Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis.
Title refers to: The Trump admin is blocking IGs from getting info on over $1 trillion in relief spending, including corporation bailouts. The admin is also withholding PPP info from Congress, meaning we don't know if Trump or his family took taxpayer money. Additionally, we learned that at least 4 members of Congress have benefited from PPP money, but aren't required to disclose it.
Housekeeping:

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Coronavirus

Inspectors general warned Congress last week that the Trump administration is blocking scrutiny of more than $1 trillion in spending related to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the previously undisclosed letter, Department of Treasury attorneys concluded that the administration is not required to provide the watchdogs with information about the beneficiaries of programs like the $500 billion in loans for corporations.
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin refused to provide Congress with the names of recipients of the taxpayer-funded coronavirus business loans. After criticism, Mnuchin began to walk back his denial, saying he will talk to lawmakers on a bipartisan basis “to strike the appropriate balance for proper oversight” of PPP loans “and appropriate protection of small business information.”
At least 4 lawmakers have benefited in some way from the Paycheck Protection program they helped create. Politico has been told there are almost certainly more -- but there are zero disclosure rules, even for members of Congress.

Republicans on the list include Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, a wealthy businessman who owns auto dealerships, body shops and car washes, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, whose family owns multiple farms and equipment suppliers across the Midwest. The Democrats count Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada, whose husband is CEO of a regional casino developer, and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell of Florida, whose husband is a senior executive at a restaurant chain that has since returned the loan.

Mick Mulvaney dumped as much as $550,000 in stocks the same day Trump assured the public the US economy was 'doing fantastically' amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Mulvaney unloaded his holdings in three different mutual funds, each of which is primarily made up of US stocks. The next day, the value of the mutual funds tanked.

Cases rising in many states

Good summary: There was supposed to be a peak. But the stark turning point, when the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the U.S. finally crested and began descending sharply, never happened. Instead, America spent much of April on a disquieting plateau, with every day bringing about 30,000 new cases and about 2,000 new deaths. This pattern exists because different states have experienced the coronavirus pandemic in very different ways…The U.S. is dealing with a patchwork pandemic.
As of Friday, coronavirus cases were significantly climbing in 16 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
Oklahoma is experiencing a massive increase in coronavirus cases just days before Trump’s planned rally in Tulsa. In Tulsa county itself, 1 in roughly 390 people have tested positive. Yet Trump plans on cramming 20,000 people in an event with voluntary face mask policy and no social distancing. Attendees must sign a waiver that absolves the president’s campaign of any liability from virus-related illnesses.

On Monday, Pence lied saying that Oklahoma has “flattened the curve.” As you can see at any of the resources immediately below, this is not even close to true. Over the past 14 days, the state has seen a 124% increase in cases and reports 65% of ICU beds are in use.
Tulsa World Editorial Board: This is the wrong time and Tulsa is the wrong place for the Trump rally. "We don't know why he chose Tulsa, but we can’t see any way that his visit will be good for the city...Again, Tulsa will be largely alone in dealing with what happens at a time when the city’s budget resources have already been stretched thin."
Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that he is a victim of double standards when it comes to perception of his decision to resume campaign rallies in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, declaring that attempts to “covid shame” his campaign “won’t work!”

Resources to track increases: There are many different sites with various methods of visualizing the spread of coronavirus. Here are some that may be particularly useful this summer… Topos COVID-19 compiler homepage and graphs of each state since re-opening. How we reopen Safely has stats on each state’s progress towards meeting benchmarks to reopen safely (hint: almost none have reached all the checkpoints). WaPo has a weekly national map of cases/deaths; the largest regional clusters are in the southeast.
On Monday, Trump twice said that “if we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any,” (video). Aside from the fact that cases exist even if we don’t test for them, we cannot explain the rising number of cases by increased testing capacity: In at least 14 states, the positive case rate is increasing faster than the increase in the average number of tests.

Reminder: In March Trump told Fox News that he didn't want infected patients from a cruise ship to disembark because it would increase the number of reported cases in the US. "I like the numbers being where they are," Trump said at the time. "I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our fault."

Fired scientist Rebekah Jones builds coronavirus dashboard to rival Florida’s… Her site shows thousands more people with the coronavirus, and hundreds of thousands fewer who have been tested, than the site run by the Florida Health Department.

Equipment and supplies

More studies prove wearing masks limits transmission and spread of coronavirus… One study from Britain found that routine face mask use by 50% or more of the population reduced COVID-19 spread to an R of less than 1.0. The R value measures the average number of people that one infected person will pass the disease on to. An R value above 1 can lead to exponential growth. The study found that if people wear masks whenever they are in public it is twice as effective at reducing the R value than if masks are only worn after symptoms appear.
Meanwhile, Trump officials refuse to wear masks and Trump supporters copy his behavior… VP Mike Pence, leader of the coronavirus task force, published a tweet showing himself in a room full of Trump staffers, none wearing masks or practicing social distancing. Pence deleted the tweet shortly after criticism. A poll last week showed that 66% of likely-Biden-voters “always wear a mask,” while 83% of likely-Trump-voters “neverarely wear a mask.”

