Going...Going...Gone

Poem of the Day

ABUSE

Frightened people scurry about
running to and fro
hiding here, hiding there
in their hidey holes
Pitiful figures they do make
shaking in their shoes
waiting for an abstract man
to notice what they do.

Poteau Continued: Have you ever known something wasn't right clear down to the bottom of your feet but didn't know how to stop it? That's the feeling I had about my husband taking the job in Poteau for a small, rural college. To begin with, Poteau had beauty, but nothing else. It was a town of approximately 8,000, enjoyed the standard Wal-Mart, a Stage, and a smattering of other businesses. It was a town that was proud of itself, but had nothing to show for it. Oh yes, it did have something else, "Spaniards" as our soon-to-be boss called the Mexican population that was establishing themselves in the area. You'd think that a college president would know the difference between Mexican and Spanish, but he didn't. Although I didn't care to live in such a small place, that wasn't the problem. The problem was the president of that college and I knew it with everything that was in me.

On our first meeting, he dripped charm and confidence, but underneath all that I sensed a cruel, self-serving and very selfish man. A man who would do anything and use any means to get what he wanted. Someone who expected to be not just obeyed, but worshiped. In short, the man was power hungry and no one had been able to stop him in 27 years.

One of the first things he did was to tell me I could not live where I wanted to. He informed me that the town I wanted to live in just outside Poteau was not a place that a Vice President should live, (this in regard to my husband) and that those people as he called the citizens of Shady Point, argued constantly. He kept saying "When you find a house) and I kept replying, "I have found one." He really annoyed me and I didn't try too hard not to show it.

A little backgournd, my husband and I had a deal, if I moved to that nasty little place with him, I could have any house I wanted. Not to be. The next thing Mr. President did was to inform my husband that all higher level staff had to live in the town of Poteau. I was very angry at both the President and my husband. I was angry at my husband because he didn't keep his word to me or even try to change the situation and at the President because he had the audacity to butt into my personal life coming between my husband and myself. I did not get the house I wanted and felt betrayed because I really, really, didn't want to move there. Whether I went or not, my husband was going. He made that clear. This was just the beginning of a time in my life I never want to repeat!

Poem of the Day

THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU

The last time I saw you
the sky was gray, as it is today
and my heart had begun to brood
with the fear, you'd never hear
what my heart had to say.

Verbally, no sound was made
but from inside my heart did break.
Silently I quickly prayed
this time you'd hear my heartache.

You didn't though, you never spoke
you never heard a word
of the pain my heart contained
nor the dying of my hope.

You walked away, your back to me
I hoped this was a joke,
but on you marched, my soul to parch
for eternity.

I looked again, and you were turned
your emotions then, hard to discern
I caught a look within your eyes
could it be, you didn't want goodbye?

Nothing much, then was said
as you continued on
but I think, your heart too bled
realizing I'd be gone.

"See you later" with unsure voice
was said by both of us
and our eyes, met one last time
we neither had a choice.

Poteau Continued Have you ever been some place that was so beautiful you could hardly believe it, but the feeling just wasn't right? Poteau is such a place. It is the only area of Oklahoma that has mountains. The Kiamichi Mountains are said to be the remainder of a huge mountain range that once soared as high as the Rockies do now. Wild life is abundant and the view is something to die for. To the front of my house loomed Cavanal Mountain which was advertised as the highest hill in the world. The view from the back was just as awesome. Sugar Loaf and Poteau Mountain were within view as well as Arkansas. I lived on Scott Bluff which was about half way up Cavanal. To see the top of Cavanal covered by clouds and the valley shrouded in fog with the light shining on it from above just plain took your breath away.

The area is truly beautiful, but many of the people are not. So much could have been done with the town, but the "Old School" woudn't allow it. It is a clanish town and many new business have been run out if the owner wasn't born and bred in Poteau or had not earned a place after living there many years. It is one of those places that one or two people own the whole town and you live or die on their word. It was rumored that one of the so called society people of the town, a car dealer who shall remain nameless, but was extremely wealthy, had been known to put hits out on people. He was also the local bookie.

Poteau was known as "Little Dixie." Its political affilation was mainly Democratic. These were bible thumpin' types that carried the word, but didn't follow it. You could see them in church on Sunday and ripping someone off later that night. Potea is a dry county. That's why you had boot leggers who ran their drugs and booze. I often wondered why such a corrupt town bothered to run a dry county and then I figured it out, they made more on the illegal booze than they would have if it had been all above board. Don't get me wrong, you could buy liquor, you just couldn't have liquor by the drink. This was something that also kept the town from growing.

