The event was held in the Horace Mann Jr. High speech room, and judged by two speech teachers: Hurst Swiggart (the elder) and his assistant, Bernice Tomlinson.

The first students to give their speeches were two of the best from Will Rogers--Bob Croskery (later of KOME) was one of them. They also gave the Gettysburg address. I felt terribly inadequate when I saw their performances. They each had a very smooth delivery, complete with lots of gestures. I had never thought of inserting gestures at the appropriate spots.

After they finished, I slowly walked up to the stage, pulled my 6' 2" bony frame to its greatest height, then hunched over a bit in what I would consider a Lincolnesque pose. I gave the speech simply, but with sincerity and feeling.

After I finished, I could see the Will Rogers guys smiling to each other. They knew they had me bested. The only question that remained was which of those two would win.

After the judges huddled, they announced that I had won. They said that I had a special "Lincolnesque quality" that made the difference.

The Rogers guys bolted out the door. I was a bit surprised, but very pleased. I wondered if they knew that the judges had been my speech teachers when I was at Horace Mann---Swiggart for two years!

But, as CHS grad Paul Harvey would say, "Now for the rest of the story." The next year when I was a freshman at TU, I was in a speech class. We were to give a poetry reading. I did Poe's "Annabel Lee" in a rather dramatic, personal approach, rather than just as "a poem."

After I finished, the teacher asked for student comments, which was routine. Two hands immediately shot up in the back. The boys tore into me and my performance. One even said, "It stunk!" The teacher and the women defended me, but the boys persisted in their attacks, venting an inappropriate amount of spleen.

Maybe it was because the two guys were the ones who had come in second and third in the city oration contest a few months before.

OK, the Guestbook is back, and we just heard from Sam Stewart!

Several of the Guestbook hosts I use have been having problems, so I've been juggling them around lately. The best way to make sure you are getting to the current Guestbook is to come at it via the links on the main page or the What's New page.

Billy Hyden and I turned to a 20-year career as Petroleum Landmen in 1980, and it took me through 23-states, doing land-title work for acquiring easements, oil & gas leases, and fiberoptic right-of-way. Just finished 30-months with Williams Communications Group until the lay-off of 300 personnel on June 29 this year.

I won't make this a novelette, but wanted to alert folks like Hurst Swiggart (my old director in prime-time casts) and others like Mike Miller and "Tuffy" Johnson that old Sam is still around and "occasionally kicking". I'll keep in touch with you from time to time, and again...Thanks For The Memories".

Also ate a BUNCH. First stop was for Cajun-fried alligator. Later escapades included a funnel cake, corn dog, cheese stick, hot fudge sundae, and Polish sausage with peppers. Yum! Also picked up a Sooners shirt for $20 in the IPE building.

I don't know about catfish on a stick. I would love that! Matter of fact, I may have to head out to the fair again tonight to hunt that down...

Matt Bunyan told me a few years back - now one can find catfish-on-a-stick at the TSF at one of the food boothes.

See if you can find anything else-on-a-stick there - edible-wise...just keeping up with Tulsa cuisine.

Sad KTUL no longer does the Talent Show there!

"Get on the stick" is the theme this year. Here is the web site: http://www.tulsastatefair.com.

By the way, I own a lot of the GoodTimes tapes. Old TV shows, music clips, B movies and other good stuff at good prices. I suppose they have a website. Some of my favorites from GT are The Fugitive TV episodes. My kids cannot understand how I, as a young teenager, found sufficent entertainment in the stilted acting of Janssen and the slow moving plot of the show. I just loved it and still do.

I just got the Lee/Lionel morph down to 260K...it may be easier to watch, too.

Warners Bros. threw it in with the package of 77 Sunset Strip shows bought by my client GoodLife TV of classic P.I. shows and westerns..

Big musical score a la a Bogart movie. Heck some of the cars look late '40's - no snazzy T-birds or plush office. The 77 Sunset Strip address is inserted once in a scene and it reveals a shabby office!

Only Efrem Zimbalist Jr - very young at that - as Stu Bailey - a cultured P.I.in L.A. He has a unnamed "leg man" only in one scene - phoning him info.

Edd Kookie Byrnes is a psycho but cool daddio hit man in the movie!

Bailey uses a brusque but innocent Barton McLane (Warners stock company baddie or cop always!) as a trucking company owner assisting him in tailing the "Girl on the Run" in the scene where they "get" Kookie before he ices the ingenue.

Fascinatin' stuff - no jazzy music - just a B movie! Somebody spotted Edd Byrnes as a hep cat type and changed the character for the series...We are even unsure on the pilot date. Efrem (we called him FM Zimbalist as kids..) is driving a 57 Ford convertible in a few scenes. It almost looks like all was shot on the Warners' lot in rooms we have seen soooo many times in their b&w films....

Doing that night ride across the fairgrounds on the gondola thingie, too!

Now I got that durned, "Here's to the Fair! The Tulsa State Fair!" jingle from the 70's runnin' around in my head!

Ya'all have TRULY La Dolce Vita in Oklahoma!

Just don't buy any siding in the IPE building!
Or Vita-Master juicers!

Here is a Zingo sticker from Billy G. Spradlin, and a Phantasmagoria link:

http://www.laffinthedark.com/articles/phantasmagoria/phantasmagoria.htm

The new horse arena is nice and the rest of the fair isn't bad. I am looking forward to seeing some of the bands, like BS&T. I am hanging around Calvert Displays for a couple of hours each evening. It is right inside the front door of the IPE. We are selling playhouses, cafe facades, gas pumps, and other stuff. Stop by and say HI.

Can you morph Lee into Lionel?

Oh, very well, here to see it. But caution: it's a 260K GIF file.