Thursday, December 20, 2007
Sunshine's Sister-In-Law's Ice Storm '07 Wedding
---Oklahoma. As the rain started to pour and sleet combined, we called and Lawton was in the clear, so, ... Marcella and I took a box full of cameras and started south. We knew we would be late.
------ The rain and sleet made the going slow and when we arrived, they had already taken the pictures of the groomsmen. Now days, photographing a wedding costs nothing. Everyone has digitals and everyone gets in the action. 5 years ago, I was the only one doing anything of significance with digitals around here, but those times are gone. For our own daughter's wedding, a hired photographer was on hand. With this wedding, they had asked to have pictures taken BEFORE the wedding. For me, guaranteeing that I can be any place at 12, is pushing the envelope. We left at 11:30, since I didn't go to sleep until 6:00 AM.
We spotted Holli and Vinh as we left and asked them to take pictures. The cake had already been cut, so I am hoping that we will get one of the pictures taken for the DVD that Marcella will be making.
Our carport looked like an icy jail. It was beautiful.
-Once we were home, I couldn't sleep and I was on the computer. The lights went out at 1 PM and then came back on. 15 minutes, it went out completely, for 2 days, and we were lucky. While I sat in front of this iMac G4, that night, I could hear the fire crackers going off all night - tree limbs breaking under the pressure of the icy build-up. This is being written 2 weeks after the ice storm, and we still have 10,000 people without electricity across Oklahoma.
View over the station wagon.
It was eery to the popping through out the night. It sounded like fire crackers, but what it was, was limbs breaking, ... snapping, many falling to the ground. The next morning, we woke up to "Godly" trimmed trees, with many blocking the roads. I didn't drive anywhere to take pictures, since the trees around our house easily characterized the storm itself, I just had to take pictures around here.
This is the old tree next to our house. I made a wooden pad in it, so the kids could climb up and sit down. Even the limbs suffered. Our front patio had limbs almost touching the ground, yet the huge mother limb didn't break. Pretty awesome. Over 200,000 people were knocked out of electricity.
You can see the limbs on the other side of the road broken off or bending with the weight of the tree. The flag is a Made In China flag.
Shrubs didn't fair well either, though we can still go out and find some pears worthy of eating.
Hope everyone has a better New Year than this one. We need rain in Alabama, South Carolina, and other eastern points. Some of our roads, locally still impassable from the heavy rains, earlier this fall.
Finally, Darrin's best friend, Bart, and his family have moved back to Oklahoma via Chicago, California, and Tennessee. Welcome home Bart! We expect to see your kids at our house!
---Oklahoma. As the rain started to pour and sleet combined, we called and Lawton was in the clear, so, ... Marcella and I took a box full of cameras and started south. We knew we would be late.
------ The rain and sleet made the going slow and when we arrived, they had already taken the pictures of the groomsmen. Now days, photographing a wedding costs nothing. Everyone has digitals and everyone gets in the action. 5 years ago, I was the only one doing anything of significance with digitals around here, but those times are gone. For our own daughter's wedding, a hired photographer was on hand. With this wedding, they had asked to have pictures taken BEFORE the wedding. For me, guaranteeing that I can be any place at 12, is pushing the envelope. We left at 11:30, since I didn't go to sleep until 6:00 AM.
We spotted Holli and Vinh as we left and asked them to take pictures. The cake had already been cut, so I am hoping that we will get one of the pictures taken for the DVD that Marcella will be making.
Our carport looked like an icy jail. It was beautiful.
-Once we were home, I couldn't sleep and I was on the computer. The lights went out at 1 PM and then came back on. 15 minutes, it went out completely, for 2 days, and we were lucky. While I sat in front of this iMac G4, that night, I could hear the fire crackers going off all night - tree limbs breaking under the pressure of the icy build-up. This is being written 2 weeks after the ice storm, and we still have 10,000 people without electricity across Oklahoma.
View over the station wagon.
It was eery to the popping through out the night. It sounded like fire crackers, but what it was, was limbs breaking, ... snapping, many falling to the ground. The next morning, we woke up to "Godly" trimmed trees, with many blocking the roads. I didn't drive anywhere to take pictures, since the trees around our house easily characterized the storm itself, I just had to take pictures around here.
