Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

by Shelley Fowler

My physical body is sitting at the computer table. My eyes are looking at a blank page on the monitor. Shiloh’s furry head is resting upon my left foot. And sitting on the table is a cup of green tea which is rapidly cooling with each sip. The wash machine just finished its rinse cycle and there are almost muted voices radiating from the television.

And yet, my mind has taken me far away from this table, this monitor, the tepid tea and Shiloh’s warmth upon my foot. The past has bumped against the present, and I can not only see but also feel with such clarity that which once meant so much to not only me, but my entire family – the sadness and then the joy of Easter. And my remembrance comes with the sensation of once again being that little chubby girl with long brown hair and eyes to match who embraced the story with such innocent faith, wonder and gladness. (Note: the gladness came only after we got Jesus off the cross and resurrected!)

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

The lights flickered, but never went out. The wind beat its tempo against the side of the house, but it didn’t knock down the door. The snow fell, but not upon earth that was cold and frozen. Traffic stopped, but not for long. Cows put their tails to the wind, but they didn’t die.

Yes, I’d say that the 2009 March blizzard was a delightful snowy interlude compared to the 2006 New Year’s Eve blizzard that left icy snow on the ground for over a month!

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

  So…..I had this week’s column all written. I finished it late at night, planning to read it over with fresh eyes and mind the next morning before submitting it for publication. I rose early – even before the birds and sun – and with a cup of coffee in hand, began editing what my heart had written just a few hours hence.

  I ended up deleting the column. Going back to the beginning – a white, blank screen upon the computer monitor – because I realized that now is not the time to talk about the subjects I believe are the root causes of our woes: greed and the mentality of ’entitlement’. No – for this day, for this week, I have decided that it’s much more important to focus above and beyond the crisis of clamorous cacophony currently rippling across the country.

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler      

I’ve never doubted his intelligence! Nor his propensity for being unruly when a man walks in the house. At which time he acts like any young boy and wants only to wrestle. But, laying aside those stories for now, I want to concentrate on the smartness of one of my kids…..Shiloh, The Wonder Dog!

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

   Recently I was “tagged” by several friends to share “25 Things About Me”. I decided to pass some of the tidbits of information on to all of you. Now you’ll know a little more about (and the history of) the writer of “Off The Cuff”.

•   I really like coffee…with one packet of pink ‘fake’ sugar and a splash of creamer.
•   There was a time when I was addicted to a Nintendo game – The Legend of Zelda. But after I rescued the princess (twice) I never played again.
•   I once performed for the governor of OK and other state dignitaries. I accompanied myself on the piano, singing a song I’d written just for the occasion.
•   I love animals. At one time my yard was filled with five dogs; twenty-two cats; a giant rabbit, Ka-Bunni-Hopper; two adult ducks, Doodles/Donald and their 18 ducklings.

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

A couple of weeks ago I heard Oprah talking on TV. She was confessing to the world that she had gained weight…again. She was questioning why after all the various avenues of success she’s attained, permanent weight loss is the one goal that seems expert at eluding her. I listened to her words as I watched her face and noticed her body language. It appeared that Oprah was embarrassed, frustrated and apologetic. I wanted to reach through the TV screen and clamp my hand over her mouth. And remind her that she has nothing to be embarrassed about, nor does she have anything to apologize for.

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

Several months ago I read an article about the fact that the number of sparrows flitting through the air is declining. It seems our little feathered friends are being pushed aside and starved out by bigger and more aggressive birds (think Asian collared doves) whose populations are increasing. I had noticed even before I read the story that I was seeing fewer sparrows as I traveled the northwestern part of the state. And I was aware that I wasn’t often hearing their chirping song. Thus, I was dismayed to think that our most common avian buddy, the little brown sparrow, was possibly on its way to becoming like the dodo bird….extinct!

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

In a mere few hours the clock by which we measure dates and time will sweep us into 2009. But before then, before I’m forced to take a giant eraser and clean my old, cluttered slate, and before I discard the written-all-over and used up calendar for a pristine new one, I will have taken time to look backwards across the expanse of the past twelve months. There I have found the lessons – some hard-pressed, some simply accepted – which shaped and now measure who I am, what I believe, where I’ve been and where I’m going.

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

So there I was…standing in the shower and asking God to bless me with inspiration for this column as I rinsed Pantene conditioner out of my hair. I was hoping for some upbeat and cheery thought, some wise or witty words to lift all our spirits and help guide us not only to Christmas but into the next year. Well, instead of offering me light and lyrical, He laid upon my spirit two serious questions:

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

While trying to compose this week’s column, my mind kept running into diverse memories of past experiences I had encountered during this time of year. I couldn’t seem to bring them into cohesiveness, so I decided to give them to you as moments in time….

*************

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Off the Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

Even though I try to live each day with a thankful heart, I am glad that there is a specific day set aside when all of us are reminded that giving thanks is very important.

I know that it may seem that the special Thursday is all about preparing and then devouring the dear turkey and all its trimmings. Or it may be that the allure of the day is watching football games on a full stomach. Or possibly, the day of thanks is actually just the day before the race for giant store sales.

