The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) and the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center (CSRHC) are pleased to present This Land is Herland, a series of three programs on women’s activism in Oklahoma. The programs, sponsored by Oklahoma Humanities, will take place on August 13, September 22 and November 5, all at 7 p.m. The August and September programs will be conducted virtually, with the option to move the November program online as well.
“This Land is Herland brings together nine notable women scholars to explore the activism of Oklahoma women in a series of three public programs,” said Jacob Krumwiede, director of the CSRHC, an OHS museum. “These programs are offered free of charge, but you must register to receive the program link. You can register at www.okhistory.org/herland. Following the presentations the scholars will be available to answer questions from the online audience.”
“The focus is different for each program, but each takes a close look at Oklahoma women who have tried to affect change in the circumstances and environment in which they found themselves,” said Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda, one of the project scholars and co-editor with Dr. Patricia Loughlin of the forthcoming book “This Land is Herland: Gendered Activism in Oklahoma, 1870s–2010s.”
The first program, “The Fluidity of Power,” will take place on Thursday, August 13, at 7 p.m. Though planned to take place at the Museum of the Western Prairie in Altus, the program will be presented virtually for the safety of the participants and the scholars during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The program will consider how women in early Oklahoma found ways to wield power. Topics and speakers for the evening are: “An ‘Intrepid Pioneer Leader’: The A-Suffrage Gendered Activism of Kate Barnard,” by Dr. Sunu Kodumthara, Southwestern Oklahoma State University; “‘My Heart Had Been Burdened for the Orphaned and Homeless Children’: Religious Imperative and Maternalism in the Work of Mattie Mallory,” by Dr. Heather Clemmer, Southern Nazarene University; and “A ‘Loyal Countrywoman’: Rachel Caroline Eaton, Alumna of the Cherokee National Female Seminary,” by Dr. Farina King, Northeastern State University. To register for this free program, please visit www.okhistory.org/herland. Registration closes at 5 p.m. on August 12. The second program, “The Gendered Politics of Civil Rights,” will take place online on Tuesday, September 22, at 7 p.m. This program looks at how Oklahoma women impacted the struggle for civil rights on several fronts. Topics and speakers for the evening are: “‘To Speak so Forthrightly as to Offend’: The Civil Rights Activism and Confinement of Rosalyn ‘Rosie’ Coleman Gilchrist,” by Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda, Cameron University; “Making History: Being an NAACP Plaintiff—Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher,” by Cheryl Wattley, University of North Texas Dallas College of Law; and “Barbara ‘Wahru’ Cleveland and Herland Sister Resources,” by Dr. Lindsey Churchill, University of Central Oklahoma.
“The CSRHC in Enid planned to host the program on September 22, but we have also decided to move this program online,” said Krumwiede. “Details about online registration for this program will be available in the coming weeks.”
The final program, “Contested Notions of Equality,” will be held Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m. This program will bring the discussion of gendered activism to the present era, with presentations covering American Indian women’s activism, the Equal Rights Amendment and the resurgence of conservative politics.
The topics and speakers for the evening are: “‘My Children Are More Important to Me Than Any Office I Might Hold’: Mary Fallin’s Use of Motherhood as a Conservative Political Strategy,” by Dr. Patricia Loughlin, University of Central Oklahoma; “‘Until We Organized’: Wanda Jo Peltier Stapleton and the Equal Rights Amendment Debate in Oklahoma, 1972–1982,” by Chelsea Ball, University of Oklahoma; and “LaDonna Harris: Comanche Leader, Activist, Matriarch,” by Dr. Amanda Cobb-Greetham, University of Oklahoma.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to hold this final program of the series in person at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City, but we will make that decision based on conditions in the state as we near the date,” said Krumwiede.