This is the old tree next to our house. I made a wooden pad in it, so the kids could climb up and sit down. Even the limbs suffered. Our front patio had limbs almost touching the ground, yet the huge mother limb didn't break. Pretty awesome. Over 200,000 people were knocked out of electricity.
You can see the limbs on the other side of the road broken off or bending with the weight of the tree. The flag is a Made In China flag.
Shrubs didn't fair well either, though we can still go out and find some pears worthy of eating.
Other pictures around the house "Looking Out Our Back Door!"
Hope everyone has a better New Year than this one. We need rain in Alabama, South Carolina, and other eastern points. Some of our roads, locally still impassable from the heavy rains, earlier this fall.
Finally, Darrin's best friend, Bart, and his family have moved back to Oklahoma via Chicago, California, and Tennessee. Welcome home Bart! We expect to see your kids at our house!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
"Sunshine this, Sunshine that!" We moved Holli from East Central University to Cameron University in Lawton, where Nathan had been there 2 years and was heavily involved in Cameron Campus Ministries. The university had a huge Southern Baptist presence on campus, and CCM was a service for others who wanted fellowship, who attended other churches. Nathan was president and also in charge of building the organization's web presence. 
The year before, Nathan was elected president as well, and he also joined the American Indian Club, to reinvigorate it. Maybe he met Sunshine there, or maybe she just started attending CCM. Suddenly our Cameron students had another mother, and we had another daughter. Sunshine's mother had terminal brain cancer. Without tribal help, their family finances would have been disasterous, ... and we had a wedding to plan for, knowing that Sunshine's mother would need plenty of help. Only the flowers for the altar were professionally supplied. The rest of the wedding would have to be catered by friends, and as we drove down, I had no idea just how much of an intregal part our family would be.
As an Oklahoma Licensed Beautician, Drema was in charge of all the brides' maids' hair, which included Holli and herself. Do they look ready for an ensemble of maids?
It didn't take me long to realize that I was totally in charge of the photography and with digital technology, a wedding can save a bundle on professional pictures. How about, "Zilcho!" - with an instant choice of pictures for the wedding book and a wedding CD that can be reproduced and sent to as many cousins, aunts, in-laws and out-laws as desired.
This becomes a community and congregational project. Here, Marcella takes on, yet, another hat as she helps decorate the reception room for the bride and groom, Don and Sunshine. The help was sparse, though, so double and triple hats are part of the deal when you take part in a small society, like Cache, which is about the same size of Newkirk. Ask A.Cec what that means.
The punch table needs some attention. Non-alcohol, of course. Even though you see no hats on Marcella, believe me, they are there, and she is a professional hat wearer. Notice that Sunshine's mother is not shown. Cancer treatments take a toll on ones ability to do much in a given day. Everyone is well aware of the fact that Sunshine's mother's cancer is terminal.
The amazing thing about this wedding, was that I knew the groom's mother very, very well. I had grown a beard, and she didn't recognize me at all; but I knew her.
"I cannot believe this!" I said, as her and her, new husband came in. This was just before the above picture was taken.
I didn't give her a chance to say anything, and proceeded to give her a big, looong, shoulder to shoulder hug. Now, though she looks Caucasion, LaDonna is Choctaw, and, as the District Wide Drug Grant Coordinator, I had hired her personally to do drug counseling and programming for our students in the high school, which lasted 3 years.
LaDonna was wonderful. The students loved her, and she loved the students. She saw me as her boss and would write up a report at the end of each year.
I could feel her pull away, as I hugged her, and, then, ... and, then, ... LaDonna realized who I was. It hadn't been 2 years before when she came back up to the high school and had me sign some papers so she would qualify as a Certified Public Counselor. Goes to prove, you just never know who you are helping, when you are a part of a community.
Notice that Nathan is sitting there with a friend. Even though, American Indians and African Americans, generally, choose to worship in separate buildings, weddings and funerals bring commonality to human beings.
Notice Sunshine's maids-in-waiting, all appear to be Caucasians. She is the only Indian there. Could be wrong, but I know the last young lady, and the second young lady have no American Indian blood running through their veins, and they consider Sunshine as a sister!! Our kids have always chosen good friends.It's time for a wedding, don't you think?
