The Trade Winds hotel room I’ve just entered smells like stale cigarette smoke. As soon as I opened the door that overwhelming stench took me back to my childhood when my mom would sit on the floral print couch and chain smoke Marlboro Reds. The phone up to her ear. The TV on in the background either showing a soap opera or music videos. A large ashtray full of cigarette butts sitting on the coffee table in front of her. It’s like I’m two places in time at once.
Read moreThe life and times of Opal Faye Payne and the profound impact she had on me
It’s been a few weeks since my great grandmother, Opal Faye Payne, concluded her time on Earth at 97 years.
A couple weeks earlier I sat down with her to discuss her life. The cancer that had started in her breasts had spread to her stomach, kidneys and into her spinal cord, resulting in its infiltration of her brain.
Read moreLinks of the week
I tend to read a lot of articles online.
Thought I'd share some of my favorites I read this week. (Some of the articles might be more than a week old and I just got to them.)
Here are 51 festivals to attend in northeast Oklahoma this summer according to the Tulsa Voice.
Here are three state parks that will make you forget you're in Oklahoma, according to Tulsa People.
North Carolina high school senior Jasmine E. Harrison was accepted to 113 colleges and has been offered more than $4 million in scholarship money.
Sofia Coppola is one of my favorite directors. Did you know she attended school in Tulsa while her dad filmed "The Outsiders" and "Rumble Fish"? This article is about the Criterion release of her awesome film, "Suicide Girls."
Country singer going more pop singer Kacey Musgraves did a Rolling Stone interview where she talks about doing acid and touring with Harry Styles. Also her new album is one of the best of the year, to date.
Sticking with music, Leon Bridges was profiled by Esquire, where he talks about the difficulties of finding a black audience as a soul singer. The Ft. Worth native just released his much-anticipated second album, "Good Thing."
"Heat" is the best available movie on Netflix, according to Vice. It's one of my top three of all time, so I won't argue that opinion.
Have you posted something you shouldn't have on your Instagram story? These people have and share their stories.
This weekend "Tully" opens at the theater. I really want to see it, but will have to wait a few days. It features Charlize Theron in a role where she gained 50 pounds to play a mom. Mackenzie Davis co-stars. She is one of my favorites and I'll continue to promote her to do my part to make her a household name. The movie reunites writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman, who worked together on "Juno" and "Young Adult." The movie is currently at 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (for what that's worth), and Rolling Stone's Peter Travers gave it a glowing review.