“Each of the programs will be recorded and made available on the OHS YouTube channel at the conclusion of the project,” continued Krumwiede. “Curriculum materials are being developed as a companion to the programs for classroom or homeschool use.” The scholars represented in the public programs are joined by four others in a forthcoming book, “This Land is Herland: Gendered Activism in Oklahoma, 1870s-2010s,” co-edited by Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda and Dr. Patricia Loughlin. It is part of the new Women and the American West series from the University of Oklahoma Press. The anticipated publication date for the volume October 2021. This project is part of OKWomen100: A Century of Women’s Suffrage, the Oklahoma Historical Society’s initiative to celebrate the 100th anniversaries of the passage of the women’s suffrage amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution in 1918 and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in 1920. You can find out more about events, exhibits and resources related to Oklahoma women’s political activism at www.okhistory.org/suffrage.
The program is made possible by a grant from Oklahoma Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The mission of Oklahoma Humanities (OH) is to strengthen communities by helping Oklahomans learn about the human experience, understand new perspectives, and participate knowledgeably in civic life. OH is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. As the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, we strive to stimulate discussion, encourage new perspectives, and to actively engage people in the humanities disciplines, such as history, literature, philosophy, and ethics.
The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.

For most people, sunshine and warming temperatures serve as welcome heralds of summer. But for Renita Lewis, they can trigger life-threatening disease flares.
“People say, ‘You look too good to be sick,’” said Lewis, 51, of Midwest City. But Lewis, a nurse, suffers from lupus, an autoimmune illness that strikes African Americans like her at disproportionate rates.
Lupus occurs when the immune system becomes unbalanced, leading to the development of antibodies and chronic inflammation that damage the body’s organs and tissues. Sufferers experience periodic disease flares, affecting organs that can include the kidneys, lungs, skin and joints, as well as the cardiovascular system.
According to the Lupus Foundation of America, more than 1.5 million Americans suffer from the disease. Studies have found that it strikes African Americans at roughly five times the rate it affects European Americans.
“We still have a great deal to learn about why African-American women are at greater risk of lupus and at greater risk for major organ damage and early death from lupus than other races,” said Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Vice President of Research Judith James, M.D., Ph.D.
“We have investigators who are working on genetic and genomic factors, as well as our work which has focused on differences in the body’s major defense system—the immune system. In all likelihood, it’s probably a complicated combination of these factors, and we will keep working until we figure this out.”
Lewis’ first symptoms appeared when she was in her 20s: aching muscles, swollen fingers, skin rashes. But she wasn’t diagnosed until a decade later, by which time she also suffered from shortness of breath, fatigue, asthma, stomach issues and inflammation around her heart. “I don’t have kidney problems, but pretty much every other one of my organs is affected,” she said.
She began daily doses of prednisone, hydroxychloroquine, aspirin and anti-inflammatory medications to control her symptom. Still, over time, lupus has exacted an increasing toll on her body. In March, after a bout of pericarditis—swelling of the membrane surrounding her heart—hospitalized her, she was forced to take short-term disability until she’s well enough to return to work.
For more than a decade, physicians and clinical staff at OMRF, which has been named 1 of only 10 of the nation’s Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence by the National Institutes of Health, have helped Lewis manage her condition. “They’re on the cutting edge of research, especially on autoimmune disease, and they really care about me and want me to have as normal a life as possible,” Lewis said.
As a lupus patient and a healthcare professional, Lewis is happy to participate in research studies on the disease at OMRF. “By donating blood and taking part in studies, I hope I can help researchers develop new treatments,” she said. If scientists are able to understand why it exacts such a heavy toll on African Americans, she said, “That would be a total game-changer.”
In a study published in May in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, an OMRF research team led by James moved closer to answering this question.
The scientists found that African Americans with certain risk factors for lupus had elevated activation levels in T cells, which are known to be important in lupus. Meanwhile, European Americans with similar risk factors did not. That may be a reason at-risk African Americans are more likely to develop the disease, said OMRF’s Samantha Slight-Webb, Ph.D., lead author on the study. And the findings could prove key to helping allay the suffering of patients like Lewis.
“Identifying this protective T-cell response could be pivotal in identifying therapeutic targets and potential drugs that may prevent people from transitioning into the disease,” said Slight-Webb. “It would also help us look at drugs—and dosages—differently based on ethnicity to improve outcomes for African-American patients, who are at highest risk for severe disease.”