On a lighter note, one particular type of wild life gave me heck over and over. I had parked my car in the garage as usual and decided to go into town, but when I tried to start the car it wouldn't start. I called the guy to tow it in and the problem was a pack rat had decided to make my motor her new house. The starter wires were in her way so guess what, yep, she chewed them through. The mechanic said it was a common problem. I couldn't believe it, a pack rat nesting in the motor of my TransAm? It cost around $200 to repair the car. I go out the next day and the same thing happens. This time I raise the hood myself and see all her sticks and a feather and some string and....chewed wires. I call the guy again and spend another $200. All was well for around a week and here she comes again. She seemed to like sticks, feathers, twine, and this time some hair from some type of animal. The car goes in again for another $200. I asked the mechanic each time what I can do to stop this, that it is getting way too expensive and he says he doesn't know. Finally, I put rat poison under my hood. I felt bad, I mean after all, she was just trying to survive, but please, not at my expense! That did the trick. I didn't see Miss Pack Rat ever again!

More later as the saga of Poteau continues.

Poem of the Day

RELOAD

I’ve done nothing all day long
except bitch and brew
stalling time
pretending I’m fine
the boredom is a clue.
Find the sign, decipher the code
attempt to decode once more
sing a song from long ago
sit back and reload.

Poteau Continued: Murder, theft and corruption were other areas that seemed to occupy time around Poteau. When we first arrived 2 murders took place with more to occur in the three years we were there. It was not unusual to find a body floating in the river, or on the side of the road or in one of the state parks around there. Many murders were considered to be over drugs. I was told a story about a man who was the owner of some very remote land. When he went out to check his cattle he discovered that marijuana had been planted on his property. He was found dead later on with no one ever being charged.

Another story was told by a police officer from another part of Oklahoma whose brother had been murdered in Poteau. Neither of the two men who were in on his brother's murder were convicted. He later found out that the guy who had done the actual murder was in a Tennessee prison for another crime, but the guy who helped bury him was still around Poteau, free.

There were allegations of corruption too. Shortly after we arrived, the sheriff who had been in power won office again. His contender challenged and there were allegations of faked votes being cast by prisioners and even the dead. When the votes were recounted the contender won by one vote. His term was and is filled with turmoil. Evidence disappeared, several county vehicles were wrecked, and many other things happened. He alleged that someone was trying to force him out and that the former sheriff was part of a drug ring. Who knows?

Our house was broken into while we were gone on business and my daughter was watching the house for us. She came in on the robbers while they were in her room. They had already gone through the downstairs and my room. It was after she had locked herself in the bathroom and called some friends that she heard them run downstairs. When the deputy came out, he picked up a flashlight the thieves had dropped and put it in his pocket. He didn't turn the light in for evidence or dust for prints. It could even be seen that they come in the patio door. The deputy accused my daughter of setting the robbery up just so she could drink wine we had in the house. He didn't even take a report. Over $5,000 was taken and later on a deputy was charged with receiving stolen property. My husbands ring was even seen on campus and when we called the sheriff's office with the womans address and phone number who had the ring, nothing was done.

Gotta run now and send kids off to bed. Stay tuned for more later. You'll be amazed!

Poem of The Day

LONG LOVE

I’ve loved you for a long time now
Years
and still it abounds
Time may shatter youth’s sexual beauty
But
the lines of time trace the path
of loves sweet journey.

Poteau Continued Last post, I told you a little about Poteau, the place I lived before moving to Indiana. Today, you'll get to know it a little better.

It wasn't too long after moving there that we were told by the locals not to drive down any roads that we didn't know. I of course, wanted to know why and was told that if you drove down any road without knowing someone on that road you would be taking your life into your hands because LeFlore County and the surrounding counties were big drug places and if you ran upon one of the drug people's meth labs or marijuana fields, they'd kill you. I was also told not to "go over the mountain" at night because the drug runners and bootleggers ran their loads then. There are supposedly t-shirts worn in California that say, "Thank God for Poteau" because it is know as such a drug place. Needless to say, I didn't feel too safe.

Poteau advertised itself as having the largest hill in the world, Cavanal Mountain. It is supposedly a foot short or so of being a mountain. Houses are built about a quarter of the way up and the rest is all wilderness. Somewhere on the mountain a group of devil worshipers perform rituals and local preachers will go to the alter and pray over it. Behind this alter is a hugh marijuana field. Just the other night, two of my daughters friends were on top drinking and got beaten up by three men. Things like that happen all the time.

More later. I'm taking down wall paper and need to get back.

Poem Of The Day

GOD-FORSAKEN PLACE

Where are the normal people
in this awful place
I have a sense, a little hunch
they're not of the human race.
Fists all drawn, dunk their punch
side-step the verbal abuse
I know it, I'm sure of it
They all have a screw loose.
All's well that ends well
Is not exactly true
You better be a lot more careful
Or I might have to sue
Close your mouth and open your eyes
Remove the blank stare from your face
I can't wait, I'm lookin' forward
to leavin' this stupid place.

Poteau I just moved from a small town in Oklahoma to Indiana. I grew up in Oklahoma, but I can say with no reservation that the small town I lived in was not Oklahoma. The whole town, with few exceptions, was fodder for the Jerry Springer Show. It was the most socially illiterate and backward place I've ever had the misfortune to encounter and to say that I am glad to be away from there is an understatement. Even the so called "Educated" were unlike anything I've ever seen.

