The Evenin' Shadders

Dear God, Standing against the morning sunlight, she’s beautiful. Her small, shapely body is round and full — inside her womb, our child plays. She tells me how this tiny, divine person pushes and moves and stretches and floats on a life-giving island known only to females. Silhouetted against the 6 a.m. sun I watch her as she rubs her belly, reverently, touching this child she so willingly bears. Heavenly father, she is so frightened. Each night she prays, asking you to help her. She seeks your guidance; your forgiveness. She prays that you will take care of the life growing within her. She prays because you, father, are our only hope. The doctors, though upbeat, tell us this newest member of the human race will need three separate surgeries to ensure its life. The first, to place a shunt inside an artery flowing into its tiny heart. The second, to literally replumb the top portion of the heart; the third, a similar operation on the bottom. That news devestated her. I felt her sob ...

OKLAHOMA CITY — If you’re going to eat at the fair, you’ll need a stick. Preferably, a clean one. But a stick, just the same. Because at the Oklahoma State Fair food must be portable. Forget the plates, and you probably won’t need that knife either. Sure, you’ll see an occasional fork, and OK, a spoon or two, but fair food is a truly unique creation in the culinary world. And it’s not for the faint of heart. Great fair food must be tasty, incredibly fattening, messy and a dietitian’s nightmare. And, yes, fair food needs a stick — think walking and eating. For some foods this is easily accomplished. And others come with their stick built in. But today, the latest in deep frying technology has brought a vast, and ever-growing collection of foods — previously though unavailable — to the stick. • Just southeast of the Space Needle, now adorned with advertising and slogans from one of Oklahoma’s larger utilities, are the food vendors. They stretch along a corridor about a full city block lo...

A couple of weeks ago, I penned a column about how I though the state should change its child custody laws. I spelled out what I thought was wrong with the system and offered some suggestions for fixing it up. And by the message I received, you would have though I suggested canceling the football program a the University of Oklahoma. Yes, the defecation struck the rotary oscillator. I’m sure the computer guys here at the newspaper weren’t too happy with the quantity of e-mail I received because of that column. I published one response — well written and thought out — but many of the others were (even for me) a little too crass for a family newspaper. I was especially fond of the one which questioned the legality of my birth and my mother’s moral standards. Anyway, the column caused a big ruckus. Good. Because I meant everything I wrote. (I can almost hear those keyboards clicking now). So, because I’m so good at causing a fight, I thought I’d revisit the subject this week. Only this ti...

MOORE — Less than 10 minutes after it was reported, two Oklahoma City men were arrested on bank robbery complaints Thursday morning by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and Moore police officers. Oklahoma City FBI officials say Wacey Gerron Mikles, 24, and Eric Justin Moses, 26, were arrested for robbing a Bank of Oklahoma branch inside Crest Foods at 1315 N. Eastern Ave. in Moore. “At approximately 10:44 a.m. Thursday, a white male approached a teller at Bank of Oklahoma and demanded money,” FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said. “(The man) exited the bank and was seen fleeing in a vehicle.” No employees of the bank or the grocery store were harmed. About 10 minutes later both Minkles and Moses were arrested by Moore police, department spokesman Sgt. Todd Strickland said. “Our lieutenant was in the right place at the right time,” Strickland said. “He did an awesome job.” Strickland said Moore police Lt. Tim Bryant was near the intersection of North 27th and Eastern Avenue when he saw a...

Chris Milum started out his career a certified public accountant. A 1996 graduate of Moore High School, Milum earned his bachelor’s of business administration in finance and accounting from Southern Methodist University. He went on to get his master’s degree in accounting, too. And after that, he became a certified public accountant. Life was OK for about three years. But at the time when most number jockeys would settle down, find a wife, and have 2.3 children, Chris Milum turned in his calculator. “I guess I needed more adventure,” he said. His decision came after an impromptu bull session with some friends. “A bunch of us were sitting around talking about what we would do if we weren’t CPAs. And the answers were pretty typical.” Except when it came to Chris. “I told them I wanted to brew beer.” Having been a beer fan since he turned 21 — the legal drinking age in Oklahoma — Milum didn’t want to just brew any beer; he wanted to create hand-crafted, old world style beer. Beer that did...

MOORE — This is a story about a family. A big, big blended family, mind you. It’s a story about two divorced adults who struggled, then found each other. It’s a story about six little kids who joined forces to become brothers and sisters. It’s the story about four other little girls who might have been lost, had it not been for the gentle, hardworking plumber and his loving wife. This is a story about Steve and Maylene Sorrels. It’s also a story about Taylor, Cody, Michael, Nicole, Aylee, Gabriella, Breanna, Dalton, Victoria and Jaden. Yes, this is the story of one big family, but mostly, it’s a story about love. nnn The first thing you notice when you arrive at Steve and Maylene Sorrels’ home in Moore is the shoes. They’re everywhere. Small shoes. Tennis shoes. Boots. Overshoes. Snow boots. Casual shoes. More tennis shoes. They’re piled on the porch on a curved black shelf, just to the right of the door. What, at first, looks like the remains of a Wal-Mart sidewalk sale, is actually o...

Sixty-six years ago, Paul Goodyear had to run to save his own life. A Petty Officer Third Class assigned to the USS Oklahoma, Goodyear had enlisted in the Signal Corps, believing that, after four months worth of training, he would return to a civilian life. “When the training ended, they wanted me to sign a request for a year’s sea duty,” he said. Shortly thereafter, Goodyear found himself stationed at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii. And on this particular Sunday — Dec. 7, 1941 — the job was easy. At Pearl Harbor, Sundays usually were. Sure, the miliary brass was concerned: In 1937 China and Japan had locked horns and two years later, Hitler had invaded Poland. But so far, the United States had stayed neutral. And even though then-President Franklin Roosevelt had signed the Lend-Lease act in March of 1941, American soldiers had seen little conflict. But the country was on high alert. “We knew before long we were gonna get involved in that deal in Europe,” Goodyear said. “It was ...