Lewis would welcome any findings that could help improve her quality of life. Still, she’s more interested in developments that could benefit her daughter, Taraya, 19.
Lewis’ only child, Taraya previously tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, or ANA, an indicator of lupus activity. Taraya also has several relatives on her father’s side with the disease. “So, when she says she doesn’t feel good, I worry,” said Lewis.
Like all mothers, Lewis wants more than anything to protect her child. “If researchers could find a way to prevent lupus from starting, that would be a dream,” she said. “I never want my daughter to go through this.”

For information on treatment or participating in one of OMRF’s studies or trials, please call (405) 271-7745 or email clinic@omrf.org.

Story by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Moving from Hugo to Guymon was about as far a move as Dan Stiles could pull off and still stay in Oklahoma.
“A lot of people think Oklahoma ends at Woodward,” Stiles says with a laugh.
Guymon – a place where the wind definitely comes sweeping down the plains – is just under two hours away from Amarillo. It’s three-and-a-half hours from Denver and just 125 miles away from the end of the central standard time zone.
But Guymon itself is also a mecca for healthcare in Northwest Oklahoma and Stiles is in the middle of it all leading Heritage Community and Dunaway Manor.
Dunaway Manor is the only Skilled Nursing Facility in the Panhandle, the only Assisted Living in the Panhandle and the only licensed and locked Memory Assisted Living in the Panhandle.
The stand-alone non-profit is not owned by any governmental agency, church or other entity and has been that way since 1962.
The facility offers long term care, Physical and Occupational Therapy, Respite Care, Assisted Living, Memory Care Assisted Living and Assisted Living Respite care.
In 1960 a group of concerned citizens gathered and decided there needed to be a residence for senior citizens in Guymon.
Local veterinarian W.F. Dunaway and wife Mada donated a substantial sum which was matched by local residents for the facility to be built.
The residence was called Dunaway Manor.
Dr. Dunaway and wife also set up a foundation that is now called the Texas County Foundation.
Dunaway Manor is a 77-bed skilled nursing facility with long-term care and respite care offerings.
In the late 2000s, the fact that no assisted living properties existed became a topic of conversation.
In 2012 Heritage Community Assisted Living and Heritage Community Memory care opened.
The assisted living facility side has 25 apartments. The locked memory care unit has 15 residences.
All sit on land owned by the City of Guymon.
“We are not owned by anybody. We have a board of directors,” Stiles said, noting most board members are residents of Texas County. “Most are ranchers and farmers. I think we’re the only one set up like this.”
Stiles is actually the chief executive officer but goes by the title of campus director.
He says he was never much for titles and admits to no pretense on campus, just a focus on neighbors helping members.
“We have a ton of community support,” said Stiles.
To that end, a group known as Helping Hands for Heritage took shape a little over a year ago with the specific aim at fundraising for projects needed on campus.
“It has been a good deal,” he said.
Covid has hit the area hard. In fact, Guymon was the No. 2 site in the state in the number of Covid infections, fueled by positives at the local meat processing plant.
And while Guymon may be one of the most diverse cities in the United States – boasting 32 nationalities – the number of healthcare facilities is limited to Heritage Community and Dunaway Manor.
“The biggest problem we have out here is getting nurses,” Stiles said. “You’ve got to want to live in the panhandle and there’s a lot of different opportunities out here.”
Population growth has boosted Guymon to a Class 5A school, which means Guymon students travel around the state more than any other school.
“We are very big on culture change and patient-centered care,” Stiles said. “We call (residents) neighbors that live in our neighborhood. I feel like when you get the staff and team to buy into that it’s a whole lot different to take care of a neighbor than a resident or patient.”
One of the great advantages Stiles has to offer his staff is the sheer number of opportunities they can choose from.
There’s long term care as well as skilled nursing availability.
“But we always need people in assisted living which is a total different population to work with,” he said. “There’s also opportunities in memory care for working with patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. We offer a huge variety.”
