhood favorite although it was actually released the year we were born. Sometimes I can’t remember what I ate for dinner last night but all the words to “I’m Just a Girl Who Can’t Say No” are intact in this author’s memory. One thing we didn’t remember was how many sluts were characters in the movie. My word, didn’t they have anything else to think about back then.

A good time was had by all, even though several days later we all have this overwhelming urge to break out in song, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOk-lahoma,
where the ……. But the point is to move on and on we will, to our little pear bag that holds the key to our next adventure. (I know, you’re thinking, she calls these adventures.)

Color in the state on the map that looks like a frying pan and travel directly north from the “Sooner State” to the “Peace Garden State”, not to be confused with the “Garden State”, but the “Peace Garden State”, North Dakota. Four down - 48 to go.

Week of October 26th

Well, it was a busy week for all so the necessary research to have a full fledged celebration was a little spotty. We learned that Michigan was the cherry capitol of the US and, of course we all know that it’s the home of Snap, Crackle, Pop. The “Wolverine State”, reportedly, doesn’t actually house any wild Wolverines. (Remind me to find out what a wolverine is.)

I, being a great fan of Motown music, was hoping that the celebration would tend in that direction. The truth be told, St. Louis has a great Motown tribute band, The Fabulous Motown Review, but sadly they were not playing anywhere around this week. Plan B.

Next I went looking to see if any of our sports teams (including college teams) were playing any teams from Michigan. Coincidentally the Detroit Lions were hosting the St. Louis Rams in what was sure to be a lack-luster game between 2 of the worse teams in the NFL. But, hey who knows, maybe the Rams (no longer the “Greatest Show on Turf”) could win their first game of the season. Does anyone know why they called them the Detroit Lions instead of the Detroit Wolverines?

So Sunday came and there I sat and watched (also taping to be shared later) 3 hours of uninspired football. And in celebration of Michigan, the Rams were victorious in their 1st game in a season and a half. St. Louis Rams 17, Detroit Lions 10.

Since Kellogg’s plays such a large part of the commerce from Michigan we needed to factor it in for our Michigan celebration. So, I went on the Kellogg’s website in hopes on finding an exciting recipe using 1 of their products. And what did find but the old classic that I hadn’t thought of since our son was small….Rice Krispies Treats. Not to be accused of doing anything so pedestrian as making a platter of these square little morsels, I proceeded to make a map of the Upper & Lower Peninsulas using a stockpile of the gooey marshmallow stuff.

Later we enjoyed Hebrew National hot dogs and Vernors ginger ale (both having their headquarters in Michigan). To avoid suffering through the Rams-Lions game again we put the TV on mute and listened to the sounds of the Motown great…Aretha Franklin.

Color in the “Wolverine State” to the north – both parts. Three down – 49 to go.

Before retiring for the evening we draw what was going to be our next victim….. Sound cue please…….O.K. L - A - H - O - M – A OKLAHOMA!