The entire court. This was my time to shine. For the next 20 minutes, I had the full and undivided attention, as we took picture after picture of what each side of the family would need.
The guests, waited in the educational wing, which was decorated with the WEDDING CAKE and the groom's cake, a tradition that holds in most of our US weddings. Can you guess what the grooms' cake represents?
It's a basketball in school colors. While Sunshine is from Cache, he graduated from Indiahoma, a hop-skip and a jump to the north. After the cut, they feed each other, and then, ... and then the toast.
Once done, everyone else is served, and no one has left yet, and you will see why.
Now, this part of the wedding is over. The wedding now becomes a celebration of community. The worship center has been quickly transformed into a serving area and food is brought in by all those who are attending. Much of the food is specially prepared, Indian recipes, passed down from generation to generation. And look who is doing all the serving. You guessed it. Marcella took care of the whole thing. She made sure all got what they wanted and everyone had plenty to eat. She is a professional at this part. I even got to eat.
To make it a done-deal, the minister has to have the Certificate of Marriage signed, and then needs a witness to sign it.
An important tradition! She, who catches the bridal bouqet will be the next to wed. The bride turns around backwards and tosses the flowers over her head, where all the non-married, eligible young ladies have an opportunity to catch it.
Sunshine no longer has her old name. She now has a new name, and Don has a new wife. But wait, what is that written on the front of the car. Maybe they ran out of white Sparky. FUMBI??? Maybe it should have been FUMBLE? You think?
Of course there are cans behind the car as they head out to their destination. But there is one more thing to take care of.
Now it is time for The Indian Way. Marcella is honored for all her work, with an Indian blanket. No one else at the wedding received one. Of course, Marcella didn't expect anything, but that is THE INDIAN WAY, a tradition that is passed on at pow wows, Indian gatherings, and, of course, weddings. Is this cool or what, to live in INDIAN COUNTRY, AMERICA? And we are thankful that Sunshine's mother is smiling down from heaven on the new relationship.
(c) Dale Hill (2006)
I'm standing behind the pulpit. You can see Sunshine's father and mother, at the far left. Her mother has a nice hat on, to cover her hairless head from her fight against cancer. What a precious opportunity we have to make a difference in someones life.
The entire court. This was my time to shine. For the next 20 minutes, I had the full and undivided attention, as we took picture after picture of what each side of the family would need.
The guests, waited in the educational wing, which was decorated with the WEDDING CAKE and the groom's cake, a tradition that holds in most of our US weddings. Can you guess what the grooms' cake represents?
It's a basketball in school colors. While Sunshine is from Cache, he graduated from Indiahoma, a hop-skip and a jump to the north. After the cut, they feed each other, and then, ... and then the toast. Once done, everyone else is served, and no one has left yet, and you will see why.
Now, this part of the wedding is over. The wedding now becomes a celebration of community. The worship center has been quickly transformed into a serving area and food is brought in by all those who are attending. Much of the food is specially prepared, Indian recipes, passed down from generation to generation. And look who is doing all the serving. You guessed it. Marcella took care of the whole thing. She made sure all got what they wanted and everyone had plenty to eat. She is a professional at this part. I even got to eat.
To make it a done-deal, the minister has to have the Certificate of Marriage signed, and then needs a witness to sign it.
An important tradition! She, who catches the bridal bouqet will be the next to wed. The bride turns around backwards and tosses the flowers over her head, where all the non-married, eligible young ladies have an opportunity to catch it.
Sunshine no longer has her old name. She now has a new name, and Don has a new wife. But wait, what is that written on the front of the car. Maybe they ran out of white Sparky. FUMBI??? Maybe it should have been FUMBLE? You think?
Of course there are cans behind the car as they head out to their destination. But there is one more thing to take care of.
Now it is time for The Indian Way. Marcella is honored for all her work, with an Indian blanket. No one else at the wedding received one. Of course, Marcella didn't expect anything, but that is THE INDIAN WAY, a tradition that is passed on at pow wows, Indian gatherings, and, of course, weddings. Is this cool or what, to live in INDIAN COUNTRY, AMERICA? And we are thankful that Sunshine's mother is smiling down from heaven on the new relationship.
(c) Dale Hill (2006)