As healthcare reimbursement drives care out of the hospital faster, facilities like Heritage Community and Dunaway Manor are taking care of more medically complex patients.
“People are being sent to us a lot sicker than they used to be,” Stiles said. “We do a lot of IVs and wound care. We have several trachs in the building.”
Right now Stiles’ largest need is for charge nurses – LPNs or RNs – who are able to step onto the floor to take care of neighbors.
“Unlike the hospital or even a doctor’s office the majority of the people you’ll care for are going to be here long term,” said Stiles, who noted even his skilled nursing side has an average stay of 35 days. “There are people in this building who have lived here for 10 or 11 years. You develop a close relationship with them. It’s not ‘Mr. Smith came in on Tuesday, had his hip replaced Wednesday and leaves on Friday.”’
“When they come here you’re going to spend time with them so it’s a more long-term atmosphere where you’re caring for people you know. You grow very close and very attached to your people.”
And your people quickly become your neighbors.

story and photos by Darl Devault

America’s oldest sport, Major League Baseball, was a big question this year until it began playing a 60-game season on TV last month. There is no question Johnny Bench, the only living Oklahoma-born National Baseball Hall of Famer, exudes class by returning to the state as a volunteer to help promote youth baseball.
Seniors often step up to help projects they care about. Overall, the elderly make up a large part of the volunteer population.
In early July last year, the 14-time All-Star catcher returned to the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City where fans saw him honored by a bronze statue in 2001.
Bench made several volunteer appearances before an Oklahoma City Dodgers Triple-A home game with Round Rock. He was direct while speaking to a youth clinic. “Catch every ball — if you’re going to play, learn how to play properly,” Bench said. “Learn the mechanics. Watch the major leaguers. Watch how the guys here in Triple-A do it.”
The best 20th century catcher was there to help the co-founders of Grassroots Baseball, noted sports photographer Jean Fruth and National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum President Jeff Idelson. Their new nonprofit promotes the amateur game around the globe, focusing on growing participation at the youngest levels.
The Grassroots Baseball Route 66 Tour recruited Bench with other Hall of Famers and MLB stars from the Route 66 area. They helped deliver baseball instruction, inspiration, and equipment to children in 10 communities along The Mother Road from Chicago to Santa Monica.
Hailing from Binger, Okla., Bench, 72, the former Cincinnati Reds superstar, made that day special for a group of young players. He helped Grassroots Baseball give Rawlings’ donated gloves and balls to each youth. He then joined them on the field for a short afternoon clinic. He walked among the young athletes, coaching proper throwing motions, and encouraging them to play hard to catch every ball.
Interested in players at the Triple-A level, Bench also toured both clubhouses after the clinic. He spoke with many of the players. Many asked for autographs and photos with Oklahoma’s baseball legend who pioneered the now common one-handed catching style.
Bench continued his day as the focus of a news conference about supporting the nonprofit’s effort to encourage youth baseball. “I drilled those youngsters to play properly, to try to catch every ball,” Bench told the reporters. “Baseball offers them so many ways to watch the proper mechanics, they just need learn how to make it work for them.”
Before the game, Bench reversed the tradition of throwing out the first pitch by catching the first pitch, as he is commonly known as the best catcher of his era. Playing baseball’s most physically demanding position, The Sporting News named him the game’s greatest catcher in 1998. He batted cleanup on the Big Red Machine, propelling him to the MLB All-Century Team with more than a million fan votes in 1999.
Once the game began, Bench and Fruth autographed the nonprofit’s first hardcover book for Oklahoma City Dodgers fans. Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin, is authored by co-founder Fruth (Sports Publishing, $60, 224 pages). The book is available and more info is found at www.grassrootsbaseball.com/
“I’m overwhelmed by the wonderful feedback I have received on the book,” Fruth said last month. “Tying baseball heroes back to their roots and the kids who are following in their footsteps has been rewarding and delivers the message of, ‘If I did this, so can you.’”
