When I was four or five, I got a Barbie car, which Ruby and Joe Palmer added to their holiday display after buying it from my mother for $12. The year I received the car, I drove around Mame’s house, running into walls.
That same year, I also got pink nail polish and sat in a chair with my feet on the kitchen table painting my toe nails. I remember my family’s amusement, especially my mother’s.
This was my mother’s entry into my class memory book:
I remember getting presents, but I don’t remember how much I got or the year I received them.
What I do remember is my brother and sister and I preparing for Christmas. We didn’t have a lot of money, but my mother would give us each $5. We would always shop at one of the few stores in town, the Five and Dime. We bought for our parents, grandparents and one another. I will never forget the excitement of planning and picking out those gifts.
As teenagers, the three of us would go out together to find, cut down and bring home a Christmas tree for everyone to decorate.
I love Christmas with my children now, but I will always want to be with my family for part of Christmas.
Thanksgiving will arrive in a few days and Christmas looms less than a month away. I thought it would be nice to add holiday memories. I will add posts from my Christmas memories, both recent and those found in my contribution to my fifth-grade group’s Christmas memory collection written Dec. 6, 1995.
Despite a 17-point lead early in the game, the Oklahoma State Cowboys fell to the Texas Tech Red Raiders 30-24. OSU failed to finish - again - and remained scoreless in the second half
The Cowboys, now 6-5 overall and 3-4 in conference play, face the Oklahoma Sooners for Bedlam on Saturday at 1:40 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. The Sooners are 9-2 overall and 6-1 in conference play after dominating the Baylor Bears in Norman on Saturday 36-10.
The Cowgirls won their second season opener against East Central! Their first test will be Uiversity of California-Riverside on Nov. 10.
Oklahoma State takes on the Texas Longhorns on Saturday in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns have outscored the Cowboys 118-0 in the second halves of their past three meetings. Oklahoma State has not won a game in Austin since 1944!
I’m not travelling to Austin, but will cover Cowgirl basketball instead.
The Oklahoman referred the Lazy E to me to write press releases for the Prairie Circuit Finals. I had to turn the job down because of my commitments to the newspaper, but felt an ego boost that I was being recruited - especially by a rodeo organization.
I covered basketball for the first time and loved it! The Cowgirls dominated play as expected in the team’s opening exhibition contest. They play East Central next Nov. 6.
Well, the regular football season ends soon, so I will have some relief from working two sports at once. Basketball started today and I am covering the OSU women.
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Oklahoma State plays Nebraska on Saturday afternoon at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater.
For me, that means skipping any tailgating or drinking to work. I watch the games from the press box, where we are served a catered meal. Oo la la. It is a crazy atmosphere and I have to remind myself not to cheer. It’s not allowed in the press box. It’s certainly different than where I usually sit in the student section. I always found myself deaf and hoarse by the end of those games! However, what I miss in the way of celebration with my friends, I am reimbursed for with experience and, most importantly, temperature control. While my parents and friends suffered through the heat in September and the bitter cold that blew in on Saturday, I was a fare-weather fan enjoying air conditioning and heat.
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Saturday will be a tough game for the Cowboys to win. Unfortunately, the road only gets rougher. OSU faces Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma in upcoming games.