Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: Is It Really That Big a Deal?

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I recently went to cover an interim study about drones also known as UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). During the study, much was said about personal security and what needs to be done to make sure that our right to privacy is kept just that…private.

UAVs are here to stay. Get used to it but realize that your privacy may be invaded a little bit but it’s nothing to be worried about. If law enforcement do use a UAV to track a suspect, they may need to fly over your property but they aren’t spying on you or gathering info about you. They are simply following the shortest path to get where they need to be to collect info about someone who is actually breaking the law. This issue was discussed in great detail and when the final law is enacted, you’re privacy will be covered.

In recent days, I’ve read articles about the town in Colorado that wants to shoot down UAVs. That’s a little bit extreme and always makes me wonder, what are they hiding???? Why the paranoia? Does the government really invade our privacy that much? Well if you’re watching the news about the Edward Snowden case and the NSA, good possibility. Maybe the paranoia is a little warranted but I truly believe the government isn’t out to get everyone. They are out to protect us but if you aren’t doing anything wrong, don’t worry about. Maybe I’m naïve but I try to keep an open mind until such time as something happens to me or my family.

What many people don’t realize is the good that UAVs can do. Farmers are beginning to use them to be able to check their cattle and land especially when there is snow and ice on the ground to the point that they can’t get out in vehicles to do so. They can fly over and not be hampered buy the hazardous conditions. Forestry fire divisions are using them to fly over suspect areas to check on fire conditions instead of having to send someone in person into a hazardous situation. Places like Colorado should understand that quite well. In this week’s video blog, we look at the issue of UAVs in our skies.

Alisa Hines

Tactical Electronics Up in the Air from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: Obamacare

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I know a lot of people don’t really like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) otherwise known as Obamacare but I’m not really sure why. I’ve heard all the rhetoric from the far right and must say that they really are a doom and gloom bunch. Some of what they say could be true but I believe much of it is more of a scare tactic towards people who won’t take the time to research what the ACA really says and will believe anything they hear whether or not it’s correct which is really sad. Is it perfect? No, but I believe that it is something that will help many, many people.

For example, I have a friend who has cancer. For a while now, he hasn’t been able to have any insurance. His insurance company cancelled his policy when he was diagnosed. That really bothers me that insurance companies which we pay into for a policy can cancel our policies just because they don’t want the expense. Isn’t that what they are for? Anyway, he has to pay out of pocket and rack up lots of bills for his cancer treatment. It’s bad enough that he was diagnosed with a disease that kills people but not knowing how he can afford to pay for his treatments is something he shouldn’t have to worry about. Now with the ACA, he doesn’t have to worry. And that’s what it’s all about. It is forcing insurance companies to cover the really necessary treatments that they should have been covering all along.

The other thing that really affects me even though I have insurance currently, is what would happen when I retire in a couple of years? See I have a pre-existing condition of Diabetes. It’s something that evidently runs in my family (I’m adopted so I have no idea what medical conditions I could come down with but evidently Diabetes is one of them) and I developed it in mid-life. But many insurance companies won’t even let you sign up with them with a pre-existing condition like my disease. And some of my medications are expensive even with insurance and I haven’t even needed to think about insulin yet so have no idea how much that will cost me when I do have to start using it. So the thought that I wouldn’t be covered by insurance in later life really scares me. But not anymore, because the ACA guarantees I will be covered regardless of any pre-existing conditions.

Those are just two examples where the ACA is helping people out. Does it need some work? Yes and I think that eventually the fixes it needs will be addressed. This is a good thing for those who need insurance and either can’t afford it, have a pre-existing condition, or have had their policies cancelled do to an illness they didn’t ask for. Can we afford it? Well if we were to get rid of the “pork” we’ve been paying for for a long time now, I think we can. We just have to have politicians who are willing to slice and dice the budget and get rid of things we don’t need and take care of funding what really helps the people.

In today’s video blog, we visit with an Oklahoma state Senator who is also an emergency room doctor who also agrees that the ACA is a good thing even though his political party trys to say it isn’t.
Alisa Hines

On the Horizon: Obamacare from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: Digging Up History

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I’ve always been interested in archeology. If there is a show on television that has anything to do with it, I watch it. History was always one of my favorite subjects in school although I do have to admit, if it’s anything from 1900 forward not so much. It’s too “current” for me to enjoy. I really like the ancient history topics. I even did extra credit in high school by going through an extra history book. It’s just really fascinating to me.

Imagine my surprise while shooting a story for OK Horizon, I was told by a person that I could actually volunteer my time to digging up history. I was certainly excited. The only problem was…I simply didn’t have time. But a few years later after my children grew up and left home, I revisited the thought and looked up the Oklahoma Anthropological Society (OAS) online and found out how I could get involved. They told me about an upcoming dig and said come on out and find out for yourself whether you like it or not. So I did. Well I was hooked and the rest, as they say, was history.