The book features first-person essays revealing how and where the following baseball careers began: New York–Whitey Ford, Mexico–Fernando Valenzuela, Mobile, Ala.–Hank Aaron, Japan–Ichiro Suzuki, Cape Cod–Craig Biggio, Oakland–Rickey Henderson, Cuba–Tony Perez, Williamsport, Pa.–Randy Johnson, Puerto Rico–Ivan Rodriguez, Tampa, Fla.–Wade, Boggs, Caribbean Series–Juan Marichal, Aberdeen, Md.–Cal Ripken, Jr. , Curacao–Hensley Meulens and Texas–Nolan Ryan.
Bench wrote the book’s afterword. Available in the team store on the concourse, Oklahomans fully embraced their legend’s return, as the book sold out quickly. A recent MLB Now TV Interview with Fruth and Bench about the book is available on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEe1dkl4dZI
Idelson was in OKC right before he was to retire from his role as president following last July’s Induction Weekend. He served baseball in Cooperstown for 25 years, the last 11 as the Hall of Fame’s president.
“The Oklahoma City Dodgers were an incredible partner who identified the kids and allowed them to learn about the game and life lessons from Johnny Bench, not only a Hall of Famer, but a local hero,” Idelson said last month.
After the book signing, Bench finally slowed down when he joined family members and friends from Binger in a suite to watch the game.
The special day revolved around promoting Grassroots Baseball. New author Fruth photographed youth players for possible inclusion in a second book to be titled, Grassroots Baseball: Route 66.
The second book is coming together nicely,” Fruth said last month. “I spent five months on the Mother Road last summer. I am shooting what I can as the country safely opens this summer. The relationship between baseball and Americana is so strong, and documenting the grassroots game, along this historic route, has been rewarding.”
This was not Bench’s first full day at the ballpark. In 2001, he and his longtime manager, fellow Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson, spent a full day there. An appreciative group of Oklahomans celebrated the unveiling of his bronze statue.
A larger-than-life statue honors Bench at the home plate entrance to Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark near the corner of South Mickey Mantle Drive and Johnny Bench Drive. The ballpark also features bronze statues of Mickey Mantle and Warren Spahn.
You can relive the 2001 dedication of the Paul Moore sculpted statue by reading a verbatim transcript of the news conference preceding and the speeches made at the unveiling at: www.baseball-almanac.com/blog/johnny-bench-statue-dedication-day
During the news conference in 2001, Bench and Anderson talked extensively about those things that set the Red’s greatest home run hitter’s career apart from most Hall of Famer’s. Anderson explained his first exposure to Bench’s talent on the way to his famed 17-year career with the Reds.
Now living in Jupiter, Fla., and raising two young sons, Bench was the Reds catcher from 1967 to 1983. His powerful throwing arm shutting down base stealers led the Reds to back-to-back World Series Championships. He earned the 1976 World Series MVP vote.
Playing a demanding position as much as he did took its toll. Yet, he hit well, right up to the end of his career. He led the National League twice (1970 and 1972) in home runs. He also earned the MVP trophy both of those seasons.
He finished with 389 home runs and 1,376 RBIs, both of which still stand as franchise records in Cincinnati. He led the NL in RBIs three times. When he retired his home run total was the most for any catcher ever.
Bench’s playing career ended in 1983 when he was honored with “Johnny Bench Night.” He showed the packed-house crowd at Riverfront Stadium what they would be missing by hitting a two-run homer in the third inning.
Bench was elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1989. The other Oklahoma-born Hall of Famers are Paul and Lloyd Waner, Joe Rogan, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Stargell.
“Johnny (Bench) is special. He cares about the game, he cares about the kids, and he cares about the Hall of Fame,” Idelson said last month. “One of the important roles he plays is spending time with the new inductees each July. He sits with the new members to remind them who they are, where they are, and just how special of a fraternity they have just joined. He encourages them to wear the Hall of Famer mantle well. And to enjoy the experience because there’s nothing like it.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers bought the OKC RedHawks franchise and moved their Triple-A affiliate to OKC in 2014. They have now played five seasons as the OKC Dodgers. The ballpark was selected last month as the 2020 Triple-A Best of the Ballparks in annual fan voting held by Ballpark Digest.

