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Too bad we belatedly had to
travel over the sleek, modern bridges my brothers built not too long ago.
And, even worse, not knowing it. The terrain on the way to Alva, Oklahoma
made the wheat fields around Ponca City appear as ponds up beside an
ocean. There were stretches to show the new green shoots in a battle for
this year’s scant, moisture.
When we drove in closer to
the town, tall, concrete, grain elevators were sprinkled over the flat
lands. Those along with the elegant rambling brick homes often beside two
generations of the family’s older homes created a story without writing it.
Oil wells pumping quietly in one of their fields lent their offering as
well.
The college where our
daughter was to graduate was the central part of Alva, really. The buildings
were up on a higher ridge to our left. We drove through a valley that
dropped down on to the main street named Flynn.
“Looks like this might be an
Irish settlement,” I mentioned to Rodney. “They saved the flat lands for
farming and worthless, hilly places for the town. That great water tower on
the highest space is decorated with abstract drawings of running horses.” I
noticed.
We enjoyed a very good meal
at the Dairy Queen with my sister and one of my brothers, who helped build
the bridges we traveled over. He treated us with tidbits of information
about the area one of which was about the great salt plains approximately
twenty miles east of Alva.
Local residents filtered in
and out and I could have been on the green meadows of Ireland instead of the
wind swept plains of Alva. There were lovely maidens with long curls of red
tresses. Another girl has fair skin, rosy cheeks and long hair that is
hanging in shining lengths of gold. The children carried on their hips as
the Irish women of my own blood did were at one with the world and already
had a look of interest for the world around them. I felt a bit like I was on
a stone bridge in Brigadoon, that story book town of another time by their
neighboring land of Scotland.
A stylized picture of Kay being handed her Bachelor's degree. First time
she graduated Suma Cum Laude with her Associates. This time she graduated
Magna Cum Laude.
This is the procession and I was trying to catch
my daughter, Kay's photo, as she was walking up to the front. She is
grinning the happiest of smiles.
Here Kay is holding up her coveted honor's
medal. So much work but
finally seeing the end of this part of it.
The proud uncle, my brother, part of Kay's cheering section. Kay's
husband's family was all there, too. There were two rows who stood up and
cheered as she walked across the stage. Hopefully, that big family of teens
and younger ones will be encouraged to work for their degrees, too.
Rhonda was there through all the years of home-schooling, baby sitting with
Kay's little ones and
I'm sure she was as happy and thrilled as I, to see her sister graduate. I
will always treasure
this picture. What a joyful evening we all had. After graduation we went to
the Pizza Hut in
Blackwell to celebrate. I would have enjoyed the reception at the school
but Kay was concerned
about taking all the children and teenagers we had with us to that. Anyway,
the Pizza was wonderful and we certainly enjoyed our friends, Albert and
Cheryl Schmidt, who were there with us. |
