Andi sings smooth jazz!

A real treat for me was my first exposure to “The Right Mix Band” during Arts for All Festival last weekend.  I really enjoy smooth jazz as well as other types of jazz, but I have to buy it on CD, online, or use internet radio, because we don’t have a radio station in Southwest Oklahoma dedicated to that genre.  I have to tell you I was not disappointed in what I heard.  For one and a half hours I sat on the grass, swayed with the beat, and took pix with my 135/1.8, to my hearts content.  It was so sweet!  The band consists of Andi and Carlos Messina, Austin Box, Joe Cook, Jerhamy Bennett, and the drummer whose name I didn’t catch.  I’m definitely going to keep my eyes and ears open for another opportunity to catch another performance.  I strongly encourage you to do the same!

Another Gyros

The 29^th Annual International Festival has come and gone leaving behind flattened grass, car tracks, and happy food vendors.  The International Festival, for many years, was held within the confines of the Library Plaza south of the Lawton Muncicipal Library on 4^th Street and “B” Avenue.  Yes, this was a very tight fit and parking was anywhere you could find a place throughout the downtown area.  There were two stages, one on the east and one on the west with almost everything else fit in between.  I say almost everything else, because not everything could fit nicely into this space so there was some overflow.  However, everything was set up on either a concrete, brick, or asphalt surface and all the parking was on asphalt, too.  With the move to Elmer Thomas Park in 2008, many things changed besides just the location.

It was late in the afternoon on Saturday, September 26, 2009, when I decided I would attend the International Festival.  I haven’t attended since it moved to Elmer Thomas Park so I didn’t know what to expect.  I did not want to carry a loaded camera bag around due to the arthritis in both knees and actue hip pain to boot, so I made the decision to take only one lens.   After some personal debate I chose to go with my Carl Zeiss 135mm f/1.8 prime lens.  I know what you’re thinking; using this lens will require me to do more walking than if I had chosen a zoom, and you are correct.  However, I love this lens and I need to use it more than I do to become better skilled in its use.  In my mind, I wanted to approach this Festival with a myopic perspective rather than an all encompassing view.  This lens would serve me well for this purpose.  So, having made this important decision, it was now time to actually go to the Festival.

The first thing that caught my attention was the heavier than expected traffic on Ferris Avenue!  I my own mind, I was envisioning a small crowd.  I was hoping for a small crowd but traffic was increasing and so was my aprehension the closer I got to Elmer Thomas Park.  I was completely unprepared for the sight as I passed McMahon Auditorium and neared the 6th Street Entrance.  There was really going to be a lot of people.  But I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I saw all the cars parking on what used to be the sole property of hundreds of prairie dogs.  I knew Lawton was wanting to take over much of the park that for years had been the homes of arguably Lawton’s  most lovable entertainers for tourist and locals alike.  But I was not prepared for this!  I couldn’t help but be saddened at the loss, not just for the prairie dogs, but all those wildflowers that brought so much beauty.  This they call progress and growth?

I actually drove down a stretch of the cinder hiking trail I had walked on so many times before and parked not far from the wire basket marking the Sixth Hole of the new Disk Golf course only completed last year.  After regathering my senses and checking my camera gear to make sure all the initial settings were as I wanted, I left the safety of my little red truck and began the trek over rolling hills and terrain on arthritis aching knees toward the Lake Helen (north) Stage.

Happy Birthday!

Birthdays are important!  Mine is especially special because I share it with my son, Brandon!  There have been a few over the years that we’ve not been together, but for the majority we enjoy and share the day with each other.  It makes me happy that his girlfriend, Leah, considers his birthday special and has included me in his day for the past two years.

Leah planned another very successful surprise party.  She really puts a lot of hard work into the planning and does a great job.  The party wasn’t a total surprise, as it was last year. Some of his peers at work slipped and mentioned coming to his house Saturday night for a cookout.  He went to Leah and said, “I hope you bought me a grill because people are coming over Saturday night for a cookout!”  So, that much of the surprise didn’t work, but he had no idea his family was coming from Oklahoma, Texas, and California, Friday night.  That was a big surprise and really worked well!

The party was huge success with a lot of his, and Leah’s friends attending.  Brandon cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on his new grill.  A three man band by the named after the lead singer, Barrett Baber, performed and were really quite good.  There was plenty to eat and dink and the party lasted till the wee hours Sunday morning.  I enjoyed meeting some of Brandon’s friends for the first time, and seeing some I had met previously, again.  It was especially nice to see Rick, Amy, and Jordan.  Rick has been a good friend of Brandon’s for a long time.

It was great to see Marcy and Erin and spend time with them.  I never get to see them enough.  Brandon is doing well and only has three more years of neuro-surgery residency to go.  He passed his Boards!  Yea!