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has received a $1.75 million federal grant to study the impact of the coronavirus on Oklahomans.
Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the two-year project will seek to understand the immune system’s response to the virus and how that immune response varies in different ethnic groups. Additionally, the study aims to understand if the immune response is protective against future infections — or if it might worsen them.
“OMRF has a strong history and wonderful partnerships throughout the state,” said Linda Thompson, Ph.D., who will help lead the project. “That should enable us to quickly obtain blood samples from those who have been exposed to or infected by the coronavirus.”
The researchers will analyze blood donated by volunteers to understand individuals’ differing immune responses to the virus. The OMRF scientists will be looking for biological clues that might identify those individuals most likely to experience a severe response to coronavirus infection.
As a group, Oklahomans are at a somewhat higher risk for life-threatening complications from Covid-19, as they tend to have higher rates of other conditions associated with greater mortality from coronavirus infection: obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
OMRF is actively recruiting individuals for Covid-19 antibody testing, especially people with these high-risk conditions, those with Native American heritage, and those who know or suspect they have recovered from the virus. If you’re interested in participating, please call 405-271-7221 or email Jackie-Keyser@omrf.org.
OMRF researchers will also be studying the roles and reactions of antibodies that form in the immune response to infection to the virus known technically as SARS-CoV-2.
“Specifically, we need to know if antibodies help fight the virus,” said Mark Coggeshall, Ph.D., who will also help lead the research. Work will focus on a phenomenon called antibody-dependent enhancement, where instead of protecting people from future infections, antibodies could actually make future infections worse.
“We have to understand all aspects of the body’s immune response and which ones correlate to good health outcomes, and we also need to understand how these vary in different ethnicities,” said Thompson. “This knowledge gap needs to be filled quickly to inform vaccine trials, some of which are already underway.”
The new funding comes as a supplement to a grant awarded to OMRF to study the immune system’s response to anthrax bacteria as part of the NIAID’s Cooperative Centers for Human Immunology.
“Our existing research on anthrax has a developed infrastructure to study immune response to a serious viral infection,” Thompson said. “So, we are set up to start this project without having to develop new methodology. The work can, and will, begin immediately.”
Coggeshall, for one, is eager to start the new project. “Our anthrax work is promising and important, but all research efforts right now should be on SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19,” he said. “There is no more urgent issue to study in the world, and we will do everything we can to help.”
Funding for the research is provided by grant No. 2U19AI062629-16 from the NIAID, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

is once again recognized as the #1 hospital in the state and the #1 hospital in the Oklahoma City metro area by U.S. News & World Report. The 2020-21 rankings were just released to the public today.
INTEGRIS was the sole recipient to be named the Best Hospital in Central Oklahoma and the Best Hospital in the Oklahoma City Metro area, but we share the distinction of the Best Hospital in Oklahoma with St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa.
INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center was recognized as High Performing in five different adult procedures and conditions including colon cancer surgery, heart failure, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic value surgery and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The annual U.S. News rankings are widely reported and are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care. We take great pride in the fact that we have earned this honor multiple times and appreciate the continued acknowledgment and support from the communities we serve.

I’d been putting it off for months but, once my health club reopened, I saw the fancy, digital scale still tucked in the locker room corner and realized I had no choice. I shed my clothes, climbed on and sucked in my stomach while waiting for the numbers to appear.
It read 203, a 6-pound gain since my last club visit in, uh, wait a minute … March? April? All I remember is that snow was still on the ground.
