As many of you know, I live in Claremore, Oklahoma1. Claremore's (and arguably, Oklahoma's) favorite and most famous son is none other than cowboy/humorist/actor/social commentator Will Rogers. We Claremorons2 are very proud of our Will Rogers Memorial Museum (the most stunning museum devoted to a person who wasn't a president, that I'm aware of), and you can find Will's image all over town, from a statue of him sitting on a bench and reading a newspaper in front of the Claremore Daily Progress, to a decal of his face on the door of the city's police cars.
(A view of the Will Rogers' Memorial Museum. On the porch area behind this statue lies Will's tomb.)
(Statue of Will outside the Claremore Daily Progress, my town's newspaper. As Will once said, "Well, all I know is what I read in the papers.")
I wish I'd had the opportunity to know Will. I have a huge crush on
him, similar to the ones I have on George Washington and Thomas
Jefferson. He was smart, funny, handsome in an "aww-shucks" kind of
way, and just an all-around great guy.
He was also eminently quotable.
His most famous quote is probably "I never met a man I didn't like." But there are, literally, hundreds if not thousands of collected words of wisdom from his days as our (unofficial) Philosopher in Chief. Here are just a few of my favorites:
- I love a dog, he does nothing for political reasons.
- No nation ever had two better friends than we have. You know who they are? The Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
- I have a scheme for stopping war. It’s this—no nation is allowed to enter a war till they have paid for the last one.
- Nothing makes a man broad-minded like adversity.
- No man can be condemned for owning a dog. As long as he’s got a dog he’s
got a friend and the poorer he gets the better friend he has.
- Everybody is ignorant. Only on different subjects.
- A fanatic is always the fellow that is on the opposite side.
- All we hear is “What’s the matter with the country?” “What’s the matter
with the world?” There ain’t but one thing wrong with every one of us in
the world, and that’s selfishness.
- Every man’s religion is good. There is none of it bad. We are all trying
to arrive at the same place according to our own conscience and
teachings. It don’t matter which road you take.
- Parades should be classed as a nuisance and participants should be
subject to a term in prison. Even the people in them hate them.
- Buy land. They ain't making any more of the stuff.
- Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.
- I never expected to see the day where girls would get sunburned in the places they do now.
- Never let yesterday use up too much of today.
- The best way out of a difficulty is through it.
- I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.
- Things ain't what they used to be and never were.
- Politics is applesauce.
Today, though, I'm thinking of another phrase that is often attributed to Will. "If you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, just wait a minute." On Saturday, our highs were in the upper 70's/low 80's. As I type this
(on Sunday evening at 5-something p.m.) the temp is currently 37
degrees. Chilly!
What does any of this have to do with Mojo Monday? I'll tell you. But first, let me show you this week's sketch:
And, here's the cooler-weather3 card I made with it, using Lawn Fawn's Winter Fox stamp, available at i {heart} papers:
Isn't that little fox, with her jumbo-sized cup o' joe, just the cutest?
She's colored with Copic markers on Copic X-Press Blending cardstock. Her ears, nose, and legs have been high-and-low lighted with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol. Her cup was paper-pieced, and she was fussy-cut out then popped up on Jody's foam boosters. I used MFT's Die-Namics (Little Open Scallop Strip for the edge of the image panel; Let It Snowflake for the corner embellishment) and patterned paper from Echo Park's Winter Wishes 6"x6" pad.
Ready to see what the rest of the Mojo Monday Design team has put together to inspire you (without giving you a history lesson re: their hometowns and/or quotes from a dead celebrity)? Then head on over to these talented ladies' blogs:
And, of course, you'll want to mosey on over to the Mojo Monday Blog for directions on how to play along with this week's sketch. Thanks for coming by to see me, today, and indulging my blathering!
Footnotes
1. Fun fact to know and tell: Claremore is also the setting of the musical/movie Oklahoma! Rodgers & Hammerstein based their first Broadway musical on a play by Lynn Riggs, Green Grow the Lilacs. Lynn Riggs is another Claremore boy, and one of our main thoroughfares in town is Lynn Riggs Blvd.
2. Yes, "Claremoron" is actually how we refer to ourselves. You've gotta have a sense of humor to live here, and you can't get too big for your britches when your moniker is a variation of 'moron.'
3. Yep, that's it. All that build-up with Will to get to his quote about Oklahoma's turn-on-a-dime weather. Was it anticlimatic, or did you enjoy? Let me know.
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