But, hopefully there is a minute or two in the day when almost everyone stops and thinks, then gives thanks for all their blessings, big and small. Here are a few things that fill my heart with thankfulness.

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Off the Cuff

by  Shelley Fowler

I’ve been feeling rather nostalgic lately. Yearning for the good old days. Not the times of a hundred years hence, but of a mere forty years ago. Back when common sense and personal freedoms were allowed – and even celebrated! Back to the days which my great-niece, Ariana, aged 10, could not imagine ever existed!

Remember when our houses weren’t cluttered with TV’s in every room? And when electronic gadgets, cell phones, computers and the internet didn’t rule our lives and time? Such technology I put in two categories – they are both boons and boondoggles! We now have the capability to instantly reach out and touch the far ends of the earth, but we’re forgetting the glory of reaching out and actually talking to our friends and family who are sitting in the same room with us and living in the same town!

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

Several months ago, Marvin asked me a question in theory. As in, “What would you do if I was on a trip and you didn’t hear from me for several days because there was no cell phone service available?”. Without hesitation and quite glibly I bravely responded, “Well, that’s easy! I would trust God that you were okay, I wouldn’t worry and I’d patiently wait for the phone to ring.”

Well, little did I know then that my reply would come back and bite me several nights ago!

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Off The Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

Oh, but if only I were an ostrich right now! Or at least, oh but if only I could do that which folklore (incorrectly) tells us an ostrich does when threatened by truth and reality, which is stick its head in a nearby hole or a pile of shifting sand!

But, alas! I am not even close to being such a feathered bird. Instead, I am one of 303,824,640 souls living within the boundaries of a country named the United States of America. And, like the rest of you, now is not the time to bury my head, nor my conscience, in those proverbial places. Nor is it the time to allow my voice to be silenced, or at the very least, muffled as I walk beside all those souls down a very precarious path that will become a fork in the road in less than a month!

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Off the Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

Two weeks have passed since I beckoned you all to join Dusty Reins (aka Marvin) and I at the museum to celebrate our photo exhibit, “Chasing the Light in Cimarron County”. And since I haven’t written a column since then you have no idea what happened at the opening. So, let me fill you in on the details!

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Reins, Fowler Exhibit Their Work at Heritage Center

The photo exhibit by Dusty Reins and Shelley Fowler now on display in the French Building at the Cimarron Heritage Center is not something you should miss.

Just as Reins explained in his interview for the Aug. 27 issue of The Boise City News, there is a decided difference in how Fowler as a trained artist in water color and glass and Reins as a chronicler of history see their subjects. Her vision as a budding photographer, is definitely affected by her art.

Her shot of a bashful tortoise, has the look of a water color as she captured the mottled hide of the reptile. Other of her photos are a rusting 1950 Ford, two sunflowers, a Cicada on a chain link fence, and Boise City’s East Main at sunset.

Reins, on the other hand goes for a different look, his are affected by history. It makes no difference if it’s a lonely tree lapping up water from a playa lake near a craggy outcropping of rock; a close-up of “the preacher” in the wedding party near Kenton; the Griggs Store, or the original three states marker, with 1881 carved in its face, Reins has you looking into the past.

The photos, mounted on a clothes line will run through September. The 11×14 art can be yours for $35 each. Drop by and take a look.

 

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Amarillo Photographic Artist Will Show Work at Cimarron Heritage Center

 

 This Saturday, from 1 to 4 p.m., the Cimarron Heritage Center will host a reception in honor of the showing of photographs shot by Dusty Reins, of Amarillo, and Cimarron County’s Shelley Fowler.

The exhibit is titled “Chasing the Light in Cimarron County” and features photos taken all over the county by Reins and Fowler.

Reins is the nom de plume, of Marvin Morgenstern, of Amarillo.

By phone to the Boise City News, Morgenstern/Reins explained that he was a Mass Communications major at Texas Tech in the 1970s when he came up with the name.

“I had recently gone to work for a country radio station. I needed an on air name, and I’d been using Morgan Stern on another venue, and it didn’t work. I was going between classes, and I got hit with dust, rained on and then dusted again…I became Dusty Reins.”

Reins is a 1971 graduate of Amarillo’s Caprock High School.

“I have been doing photography since grade school, and when I got to Bowie Junior High they had a yearbook, so I joined. Later I took photography classes at Tech.”

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Off the Cuff

by Shelley Fowler

I have been trying to think of an apt analogy that would convey with clarity how I’m feeling about the photo exhibit Dusty and I are preparing to share with all of you. The only image that keeps popping up in my brain is that of Lady Godiva riding a white steed down cobblestoned streets!

After pondering the “why” of such an odd comparison I realize that it is indeed quite fitting! For I am preparing to be (figuratively, of course) naked before the world, allowing whosoever chooses to view, examine, critique and hopefully appreciate parts of my body. Or rather, parts of my body of work that express and expose pieces of my soul as seen through the lens of a camera.

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