Much like first-year college students must grapple with the freshmen 15, a 15-pound weight gain typically attributed to late night pizza orders, dime beer specials and unlimited dorm cafeteria desserts, “the COVID 15” has become part of our physiques. And, as states retreat from their reopenings, forcing us back into our homes where a television, a couch and a giant bowl of French Onion potato chips await, we can do one of two things:
A. Start that rigorous home exercise program we should have begun in mid-March
B. Become more creative in our excuses for weight gain.
If you chose B, allow me to comfort you with these five reasons your pants fit about as well as the glove OJ Simpson tried to force over his hand during his murder trial:
1. Masks add weight. If you stepped on a scale, yet were simultaneously practicing social distancing, you wore a mask, am I right? I said, AM I RIGHT? Subtract a few pounds for that. True, my mask weighs less than an ounce; but I didn’t bedazzle it with slogans, sequins and the like. Those additions add unnecessary pounds. It’s not your fault you gained weight. Blame Dr. Fauci.
2. You didn’t know which products would be in short supply. Remember when we were fighting with one another over toilet paper? When we left the store with not one container of anti-bacterial wipes but an entire pallet? You became anxious, correct? You started wondering what else might disappear from grocery shelves and never return. It could be M&Ms. Or peanut butter. Or that heavenly, buttery toffee you only treat yourself to at Christmas time. So, during that Costco run, you purchased the industrial sized container of all three. Then you went home and consumed all of it because, “If I die during this quarantine, at least I’ll die happy.” Good for you!
3. Repairmen are booked solid. It’s true, the coronavirus has made it harder to find a technician willing to come out, promptly, and service those vital appliances like air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines and, perish the thought, refrigerators. Suppose your trusty fridge decided to die when it was housing the dozen cartons of Ben & Jerry’s you purchased? (See No. 2 for why you made that purchase). That’s why you ate the ice cream so quickly; you hate wasting food.
4. The Food Network. Leave it to this easy-to-find cable channel to expand our waistlines during quarantine. Don’t Food Network executives realize that more than 10% of this country is out of work and has nothing to do except watch “Ridiculous Cakes,” “Girl Scout Cookie Championship” and “The Three Chocolatiers”? And take notes? We may no longer be able to see our shoes when we emerge from quarantine, but we can take comfort knowing we became avid Girl Scout supporters.
5. Liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries. Both were deemed “essential” businesses by most states once it became necessary to decide which types of establishments to shutter during quarantine. That left millions unable to see a doctor for routine wellness checks or incapable of getting their hair cut for that upcoming Zoom job interview but able to get drunk, high and, subsequently, hungry at any moment. If your liquor or weed consumption spiked during the pandemic, it’s your governor’s doing.
So, you see? It’s not your fault you’re an overweight, slovenly mess. So many factors beyond your control contributed to your “COVID 15.”
Which, based on recent developments, may soon become the “COVID 20.”
(Greg Schwem is a corporate stand-up comedian and author of two books: “Text Me If You’re Breathing: Observations, Frustrations and Life Lessons From a Low-Tech Dad” and the recently released “The Road To Success Goes Through the Salad Bar: A Pile of BS From a Corporate Comedian,” available at Amazon.com. Visit Greg on the web at www.gregschwem.com.)
You’ve enjoyed reading, and laughing at, Greg Schwem’s monthly humor columns in Senior Living News. But did you know Greg is also a nationally touring stand-up comedian? And he loves to make audiences laugh about the joys, and frustrations, of growing older. Watch the clip and, if you’d like Greg to perform at your senior center or senior event, contact him through his website at www.gregschwem.com)

by Ron Hendricks

I am sorry to announce the loss of our beloved Hearing Helpers Demonstration Room. It was closed as of the first of June 2020.
After 22 years, Integris decided to discontinue our association for a variety of reasons, including budget concerns and COVID19. The HHR was filled with important hearing assistive technology to help those of us with hearing loss live better at home and work. Countless people visited through the years and our volunteers helped each one.
We are now looking for another major benefactor. If you know of such a possible sponsor, a beneficent corporation or individual please let us know.
We hope to restart monthly meetings in September so please stay tuned.
In other news your Hearing Loss Association of America Central Oklahoma Chapter (HLAA COC) is still working to assist Oklahomans with hearing loss to live successfully in a hearing world. Our scholarship program is still in full swing. For the fifth year n a row we have awarded scholarships to Oklahoma students with hearing loss. This year we awarded three scholarships for $1,500 each. We hope to do the same next year. The drive to equip public gathering spaces through Hearing Loops, is still on-going.
