Two Weeks Before

I'm the sixth of seven kids. When Mom would put on the kitchen wall a new calendar each year, it included all our birthdays. Mine was always so far away. It didn't matter that my day was just celebrated as the prior year ended. On a new calendar, it was 12 months away. That wasn't fair.

My friend Toby's birthday is Oct. 30. We met when he was 16 at our Oklahoma State 4-H Conference. Two weeks later, we spent 10 days together with other 4-H'ers in Washington, D.C. He became my brother. College, life, issues, women came between us. We lost contact as we finished school. He passed away in 1991.

Few things in life are certain. There are no guarantees. During times of the year like now, one thing guaranteed is there will be negative, mean-spirited, scary and confusing political television ads.

Toby and I both loved OSU and we both enjoyed football. I wish he could have had the opportunity to see our Cowboys beat OU just one time. Or maybe a win over Nebraska. Die-hard OSU Cowboys fans know that our football team historically is "fairly competitive." Winning the "big ones," though, is not likely. In the late '80s, we had back-to-back years with 10-2 records. We weren't able to beat OU and Nebraska. Got close a few times.

Oct. 28, 2006, my Cowboys beat Nebraksa. After falling behind 16-0, it looked like a typical OSU performance. We had a 20-point outburst in the second quarter, but we were still behind by six at halftime. We didn't score again until the fourth quarter, which produced 21 points for us. Final score 41-29. Go Pokes!

We beat the Cornhuskers in 1961 and then went winless until 2002. My entire life to date I had not seen us beat Nebraska until 2002. To win again now is really exciting.

Happy birthday to Amy, celebrating on Oct. 31. My mother celebrates her birthday on that day too! I'm all ready to celebrate in their honor. I think millions of children across the country also are ready. Buckets of candy and toys are waiting by my door, including a bukcet of dog treats just in case a pooch wags on by too.

Six weeks from Oct. 30 is my birthday. Then, two weeks after my birthday is Christmas. Put it all together and it means that the day before Halloween is eight weeks until Christmas. Just a silly thing I figured out when staring at a kitchen calendar years ago.