The OAS does two digs a year, one in the Spring and one in the Fall. They do them in conjunction with the Oklahoma Archeological Society. Archeologists and Anthropologists from OU and OSU jointly do the digs and they use the OAS volunteers to help them dig. It’s the one time that school rivalry is set aside and everyone gets along and really enjoy themselves. Volunteers from all walks of life come out for each week-long dig. Some stay all week and some only come for a day or two. They come from all over the state and even a few come from out of state to help.

It is hard work but at the same time, at least for me, it’s a time to de-stress. As you are concentrating so hard on the task in front of you, all thoughts of everything else simply drift away. You use muscles that you’ve forgotten you had. By the end of the time you are there, you are exhausted but enthused. Little objects that come out of the ground make everyone really excited and the thought that no one has seen or held these objects for a thousand years or more is simply awe inspiring.
In today’s video blog, see what it’s like to dig up some Oklahoma history.
Alisa Hines

On the Horizon: Digging Up History from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon–The Road Less Traveled

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Family farms have been a tradition in America for years. From crops to livestock, farmers keep the grocery stores shelves stocked and the clothes racks full.

A trend that is emerging is the average age of farmers is increasing and less and less young farmers are coming up to take their place. With the global population nearing nine billion, a small amount of people are presented with the task of feeding and clothing more with less.

Despite this grim scenario, a young couple in Western Oklahoma are bucking the trends and have a farm and then some. I was able to spend a couple days with the Base family at their farm in Geary, Okla. It was easy to see their passion for agriculture and it was obvious to see how dedicated they are.

In today’s video blog, we take a look at the Base Vines and Cattle farm. Diversity doesn’t begin to describe what the Base family does. They seem to have their hands in all things agriculture. They have a little bit of traditional and a little bit of nontraditional. All in all they are definitely doing their part in feeding the world.

Andy Barth

On the Horizon: Variety on the Farm from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Pesto Party

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Our kitchen smells like buttery toasty garlic-y basil.

Tonight at 8:15 p.m. I was so tired I had contemplated going to bed when I recalled a phone call from my younger daughter a few days earlier.

“I’m going to get a few groceries, mom.  What do I need to make pesto?”

And so the discussion about pine nuts and parmesan began.

So I was sitting there, recalling that discussion about pine nuts and parmesan and  looked over at her.

“Hey, I know it’s 8:15, it’s dark outside, and it feels late…but do you want to make your pesto tonight?”

She’s been living with us since July and I really haven’t had that many meal preps in the kitchen with her.  I felt like I wanted to bond.  To create our own “farm to fork” night right in my kitchen.  The basil in my garden is almost waist high.  The timing was now.

“Yeah,” she said.  “Let’s do it.”

My heart smiled and my legs pushed me out of my comfy chair.  Before long the entire island was covered with parts of a food processor, garlic infused oil she had brought from California a few months earlier, loads of sweet smelling basil, and her groceries.

We deleafed basil, shredded cheese, measured ingredients, chopped, and presto! Or, should I write…PESTO!?

The oily, complex flavor was delicious.

But the time in my kitchen with my daughter working by my side was even better.

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: The Sauce Tomato Crucible

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PicsArt_1378691620801There are always the less-than-lovelies.  And, they have a purpose.

My sauce tomatoes are not sliced nor diced.  They are not stuffed with glorious salads, nor wedged and placed on top of beautiful pizzas.

My sauce tomatoes have a mission.  They are ridded of spots, bruises, overripe sections and holes bored by grasshoppers.  They are lovingly washed and quartered, then inspected before being packed into my sauté pan.

My sauce tomatoes were born for blending into spicy fresh salsas. Or, for pairing up with herbs from the garden and garlic to reduce into something beautiful.

My sauce tomatoes were made for simmering, for steaming, and for bubbling aromatically.

And tonight’s batch was extra-tangy-amazingly…saucy.

Bravissimo!

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Salsa Like Wine

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Who needs chips?  A spoonful into my mouth, oh my…I close my eyes.

Green coolness, fragrantly salted hits the tip of my tongue and

Garden onion aroma goes up my nose;

Black pepper accompanies the bite 

And as it slides toward my throat I taste

Fire grilled chilis, and a garlic finish.

I exhale to recall the savory essence of my homegrown

Salsa Verde, vintage 2013.

A very garden-y year.

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Art, Big Screen

When Rejection Feels Like a Warm Blanket: How Pixar Let Me Down Oh-So Gently

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I decided Katherine Sarafian was the bees knees after watching a film clip of how she guided the historical and topographical research for her Pixar project, “Brave.”

“If anyone would understand my book, Georgie the Giant,” I thought, “it would be her.” Go big or go home, right?

So I reviewed the Pixar website prior to sending her my book. Warnings and kind messages about “not accepting unsolicited materials” were in several places. So I ignored them.