We are an all volunteer run 501 C(3) organization with no paid officers.
Check out our Facebook page @HLAA CentralOklahomaChapter (Note, there is a space between words HLAA & Central and no other spaces. The current page is the one with a green state of Oklahoma logo) and visit our website: OklahomaHearingLoss.org.
The Hearing Loss Association of America Central Oklahoma Chapter is a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization. Out Chapter is run entirely by volunteer, there are no paid positions. [the HLAA hopes to open the world of communication to people who have a hearing loss by providing information, education, support and advocacy.]

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

While going down memory lane last month I mentioned my interaction with the greatness of performances in persons of: Joshua Bell, Carol Channing, the original Mummers theater, Ethel Merman, Ben Vereen, Bernadette Peters, John Lithgow, Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone and Steven Sondheim.
If you missed last months issue you can find it here: https://okveterannews.com/020915/travel-entertainment-entertainment-in-the-presence-of-greatness-part-one
Let me continual sharing my harvesting of good times with more performers , that seeing them in person gives one comfort. With so many live performances in theater and concerts on hold perhaps you too, can recall the rewarding live theater times meaningful to you.
On Broadway I got a glimpse of the iconic King of “King and I” when going back stage to visit with the Oklahoma Actor playing the child, my eyes and Yul Brenner made a connection. His steely glare can not be forgotten, when his dressing room door was slightly ajar.
Worthy of including among notable stage performers is Oklahoma’s own Florence Birdwell. As a professor at Oklahoma City University she created a formal one woman show of pop and theater songs intersperse with humorous readings. Her ten formal concerts at O.C.U. in the 1980s are legendary as the sold out audiences for a two night run can a test. Florence is one of a kind performer and person. Her teaching techniques are known not only for singing techniques but for personal growth where she council-ed her developing college students to a more satisfying and productive life.
One of her students was Kelli O’Hara who went on to be nominated for a Tony for her performance at the Lincoln Center production of “Light in the Piazza” and for “South Pacific.” She did capture the tony for her Anna in the King and I. Besides scripted shows she once gave a witness in song and stories at the O.C.U. Chapel – with a previous Master Class on campus. She also performed with Florence and a number of OCU/Birdwell alumni in one of Florence’s one woman formal show on the OCU campus. Kelli is a rare performer and person who sincerely cares for her followers and gives them the courteous attention they long for. This can not be said for all celebrity performers.
Barbara Fox De Maio also a Birdwell student is a celebrated international opera performer and currently the founder of the Prairie Sky Opera Company here in Oklahoma City. She credits Birdwell with life affirming support and guidance during her under graduate years, as she too passes on her knowledge through teaching.
Broadway Tony nominated Lara Teeter has gone on to teach at several universities, currently in Webster Missouri, where he lives with wife and 3 children, as well as giving freely of his directorial talents with personal Master Classes. Of course when teaching so many students over the decades, the list of successful graduates is long, and Miss American Susan Powell, must be included in in that list. This is an example of greatness producing greatness in others.
Sometimes greatness need not be on a performers stage, as in the case with Oklahoma artist, Harold Stevenson. Recently passing in Idabel Oklahoma his home town, Harold is remembered in a rare retrospective exhibit at the Museum of the Red River in Idabel. The show closes on August 23, so call head to make sure the Museum is open and welcoming visitors. www.museumoftheredriver.org
One can not move on in recognition of the behind the scenes producers of talent and performing arts. One such greatness is personification in the OCU Ann Lacy School of Dance with Jo Rowan and John Bedford in guiding, supporting and creating well known dancers. Their bi yearly shows are always an amazement on creativity, and life as well as dance – affirming exhibitions.
Of course my salutation of greatness is a personal evaluation. I encourage you if unfamiliar with my nominees to look them up on GOOGLE. It would also be a great honor if you recalled the persons you have known throughout the years, and contacted them with your gratitude.

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
3110 N.W. 15 Street – Oklahoma City, OK 73107
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