THERE IS HOPE

Last week, about mid week, we finally got a whiff of cooler weather. It was about the time the rodeo kicked off which, for some reason, seems to be a time that the weather cycle always, at least tries, to change. A big front blew through, changed the wind direction and some of us even got some rain. The official Armes gauge which is the one I live and die by showed half inch. Summer is by no means over but at least we know that this high pressure dome might not be welded on top of us. We’re still in a drought, still got lots more hot days ahead and yes kids, school will be open soon. That little change of weather, I believe, actually perked everyone up and boy did we need it. That little brief respite will pale in comparison to the first good rain we get, when that happens, but the important thing is we may be close to breaking this strangle hold that mother nature seems to have on our part of the world and as they say “it aint’ over till it’s over” but I’ll guarantee ya at some point its coming. I’ve talked to people all over this part of the country especially farmers and ranchers and they are all pretty down but its coming guys and its going to look different. Before you global warming folks all start tuning up and arguing that we’ve killed our planet with hairspray and cars just remember that some parts of the United States are dealing with mud. I had a couple of bulldogger friends that rested some horses at my house during last week’s rodeo and they said that up in Kansas they were dealing with a muddy arena so it’s not everywhere but it is our reality here. Speaking of rodeo, what a great show the Lawton Rangers put on this year. With a record hot summer and a tough economy those guys cowboyed up and brought it. No reason to doubt them because they’ve been bringin’ it for 73 years now. One thing I did happen to see as I was visiting with Charlie Throckmorton the announcer was the number of scratches on the entry sheets. Those guys can travel thousands of miles and not make a check and with fuel as high as it is it makes it tough for them to travel and if they don’t draw well they almost can’t afford to come, even so a large number still made it to the Rangers Rodeo this year. So I hope everyone got to go out and enjoy one of the biggest events we have here in Southwest Oklahoma.

By the time this hits the paper and your mailbox, the kids will be headed back to school and before we know it it’ll be Fall fair time and we’ll look up and it’ll be cooler, people will be out moving, buying and selling, swapping and trading, and the wheat drills will be rolling in anticipation of next years wheat crop. We’ve got some rough waters ahead but if we get a little bit of rain and some wheat starts coming up this country will look good again.

In the political arena Congress is in recess, but at least they hammered out somewhat of a budget deal, and the fact that no one seems happy may indicate that it wasn’t too bad. I think most Americans just want them to handle it and get things done and try to stay out of our lives as much as they can. On the State level the budget seems to be looking up and I really believe as we come out of the doldrums of this extra hot summer, business across the state will pick up as people get out and about. We’ve seen the State revenue flatten over the last few weeks and I can’t help but think some of that has to be heat but I’m optimistic about fall and of course all of you sportsmen know what September 1st means, it’s almost dove season and if it continues to be dry they’ll be easy to spot, just find what’s left of a water hole and I think you’ll find birds. So even though we’ve been through the toughest summer I can remember, I have to think that there is hope.

If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute. ~Gil Stern