Instead, I did more research, then I wrote this letter:

0109_001By the way, on the other side of the letter, I simply wrote: “I do hope so. Sincerely, Kelly Roberts”

I then lovingly packaged up a copy of Georgie after writing a “fan-note” to Ms. Sarafian on the inside cover, slid my letter into the bundle and headed to the post office.

[Flash Forward Two Weeks] Continue reading When Rejection Feels Like a Warm Blanket: How Pixar Let Me Down Oh-So Gently →

Oklahoma Cooking

My Kitchen Utensils Deserve a Service Award

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This past weekend I was preparing pan fried okra.  I gently lifted one of my range fed eggs from its nest in the carton. My left hand opened the refrigerator, grabbed the milk, and closed the door in one fluid sequence. My fingers slid over the smooth chrome edge as I choose the proper sized mixing bowl.  I instinctively pivoted and opened my kitchen utensil drawer and lowered my hand to grab my Kitchen Aid medium sized whisk.  The muscle memory in my hand was already preparing for the size of its handle and the weight distribution of its shape.

And then my brain jolted.  I stopped my “cooking dance” and pulled the drawer open further.  Where was my whisk?  I searched back, back, back…and…oh.  We had a potluck dinner at work and I had taken it with me to prep the Caprese salad dressing right before serving time.

Bummer.

I poked around in the drawer here and there, dissatisfied.  But then I spied my mother’s old spiral, or spring, whisk.  She had given it to Rylee, and it was back in my drawer now that Ry was living with us for a while.

My best guess was that my mother had received it as a wedding shower gift.  It had certainly been in the family for as long as I could remember.

“Okay,” I thought.  “I’ll give it a whirl.” And then I giggled because I had just made a pun.

About eight seconds later I was looking at a perfectly mixed egg and milk batter with beautiful, frothy bubbles floating on top.

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“Wow! So much for my whining,” I thought to myself.  “Good for you, old spiral whisk.  You’ve still got it in you.”

It’s possible that whisk is fifty years old.  How may meals has it served our family?  How many meals have we served because the whisk served its purpose for us?

I finished my okra, then respectfully washed the whisk and picked up a tea towel to finish the job.  Walking back to my utensil drawer, I decided that the whisk needed a more respectful place and so I rearranged just a bit before closing the drawer again.

Yeah, I’ll give a whirl again.  Very soon.

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Faith

Volunteers for Jesus

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I re-read the writing prompt for today’s NaBloPoMo post: “Do you enjoy doing volunteer work? Is there anywhere you volunteer right now?”

My gut reactions to these questions were, “I’m not sure” and “Is there anywhere I don’t volunteer right now?” When I’m stressed, I regress. I could tell by the instinctual rolling of my eyes and my gut reaction to these questions that it was 8:18 on Labor Day morning and I was already becoming stressed by innocent writing prompts.

Volunteerism was ingrained by every social element of my childhood. Volunteerism has been encouraged by the church to which I belong for the last thirty years. I have served on professional organization or non-profit boards for the past twelve years, and I was even elected the “Service Learning Faculty of the Year” at Oklahoma State University in 2009. The elements of my volunteerism have become so numerous that when I try to tease them apart with mental tweezers, it’s as if my volunteerism timeline jumps back together into one, sticky, hypermagnatized blob.

And that blob invades my life. And my husband’s life…and my children’s.

Mick mows the yard for neighbors and family when they’re on vacation. My children volunteered for clean-up work after the recent tornado hit Moore, Oklahoma. I continue to provide therapy to at least one client weekly at free or reduced costs, and have for the past ten years. I still volunteer to provide services to low-income or vulnerable population couples at marriage enrichment retreats. I still volunteer to play the piano in our church praise band when I’m able.

“Do you enjoy doing volunteer work?”

Yes. Usually. But the enjoyment generally comes after the work commences. I wrestle with my choices to be at a certain place of responsibility until the moment I begin the work. But then my mind quits struggling with the “whether or nots”, or that particular work-of-the-day and engages with the opportunity, the people, the hope that my efforts and the efforts of those around me make a difference.

“Is there anywhere you volunteer right now?”

Yes. There are places I volunteer right now. And there will always be places I volunteer until I die. And, that sentence I just wrote was not hyperbole, it’s really true.

How can I be so certain? I know this because my family has prepared me for volunteerism, and still does, since I was born and will until they die.

Case in point: Last week my husband was mowing my parents lawn because they are on an extended vacation. So, while he was working I went over to check on my grandmother who had evidently been cooking for a while. As I walked in the door I smelled fried okra, pork chops and gravy. I also spied tomatoes, fresh zuchinni bread, and tea.

“Wow,” I thought. “She’s 92 and she’s just whipped out a full dinner in not a whole lot of time. Cripes!” Continue reading Volunteers for Jesus →