Mother Nature is flashing her breasts today.
Happy Earth Day and Good Friday, everyone. (but really, shouldn't every day be Earth Day? And shouldn't every Friday be a good Friday?)
To honor Earth Day, I will do my best to not run over an animal on the streets, nor will I throw a plastic bottle into the bay. I will not cut up one of those six-pack can things that choke ducks and kill sea turtles, but neither will I purchase one. I will recycle.
Additionally, I will stop by Home Depot today and see if they have any honeysuckle starter plants, and if so, it will go home with me to be planted in our front garden along the short, white picket fence. (Yep, we have one. Livin' the dream.) Two days ago saw the planting of another apple seed and it is flourishing, so there's the planted tree thing on my end.
Not only is it Earth Day today, it is also Oklahoma Day. I wish you a joyous one.
What's that? You didn't know Oklahoma had a day, much less that it fell on Earth Day? Well, how dare you. Oklahoma and Earth go waaaay back and are total bffs (those abandoned oil well sites aside) and have been through many things. But, to be fair, I was also curious about the origins of my home state's official day, and decided to look it up.
Native American heritage is a big part of the state, especially since that's where the government decided to corral them all like animals, so we take our Native history seriously. Personally, I grew up in the Cherokee Nation, so it's like my all-time fave. (Go, Tsalagi!) Anywho, upon investigating the origins of OK Day, I wondered if it would in some way be a celebration of our many and varied Native heritages. Oh, hey. It's not. Quite the opposite as a matter of fact.
"Oklahoma Day, which is annually held on April 22, commemorates the date when the "Oklahoma Lands" area, which is now the state of Oklahoma, opened for European settlement."
....really?
....you mean we're to be celebrating the third raping of the land and its peoples??? THIS is what Oklahoma Day is celebrating? The day whitey came in and stole the land Native Americans were forced to live upon against their wishes and to the loss of many of their families and ancestral homes okay whatever. I'm sure it's fine that we celebrate that. Celebrate our state becoming whole. Much like a mail-order bride marrying her abusive husband and then getting trapped by numerous awful pregnancies - beg pardon.
Happy Oklahoma Day.
In a way, it's quite fitting, really. Earth Day. Oklahoma Day.
Earth continues to get fucked on a daily basis, but to appease it, we give it a day and say "Guess what you sexy whore? I'm gonna try to not pollute you [so much]. Just cause I like you, baby. You put up with all my shit. Here's a gift card. You go get yourself something special." then we request a sandwich afterward.
The area of land called Oklahoma falls under the jurisdiction of Earth, so it gets the above treatment, but also one more slap in the face by remembering and celebrating the day all the poor, desperate white folk (and some black folk) made an illegally early break for "free land" in order to make it the beacon of success it so obviously is today by starting a little bit before the officially sanctioned "Go Time." (That's why we're called the Sooner state.)
I should go get a few drinks after work tonight to celebrate this momentousness. That way, when I hurl into the streets after that last shot of tequila hits me wrong, it'll be like I'm giving some of myself back to the earth. I'll have to apologize in advance for the broken Jack bottle I will also shatter on the pavement later. Oops. Technically, that's probably littering. Maybe I'll create a holiday to commemorate it by saying how awesome the shatter effect was and how it now contributes to the local scene's Found Objects D'Art. That's cool, right?
I bet Jesus is severely disappointed.
To honor Earth Day, I will do my best to not run over an animal on the streets, nor will I throw a plastic bottle into the bay. I will not cut up one of those six-pack can things that choke ducks and kill sea turtles, but neither will I purchase one. I will recycle.
Additionally, I will stop by Home Depot today and see if they have any honeysuckle starter plants, and if so, it will go home with me to be planted in our front garden along the short, white picket fence. (Yep, we have one. Livin' the dream.) Two days ago saw the planting of another apple seed and it is flourishing, so there's the planted tree thing on my end.
Not only is it Earth Day today, it is also Oklahoma Day. I wish you a joyous one.
What's that? You didn't know Oklahoma had a day, much less that it fell on Earth Day? Well, how dare you. Oklahoma and Earth go waaaay back and are total bffs (those abandoned oil well sites aside) and have been through many things. But, to be fair, I was also curious about the origins of my home state's official day, and decided to look it up.
Native American heritage is a big part of the state, especially since that's where the government decided to corral them all like animals, so we take our Native history seriously. Personally, I grew up in the Cherokee Nation, so it's like my all-time fave. (Go, Tsalagi!) Anywho, upon investigating the origins of OK Day, I wondered if it would in some way be a celebration of our many and varied Native heritages. Oh, hey. It's not. Quite the opposite as a matter of fact.
"Oklahoma Day, which is annually held on April 22, commemorates the date when the "Oklahoma Lands" area, which is now the state of Oklahoma, opened for European settlement."
....really?
....you mean we're to be celebrating the third raping of the land and its peoples??? THIS is what Oklahoma Day is celebrating? The day whitey came in and stole the land Native Americans were forced to live upon against their wishes and to the loss of many of their families and ancestral homes okay whatever. I'm sure it's fine that we celebrate that. Celebrate our state becoming whole. Much like a mail-order bride marrying her abusive husband and then getting trapped by numerous awful pregnancies - beg pardon.
Happy Oklahoma Day.
In a way, it's quite fitting, really. Earth Day. Oklahoma Day.
Earth continues to get fucked on a daily basis, but to appease it, we give it a day and say "Guess what you sexy whore? I'm gonna try to not pollute you [so much]. Just cause I like you, baby. You put up with all my shit. Here's a gift card. You go get yourself something special." then we request a sandwich afterward.
The area of land called Oklahoma falls under the jurisdiction of Earth, so it gets the above treatment, but also one more slap in the face by remembering and celebrating the day all the poor, desperate white folk (and some black folk) made an illegally early break for "free land" in order to make it the beacon of success it so obviously is today by starting a little bit before the officially sanctioned "Go Time." (That's why we're called the Sooner state.)
I should go get a few drinks after work tonight to celebrate this momentousness. That way, when I hurl into the streets after that last shot of tequila hits me wrong, it'll be like I'm giving some of myself back to the earth. I'll have to apologize in advance for the broken Jack bottle I will also shatter on the pavement later. Oops. Technically, that's probably littering. Maybe I'll create a holiday to commemorate it by saying how awesome the shatter effect was and how it now contributes to the local scene's Found Objects D'Art. That's cool, right?
I bet Jesus is severely disappointed.