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An out-door reception had been planned for Sunday, July 1. However, as you may have heard, it's been raining in Oklahoma. July 1 was the 18th consecutive day that it rained.

So, the reception was moved indoors, to the church's meeting hall. An indoor bower was created, with donations from OCU's local theater department.

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New poem posted at "Love During Wartime": I Am Not I.

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I've probably posted a picture of this buffalo at some point in the past. This fiberglass statue is among a group sold or leased to businesses (and groups) around Oklahoma City about two years ago. As I recall, this was a fund-raising effort by the Nature Conservancy. The Tulsa Zoo had a similar fund-raising effort, involving penguins; one day, I hope to share a picture of Fr. Penguin, who resides at a church in the Tulsa 'burbs.

Anyway, this fellow was given the punny name "Episcobull" (he was purchased by an Episcopal Church). In this particular shot, he is sporting a Pendleton Blanket.

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Some of you may wonder why I haven't posted any pictures in over a week. I have taken a lot of pictures, as the "official" photographer for my church. I estimate I've taken almost 300 pictures over the past four weeks.

I feel somewhat limited in which of these pictures I can share.

Many of them are of crowds of people - not very artful, but significant to the occasions I was recording. I doubt this type of picture would be of interest outside my state.

I guess I shouldn't really put the word "official" in quotes; I'm getting paid for my work. Technically, this means I'm a professional. Whether the pics are professional quality are another question entirely.

I will share some of these pictures which I think will be of broad interest.

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I recognize some people may be wondering about the aftermath of the minor fender-bender I described in my previous post. I realize I’m far behind on my daily entries (a goal I had set for myself).

First things first: aside from residual tense muscles, I am fine. The doctor examined me Tuesday morning, and did not find anything broken. Given the situation, I doubted that I had sustained serious injury; I doubt the yellow cab could have been driving more than 5 miles per hour. I went to see the doctor as a precaution.

She did order x-rays, and said she would call if she found anything serious in them. She has not called, and I’m taking that as good news.

As for the car, the only visible damage is some scratched paint on the rear bumper. A friend at work recommended a collision shop, and I took the car to them on Friday. They did not do as thorough an inspection of the car as I expected – the rep said they’d have to actually be commissioned for the work to do that. I did get sticker shock when I saw the estimate on retouching the bumper – almost $500.

The yellow cab driver had asked I get an estimate on the damage prior to reporting it to insurance. His job might be on the line. He said he’d pay it if he could afford it; otherwise, we’d turn it over to the yellow cab company’s insurance company.

So I called him, and explained the estimate was for the visible damage only. I repeated what the rep had said: it seemed unlikely there was more damage, considering the low speed involved, but there was no guarantee. I think the yellow cab driver was as shocked by the $500 estimate as I was; what he said he didn’t want to risk it costing more than that. So, we’re turning it over to his insurance company.

Now, I admit I should have taken the car in on Monday or Tuesday of last week. Thing is, Monday I was waiting for the clinic to call to set up an appointment. I could have gone Tuesday afternoon, but I got consumed by inertia. Or maybe just by the headache.

I failed to mention the doctor prescribed Flexeril – a muscle relaxant – for the muscle tension. I’m sensitive to downers, so I’ve only been taking them in the evening. The doctor also suggested that I relax, or take it easy. So I took off Thursday and Friday, and sat around like an inert lump of flesh.

I did not take a Flexeril last night, as I need to chair a meeting at church this morning. As this entry may suggest, my energy has returned. Who knew I would be so susceptible to downers?

Anyway, I do have some tension in my left shoulder – echo of a car wreck back in the ’80s. Otherwise, I feel OK.

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I was rear-ended on Saturday, June 30. Everything else related to the day was colored by this.

I had just gone to see "Disturbia" at the discount ($1.25) theater. It was a little after 7 pm. I was driving west, in the left lane, mentally aiming for the highway exit.

I hadn't seen a speed limit sign, so I was driving 35 mph - which seemed a safe rate to maintain until I did see a sign. A pizza delivery person passed me just before the stoplight. A yellow cab station wagon was immediately behind me.

By the time the pizza delivery person had passed me, the light had turned red. Our three cars waited. I had allowed a little over a yard between myself and the pizza person. I didn't really notice how far back the yellow cab was.

The light turned green. Oddly enough, the pizza person didn't blaze out from the starting gate. But someone else was ready to go.

Yellow cab driver. Although he did not hit my car hard enough to push forward any discernible distance, he did hit my car with enough force to make my head bounce on the head rest once.

Not surprisingly, I uttered the immortal phrase, "What the
F----?"

I had enjoyed the movie. I recommend it. I'm not sure seeing the movie was worth getting rear-ended.

I've had a headache, a constant dull headache, ever since. I see the doctor in the morning.

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The Rose of Sharon
  at the side of the road
   was eaten by my horse.
— Basho