FROM SPONGE BOB TO HANNAH MONTANA

I attended a 6-year-old niece's birthday party yesterday and the party theme was "Hannah Montana". Everything she received had the Disney motif of Hannah. Just last year the theme of her party was "Sponge Bob". Interests of children varies so much from year-to-year. There is always a new fad or new artist that children become interested in from all the hype they see on television. It will be interesting to see who Steff is interested in this time next year. It was a fun party held at her great-grandmother's and great-grandfather's home. All the kids were in the pool cooling off while we oldsters were in the house cooling off with soft drinks. Her grandfather had the pleasure of grilling hot dogs and hamburgers out in the blistering heat that we are experiencing here in Oklahoma. It was 106 degrees, tying the record for August 3rd set in 1930. More of the same is forecasted for today. My son, Keith, and fiancee, Kelly, attended the party also.

My trip to the Winstar Casino in Thackerville on Wednesday turned out like all my other trips, a loser. When is it going to be my time to win? We had to get up at an ungodly hour of 3:00 am in order to get ready and arrive at the designated bus departure. Upon arrival at the casino we received a complimentary buffet breakfast and $10.00 in cash. Every 10 minutes a random drawing was held for $200.00. We also had a drawing on the bus for cash. Do you think I won any of these drawings? GUESS AGAIN!!!! My next losing trip will be at the Riverwind Casino in Norman on August 13th. If I didn't have so much fun LOSING, I would just stay at home.

Thursday was my day to volunteer at the military museum. I couldn't let the guys down and not take some baked goodies, so the minute I arrived home from the casino I baked a cake and some M&M cookies. I don't know how glad they would be to see me if my hands were empty!! We had so many nice visitors.

Keith, Kelly, and I had dinner out on Friday evening. We always have a good laugh and enjoy each other's company. We chose a buffet and all that food in front of me is my downfall. I just have to have some of everything. After all that is why it is there so it will be eaten. They just don't plan on me eating all of it.

I volunteered again on Saturday at the museum and had 130 visitors from all over the U.S. I was very impressed with a Boy Scout Troop on their way home to Wichita, KS from a 6-day camp-out at Talihina, OK. They were worn out from the heat and outside activities at the campsite, but the leaders and boys were still interested in making one more stop to learn about the equipment and the men who have fought in the various wars. I have never seen such well-mannered youngsters. Most of the scouts plan to go all the way to becoming an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting. If all young people had a goal and a mentor to help them carry out their goals, this would be a different world we live in.

I have never written too much about the 45th Infantry Division Museum but it is an awesome museum. With 27,000 square feet of exhibit space and a 15 acre park, there is much to see. The museum's mission statement is to collect, preserve, and display Militaria relative to the military history of the State of Oklahoma. Following World War I, the National Defense Act of 1920 created the authority to form the 45th Infantry Division from the four states of Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. After the Korean War the Division was restructured into an Infantry Brigade. I have so much to learn and appreciate about the history of the 45th. A lot of the volunteers served in the 45th. I did not come from a military family and know very little about the history, so I can't ever be as good a docent as they, but with their continued support, I will eventually be able to articulate to a visitor the history behind all the wars and artifacts displayed in the museum.

I am keeping busy and this week I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, work at museum on Thursday and Saturday and have lunch out on Friday in Guthrie, the original capitol of Oklahoma. Guthrie has so much history and the downtown area is being preserved as it was in olden days. My girlfriend, Geneva, that I will be having lunch with on Friday, went to school there and married there. She always drives me around town pointing out where she worked after high school, where she first met her late husband, where they were married and the different places they lived in before moving to Oklahoma City. Her late husband was a member of the 45th Infantry Division and she has a 50-year background of military, having been married to him for all those years.

It is so quiet in my neighborhood on these hot days. Everyone is out early or out late to water their yard and run their necessary errands. Very few children live near me, so there are none of them out playing and the older people, like me, just hibernate. I did go to the grocery store early this morning.

My grandson, Ryan, just called from Great Bend, KS on his return back to his college in Sterling, KS from Denver and Vail, Colorado. He has been coaching a soccer camp in Denver and playing on a soccer team in Vail. He just told me over the telephone all about his trip and I inquired about the temperatures there in Colorado. He said it had been hot all the time he was in Denver and in Vail he wore a jacket at night. He said they went up the mountain in a gondola in Vail and there was very little snow on the mountaintop. He is a wonderful grandson, so responsible and reliable. He is having experiences and making friends that he will cherish all his life.