Blessings Great and Small by Judy Haught

As both the temperature and the campaign heat up, Doug and I find ourselves stopping from time to time to reflect on the many blessings that have come our way. We have been going door to door all over the district recently, and we are thankful for all the positives aspects of this marathon meet and greet. Shady porches, friendly dogs, and the kindness of strangers top our list.


When the temperature hovers around one hundred degrees with the heat index well above that, stepping upon a shady porch is like coming upon the proverbial oasis in a desert. Sheltered from the sun and with breezes wafting over our sweat-soaked bodies, we gain strength and determination to carry on. Often people have the most inviting looking swings, hammocks, rockers, and gliders on their porches. We always look longingly at them, but we are never presumptuous enough to try one out.



Dogs, however, do make presumptions; they are never ambiguous. Either they like you or they don't, and when they do, they demonstrate it with their whole bodies. They prance, sniff, lick, bark, and wag their tails like flags in the wind. Fortunately for us, most of the dogs we have met on our door-knocking adventures have been the unequivocal friendly types. Cats, on the other hand, are downright apathetic. For example, one cat we came across, lay draped over the back of a sofa and gazed at us with one bored eye; meanwhile, the dog of the house practically turned somersaults of joy at our arrival. Hopefully the voters will be more of the dog variety.



Our tramping around in the heat seems to bring out the sympathy in people. We have been invited into the homes of complete strangers and given bottles of cold water. One man even told us he would vote for Doug because anyone out campaigning in such heat must really want the position. We are humbled by and thankful for the kindness of these wonderful people.



Speaking of being thankful, we owe a debt of gratitude to area fire departments, not only for the jobs they do to protect the public but also for food and hospitality. We partook of fried catfish prepared by the Berlin Volunteer Fire Department and barbecue cooked by the Cordell firefighters.



And finally, we are eternally grateful to the army of volunteers who showed up last Saturday to knock on doors in Elk City. Approximately twenty people all clad in their "Doug Haught for District Judge" t-shirts walked the streets and campaigned for Doug. Better friends cannot be found.



We are fortunate indeed to live here in Western Oklahoma where people are kind, hospitable, and empathetic. Remember a vote for Judge Haught is vote for one of Western Oklahoma's best.