These people do not shy away from personal questions and one of the first things both men and women wanted to know about my husband was whether he had a mistress or not. He thought they were kidding at first, but when the President of the college, a whole story in itself and one I will tell, asked the same question, we knew this was going to be something different.

I was told by one of the "Educated" women at the college that I would need my husband to make appointments for me to see a physician, get my car worked on, and anything else in-between. I of course said, "You're joking, right?" She wasn't.

Then there were the hill people or as I called them, mutated mountain folk. These people scared me. Many of them had no running water or electricity. Many had no teeth and since there was no running water, no bath. My husband and I got lost in the hills once and stopped for directions at a small store. I begged my husband not to stop there because on the porch of this store was an old, ripped car seat and on that old seat sat an old man with, you guessed it, no teeth, no bath, and a scowl that said, "If you set foot on this porch I'll beat the hell out of you." Two fat, good ole boys joined him and all stared at us. I thought I was going to star in the Oklahoma hill country version of the movie "Deliverance." I swear, I've rode the subways in New York City and driven the small streets of Sicily not understanding a word of Italian, but Poteau made me more uncomfortable than any place I've ever been.

More Later

POEM OF THE DAY

INSIDE OF LIFE

Poems are the interior of life
A glimpse of what makes me
And I decide how much to expose
How much to let you see
And as I sit and type the words
The ones I will allow
It's up to you to decipher the code
I cannot tell you how
I simply offer a key to hold
A chance to peep inside
A moment to look within the soul
Of a person you'll never know.


I'm a perpetual twenty-something person. Each birthday that comes along doesn't alter the fact that in my mind, I will always be twenty-something. Don't get me wrong, I don't have one foot in the grave yet, but time does march on. Let's just say I have a young attitude and it's hard for me to "think" fourty-something more often than not. I'm an educated professional, but my rebellion still exists. If my mother hadn't pounded right and wrong into me, I would have been one wild chick. Anyway, I wear my rebellion in the form of spiked hair and a sports car. I find it amusing that nearly every day guys half my age try to race me. Maybe that's what keeps me young.

I told my husband I wanted to get a tattoo of Betty Boop. He said he liked me the way I was. I haven't decided what I am going to do yet, but I think Betty Boop would be an awesome tattoo. Both daughters and my son have tattoos, shouldn't mom join in?

Just wondering: Do any other forty-something people out there find it ironic that you are wearing clothes again that you wore in school way back when? I should have kept all those clothes and saved myself a lot of money. Who knew?

Oh, by the way, A bitcher is someone who contributes nothing to a situation except for a loud mouth. I've known a few of those, how about you?

It's been awhile since I posted. Lots of things have been going on. I went to see a Chicago Cubs game Saturday. I love professional baseball. It was good to go because life has kind of sucked lately. This is the 4th place my family and I have lived in the past 4 years. All my family lives in another state and I never know what's going on because no one lets me know. It gets lonely. Two of my 5 kids live in Oklahoma and they do family things with their dad (we're divorced) and my daughter also goes with her in-laws. I guess I feel left out sometimes.

My daughter is thinking about having a child and for some reason, she thinks I don't want to be a grandmother. I've told her that is not the case, but when she talks about having kids to other people, she will mention that her father and his wife would like her to have children, but never her step-dad or me. What's up with that? I don't know. Most of the net knows what's going on with her before I do and in fact, most of what I know comes from reading her blog.

I've begun writing another book and am almost ready to try to find a publisher for my poems. I guess I'll finish for now and end with poems that sum up how I feel lately.

CHANGING TIDES

Changing tides are coming my way
As time moves forward, what was decays
Fog up ahead, hinders my view
What lies in front is all brand new.

ONE BY ONE

The years glide by one by one
As youth dissolves into maturity
And though my life is by no means done
I still harbor some insecurity
The threads of time intermingle
Yesterday melts into what once was
Tomorrow sitting all unguarded
still is yet to come.

This is my first entry and since my title is "Poetry in Life" I thought I'd begin with some poetry I wrote. All my poems come from experiences in my life.

TIME FRAME OF LIFE

Poems are prose in the time frame of life
Adhered together with molecules of existence
Stanza’s added with each passing moment
building into full blown rhythm
verses lingering long after death
in tidbits of poetry and rhyme long left
each verse exposed and explored by men
to judgment or glory of poetry now spent.
By Sherri Streight

I write every day and hope to publish soon.

In the past 4 years our family has lived in 4 different places. We began in Oklahoma, moved to Pennsylvania, back to Oklahoma except this time, to a different town, (that is a story in itself I'll tell later) and now to Indiana. I really enjoyed living in Pennsylvania and also like Indiana. I get asked about my accent at times, but hey, we can't all be lucky enough to have that Oklahoma twang!

I guess enough is enough on the first run out of the gate so I'll end it here. Have a good day!