What can I say - the chickens just speak to me these days. I had hoped after graduation I would be able to spend more time on OS reading, responding, and writing thoughtful, polished essays but alas - I have become the couch-bound chicken in my spare time. Part of this… Read full post »

 Growing up I didn't know much about Woody Guthrie, other than the fact that he had written "This Land Is Your Land" and had scandalized Oklahomans by becoming a *gasp* communist. As a young adult, however, I had the good fortune of receiving a homemade tape of Guthrie's "Dustbowl… Read full post »

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Dear Ms. Smith,

Please take your business elsewhere. You obviously do not know this, but we are all very short here. Although OS may be advertised as Open Salon, really it is an acronym for Only Shorties. None of us here are over 5' 2", so your recruiting efforts a… Read full post »

 Well friends, I don't know about you, but all the insanity floating around about Obama's education speech and healthcare reform has just about driven me around the bend.  I don't hold out much hope for this nation when we have people like Oklahoma's rethug Sen. Jim Inhofe proudly… Read full post »

It's been over a month since I posted. My inbox is overflowing, and I can scarcely find the time to read even one post each day. Ironic, since I thought summer would bring so much free time I would be posting  each day, and catching up on all my favorite posters. (My apologies… Read full post »

A lot of weighty and depressing topics being discussed today. Thought I would share one of my favorite quotes by a fellow Oklahoman today:

"Things will continue to get better despite our efforts at improving them"     Will Rogers

That's all folks - you may… Read full post »

 "Teach your children well,
Their father's hell did slowly go by.
And feed them on your dreams,
The one they picks, the one you'll know by."

(Crosby, Stills, and Nash)

There have been quite a few posts recently about men and women, and I've been thinking about gender differences/similarities. On Fi… Read full post »

Just wanted to thank everyone for their kind comments and encouraging words on my last post. The past week without my daily dose of OS has been sheer hell. All those horror stories you all mentioned - the pink elephants - the delirium - i… Read full post »

I am sad to say, I am going to have to leave for a bit due to the following:

 You are all entirely too clever and witty, and have become a major distraction in my life. How can I concentrate on fluid and electolyte imbalances and how to remedy hypovolemic shock with… Read full post »

As many of you know, I am currently in nursing school. Today I had lunch with one of my classmates and asked her about her most recent clinical experience. This past week we were to follow a hospice or home health nurse. I had a wonderful experience with my hospice nurse,… Read full post »

Time to move on from my recent morbid post to celebrate St. Paddy's day. (March's one redeeming feature, IMHO). Today,  I've donned green socks and have dug out my bargain bin CD of Irish drinking songs by none other than The Shannon Clovers. I had been thinking of posting so/… Read full post »

If I am in a peevish mood when asked about my work, I will say I see dead people. Seriously. For six to eight hours each week I dissect cadavers in the anatomy lab of my university.  For the most part the bodies and I get along well. They mind their own business… Read full post »

Another little known fact about me is that my mother-in-law owns a flower shop. As you might imagine, I have spent much of today delivering flowers (sans Jason mask), and will spend tomorrow in the car doing more of the same. So...please forgive me for letting the chickens do the… Read full post »

Well, actually that is open for debate, but the point I want to make is that I feel about my blog the same way I do about my house. I see OS as a virtual neighborhood (most of the time a marvelous one), and my blog here is my house. Just as… Read full post »

Did anyone else notice that at the inaugural concert yesterday, Pete Seeger, his grandson, and Bruce Springsteen included ALL Woody Guthrie's verses for "This Land is Your Land", even this one: 

As I went walking, I saw a sign there,/   And on the sign there, It said… Read full post »

(Roger Edwards picture taken near Norman OK, 2007)

It's been a delightful winter break here on OS. These past weeks I have indulged myself and spent hours each day reading, laughing, commenting, pondering. As an INFJ/P I'm in virtual heaven here. When not on OS I've been pla… Read full post »

Well, I couldn't take a picture of my fridge, but I did manage to scan my 12 year old son's interpretation of Doug Savage's chicken drinking coffee. He says he tried to make it look like me, but I don't think my beak is quite that big. Thanks Pea for… Read full post »

Okay, I tried to resist, but I got a friendly encouraging nudge, and decided to jump in. Here is my list which I am submitting probably against my better judgement.

1. I have a diabetic black cat with dander problems named Edgar A. Poe.

2.  I know all the words to… Read full post »

The following story was not written by me, but by my father Glen Ross before his death in 1996. I have wanted to post some of his stories here since I joined, and now seemed like a good time. It is a small excerpt from a longer essay he wrote about his experiences… Read full post »

"Up! up! my Friend and quit your books

Or surely you'll grow double.

 Up! up! my Friend and clear your looks

Why all this toil and trouble?"

During my stint at the alternative high school, I coached/force -marched  the English 4 students through their required poetry analysis. The standardi… Read full post »

All right, I confess that for several years the cartoon below pretty much summed up my attitude about blogs.  

The whole concept of blogging just seemed strange to me. I grew up journaling in diaries that were kept under lock and key. Share my drivelling mind online? Are you kidding… Read full post »

 Okay, so here is the only picture of me that I could find that wasn't taken by my children, giving an in-depth view of  my nostrils. Unfortunately it allows a detailed view of my neck, but I am proud to have succeeded in not only downloading pictures from a disc to… Read full post »

Trying again now with the formatting tips so kindly offered. Here's a poem that's been sitting around awhile

Mound Building

Laundry festers

in sympathy

with the mossy coats

of once coffeed cups,

as chicken bones rattle wearily

in their cardboard prison.

Mutineering mounds of na… Read full post »