Not Just An Average Guy
Sean Salazar is not your average guy. In fact, according to testing instruments, Sean is considered to be both above and below average with an IQ above the norm. Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a disability on the autistic spectrum, Sean once attended both special education and advanced placement classes at the same time, while testing…
Read More >Gifts For A Teacher
I was barely 22 years old, straight out of college and three months pregnant with my first child when I began my teaching career. With my Army husband stationed two hundred miles away, the Tulsa Public Schools didn’t ease my stress load when they assigned me to one of the roughest junior high schools in…
Read More >Fire Chief Harryman
Ask any little boy what he wants to be when he grows up and chances are you will hear, “fire chief.” Though Gil Harryman did not grow up wanting to be a fireman, he was definitely familiar with the profession, having several relatives who were firefighters. He was also exposed to firefighters at his parents’…
Read More >Bill Vanosdal: The Pilot
Take a ride north of Edmond to the Myrick Kitty Hawk Airport and find yourself transported back in time. There you will find Dr. William (Bill) VanOsdol, professor emeritus at the University of Central Oklahoma and military veteran, coddling his blue and white Cessna Cardinal or his restored Navy NC-65 airplane, along with a restored…
Read More >The Blessing of Routine
Recently I received an e-mail asking me to describe myself by answering a series of questions then send it to all my friends so they could learn something new about me. Hmmm. You think they really want to know what my favorite color is? Favorite movie? Favorite song or what I do when I get…
Read More >Beauty in Stained Glass
Artist LaDeana Rawlings Creates One-of-a-Kind Art Many people would not consider working with stained glass a stress reliever, but that is what drew LaDeana Rawlings to the art form. She first tried a stained glass class for fun, thinking it might be a good hobby. But an illness interrupted her life and put her hobby…
Read More >Embracing Life
If you are looking for inspiration, look no further than Dr. Tony Alley, Associate Professor of Art & Design and Mass Communication at Oklahoma Christian University. Known for his positive attitude and for making students feel important, the close knit “university family,” is rallying around the professor who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer….
Read More >Abandoned!
Once upon a time I had a daughter. She had long black hair, dark brown eyes and olive complexion. A petite child, Paula came to live with us when she was nearly four years old. Abandoned by her birth mother, she was placed in foster care for six months then handed over to us, her…
Read More >Ken Corder’s Collection
Collecting Cameras, Projectors, and Film If you’re looking for a photographer, projectionist, camera collector or film trivia buff, Ken Corder is your man.As supervisor of photographic services for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), Corder often can be seen on highways, under bridges, at train depots and even waterways, armed with a camera. He has…
Read More >A Christmas Promise
Just thinking about Christmas was difficult in 1972, not to mention shopping, decorating, baking and pretending to enjoy the holiday. Our three-months-old son, Travis, had died earlier that year and I felt like a part of me had died with him. What kept me going that Christmas was our four-year-old son, Aaron, who had been…
Read More >Thank You
When a soldier in full dress uniform walked across our church lobby, he definitely caught my son’s attention. Jay is in awe of those who serve our country and wanted to meet him. The young officer, Lt. Col. Greg A. Kent of the U.S. Air Force, had read the scripture before the pastor’s sermon on…
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