Decisions, Decisions by Judy Haught

There is a lot to do in a campaign, some of it fun and interesting like socializing with voters and some of it just mundane like choosing the color for a sign or slogan. But most of the activities involve decision making. Should we canvass door-to-door or make phone calls? Should we buy the white campaign shirts or the blue ones? Should we go to the car show or to the art festival?
Recently some of the good decisions Doug has made on the campaign trail were to attend a community coffee at Shattuck and to eat with the senior citizens at Erick. To make it to Shattuck by 8:00 A.M., he had to keep Army hours, which means he had to get up long before daylight and hit the road really early. But the journey was worth the effort. The people at Shattuck could not have been friendlier or more gracious. They move their coffee get-togethers from business to business, and that day they met at the local tire shop where the owners welcomed everyone with coffee and freshly baked coffee cake. Doug left with warm feeling for the people of Shattuck and a full stomach.
Leaving Shattuck, he raced back to Sayre and heard his morning docket; then it was off to Erick to visit and dine with the senior citizens. He was warmly welcomed, and one man even read Doug's bio to the crowd. The people were truly pleased that he stopped by. Nothing means more to a candidate than friendly smiles, kind words, and a genuine interest in what he has to say.
Another wise campaign decision we recently made was to attend the monthly potluck dinner at Cowden. We saw the announcment in The Cordell Beacon and wondered if we should go; after all, we had never even heard of Cowden. We got out our trusty Oklahoma atlas and checked to see if Cowden were truly in our district. Sure enough it is in southeastern Washita County. So we ran byKFC and headed for Cowden, atlas in hand. Cowden constists of an abandoned school building, a community center, a memorial, and several friendly people.
As soon as we walked in, we were taken over by country hospitality. The people all introduced themselves and made us feel at home. Doug was taken over by a group of men, and I was commandeered by a group of fun-loving ladies. As with other small rural communities we have visited, one of the most intriguing parts of the evening was learning about the history of the place. Cowden was once a thriving town with a vital school. The history of the town and school was revealed in pictures lining the walls. The pictures are truly a piece of Americana. One picture in particular caught our eye; it was a picture of Cowden Boy Scouts taken in in 1943. They are standing by a pile of scrap metal with a homemade sign that said, "Scrap the Japs!" I wish I had a copy of the picture to frame.
One of the things Cowden folks are most proud of is their memorial. It is a beautiful large granite monument with pictures of the town and school engraved in it. Surrounding the pictures are the names of all the people who made up the community. The families of all the dinner attendees were represented on the memorial.
We had a great time at Cowden and look forward to their next dinner because we would like to become regulars, even if we are not native to the community. The Cowden decision was a winner. Again we were reminded that Western Oklahoma has the best people in the country.
Speaking of decisions, remember that a judge makes important decisions every day that affect the lives of many people. A vote for Judge Haught is a vote for an experienced, wise decision maker.