a.d. elliott - Take the Back Roads

  Dear Henry, While I was in Orlando, at the Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe , I decided to enjoy the luxury of the hot tub and ended up hanging out with quite a crowd. Of course, "What brought you to Orlando?" came up. While I had a feeling my answer, that I had come to visit the shrine, would throw a wet blanket on the party, I was unprepared for a shocked "You're Catholic, and you admit it?" from a guy in the far corner of the pool.  "Uh, yes. I don't know why I wouldn't," was all I could think of saying (I also made a mental note to work on my evangelical skills, especially when I'm on the spot). It turns out so was he, but because of the recent negative press, he was uneasy admitting it. But, yes, Henry, I am a Catholic, and what's more, I'm a convert to the faith.  I get asked why a lot. So many people are currently rethinking the need for religion with all of its rules and restrictions. Honestly, there have been quite ...

Dear Henry, We had a bunch of hotel and airline points that were about to expire. With the city of Orlando's post-COVID push to bring in tourists, I decided to schedule a trip to the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, for the solemnity of All Saint's Day. I've always felt like any trip that comes together quickly means that it is a trip you are supposed to take, and so, even though I'm still not sure how one "pilgrims" off, I flew to Orlando to check out the shrine. The concept for this basilica began in the early 1970s, after the completion of Disney World and the large influx of tourists that the theme park brought. It was designed by Rogers, Lovelock, and Fritz and is adapted from St. Peter's Basilica floorplan. However, it would take nearly 15 years of fundraising before the ground was broken on August 22, 1990, on the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Completing the 2,000-seat church would take more than two and a half y...

  Dear Henry, I'm currently in the middle of a class on the Holy Spirit by Father Dave Pivonka called The Wild Goose. During the film, Father Pivonka spoke of being on a flight that, because an unruly passenger had locked themselves in the bathroom, had to be re-routed and land so that the passenger could be removed by the police. The plane, then again, had to re-route because it needed to refuel. He used this as an example of how life can get out of control and how, through our faith, we should be able to speak to one another with love and kindness (aka talk with the Holy Spirit), even in bad situations. Immediately, I thought about the worst flight I was ever on, from Hawaii to Dallas, where I was stuck in the back of the plane, in between two big guys and behind another - who was super awesome and laid his seat all of the way back. It was a grueling eight-hour flight, and I was in so much pain that I practically crawled off the plane in Dallas, and despite wearing compression so...

 Dear Henry, Do you remember the song "This Land is Your Land"?   The song always brings back memories of elementary school. One of my teachers was an avid Woody Guthrie fan and would always (with his guitar) play us this song. Still, I knew very little about Woody Guthrie himself until the other day when Fish and I went downtown to see the Woody Guthrie Center. The first part of the tour starts with a short biographical film and then a self-guided biographical walk that details Woody's life. He has a great story. Woody Guthrie ( see his Everyday Patriot biography here ) was an Oklahoma native. He was born in 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma, a small town about an hour southwest of Tulsa and an hour east of Oklahoma City. The land was once Quapaw and Osage ( read a story of the Osage Nation here ) but was relinquished to the US Government in 1825. The government assigned the land to the Muscogee (Creek) people in 1830. The town's land opened up for purchase by people of non-n...

Dear Henry, Last week, I officially crossed into the realm of "Old Person" (my AARP new membership sign-up package has already arrived in the mail), and I wanted to celebrate by doing something awesome. I love The Outsiders (both the movie and the book); fortunately, we live near the Outsiders House Museum. So stopping by to recreate the Two-Bit Mathews (played by Emilio Estevez) Chocolate-Cake-And-Beer scene seemed like the perfect way to celebrate.  The house is located in the Crutchfield neighborhood of Tulsa, and most homes were constructed during the 1920 and 1930s. The area is within walking distance of Dow Chemical and the former Oklahoma Steel Castings Company and once housed the production staff of both companies. While the neighborhood was always the home of the working class, it was, until the late 1970s, considered a "good" neighborhood. However, the oil crises of the 1970s and the closing of the casting company completely destroyed the neighborhood'...

 Dear Henry, While I was growing up, some of my favorite books were the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder and  Little House on the Prairie . A couple of years ago, I was able to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri, and to check out all of the china (including her chicken egg holder) that she had somehow managed to cart about the plains in a covered wagon, a feat, I should add, that I am still highly impressed with. Coincidently, it was around the time of my visit to the Missouri site that the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal was being renamed the Children's Literature Legacy Award because of statements made about Native American peoples in the Little House on the Prairie books. Most of the damning language occurred in the series' second book, which was written about the short time the family spent living near what is now Independence, Kansas. Only it wasn't Kansas when the Ingalls moved there, it was the Osage Diminished Reserve, and the Ingalls f...

 Dear Henry, I never told you about my trip to Savannah this year, did I? This past March, I traveled to Savannah, Georgia, for a long weekend. It was a much-needed trip and was the first I've taken since the COVID pandemic closed everything down.   I was excited about the journey, Savannah is an excellent place for history, and it is also the home of my middle son, who, because of the pandemic, hadn't been able to come home for some time. Savannah was established on February 12, 1733, when General James Oglethorpe and his group of settlers aboard the ship HMS Anne landed at Yamacraw Bluff. The river and city of  Savannah were hugely crucial during America's early years, and it became one of the vital export centers of cotton and timber for Europe.   The town is still a large shipping hub for the country, and spending hours watching the big cargo ships travel up the Savannah River is easy.  Unlike many other Southern cities, Savannah didn't suffer much...

 Dear Henry,  This year (and last year, really), I had plans. Lots of plans. Completing these plans by the end of this year seems doubtful. To refresh your memory ( read the full post here ): I had planned on working through the list of Gulf War fatalities for EverydayPatriot.com  to improve my Spanish speaking skills, to act more charitable in my opinions, and to read the entire bible this year. I also wanted to spruce up the new house and make it really pretty. The only goal that is going well is the bible reading, and primarily because I've been relying on Father Mike Schmitz's "Bible in a Year" podcast, I've been able to ride the coattails of his effort.   I had thought that my Spanish was improving until a gas pump incident a couple of months ago. You see, a Spanish-speaking gentleman was attempting to get gas from a non-working pump and was struggling to understand what he needed to do from the clerk (side note: speaking louder won't make someone suddenl...

 Dear Henry, A couple of weeks ago, Fish and I decided to take a day trip up Coffeyville Kanas to check out a museum the town had.   It's only about an hour away from Tulsa and was the site of what has come to be known as the "Dalton's Gang's Last Raid," and while neither one of us had more than a vague idea of who the Dalton Gang were, the town sounded like a great little adventure. Coffeyville, Kansas, was first established as a trading post in 1869 by Colonel James A. Coffey. Still, it would soon grow into a town when the Levenworth, Lawerence, and Galveston Railroad decided to establish a connection there and sent US Army Captain Napoleon Blanton to plan out a city. The town's name was decided by a coin toss between Colonel Coffey and Captain Blanton. With the addition of the railroad and the natural resources of the area (oil, gas, clay, silica), the town grew enough to support several banks. It would be these banks that drew the Daltons. The Dalton Gang ...