Trump’s opposition to face masks hasn’t stopped him from selling them to his supporters, though. The online Trump Store is selling $20 cotton American flag-themed face masks.
Yesterday, we learned that South Carolina Republican Rep. Tom Rice and family have tested positive for the coronavirus. Just two weeks ago, Rice was on the House floor and halls of the Capitol without wearing a mask.

Internal FEMA data show that the government’s supply of surgical gowns has not meaningfully increased since March… The slides show FEMA’s plan to ramp up supply into June and July hinges on the reusing of N95 masks and surgical gowns, increasing the risk of contamination. Those are supposed to be disposed of after one use.
Nursing homes with urgent needs for personal protective equipment say they’re receiving defective equipment as part of Trump administration supply initiative. Officials say FEMA is sending them gowns that look more like large tarps -- with no holes for hands -- and surgical masks that are paper-thin.
More than 1,300 Chinese medical-device companies that registered to sell PPE in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic used bogus registration data… These companies listed as their American representative a purported Delaware entity that uses a false address and nonworking phone number.
Florida is sitting on more than 980,000 unused doses of hydroxychloroquine, but hospitals don’t want it… Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered a million doses of the drug to show support for Trump, but very few hospitals have requested it.

Native American communities struggle

The CARES Act money for Native American tribes, meant to assist people during the pandemic, came with restrictions that are impeding efforts to limit the transmission of the virus. For instance, the funds can only be used to cover expenses that are "incurred due to the public health emergency." On the Navajo Nation, the public health emergency is inherently related to some basic infrastructure problems. 30% of Navajo don’t have running water to wash their hands, but the money can’t be used to build water lines.
Federal and state health agencies are refusing to give Native American tribes and organizations representing them access to data showing how the coronavirus is spreading around their lands, potentially widening health disparities and frustrating tribal leaders already ill-equipped to contain the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has turned down tribal epidemiologists’ requests for data that it’s making freely available to states.
A Hospital’s Secret Coronavirus Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns… Pregnant Native American women were singled out for COVID-19 testing based on their race and ZIP code, clinicians say. While awaiting results, some mothers were separated from their newborns, depriving them of the immediate contact doctors recommend. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that state officials would investigate the allegations.

Personnel & appointees

Former IG Steve Linick told Congress he was conducting five investigations into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the State Department before he was fired. In addition to investigating Pompeo's potential misuse of taxpayer funds and reviewing his decision to expedite an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, Linick’s office was conducting an audit of Special Immigrant Visas, a review of the International Women of Courage Award, and another review "involving individuals in the Office of the Protocol."

Pompeo confidant emerges as enforcer in fight over watchdog’s firing: Linick testified that Undersecretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao, a decades-old friend of Pompeo’s, “tried to bully [him]” out of investigating Pompeo.

Trump has empowered John McEntee, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, to make significant staffing changes inside top federal agencies without the consent — and, in at least one case, without even the knowledge — of the agency head. Many senior officials in Trump's government are sounding alarms about the loss of expertise and institutional knowledge.
Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, has a history of making Islamophobic and inflammatory remarks against prominent Democratic politicians, including falsely calling former President Barack Obama a Muslim.
Amid racial justice marches, GOP advances Trump court pick hostile to civil rights. Cory Wilson, up for a lifetime seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, has denied that restrictive voting laws lead to voter suppression and called same-sex marriage “a pander to liberal interest groups.”
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has indefinitely extended the terms of the acting directors of the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service, sidestepping the typical Senate confirmation process for those posts and violating the Federal Vacancies Reform Act,

Courts and DOJ

The Supreme Court declined on Monday to take a closer look at qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields law enforcement and government officials from lawsuits over their conduct. Developed in recent decades by the high court, the qualified immunity doctrine, as applied to police, initially asks two questions: Did police use excessive force, and if they did, should they have known that their conduct was illegal because it violated a "clearly established" prior court ruling that barred such conduct? In practice, however, lower courts have most often dismissed police misconduct lawsuits on grounds that there is no prior court decision with nearly identical facts.
The Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-discrimination laws protect gay and transgender employees. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the court’s liberals in the 6 to 3 ruling. They said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination “because of sex,” includes LGBTQ employees.

Alito, writing more than 100 pages in dissent for himself and Thomas, accused the court's majority of writing legislation, not law. Kavanaugh wrote separately: "We are judges, not members of Congress...Under the Constitution and laws of the United States, this court is the wrong body to change American law in that way."
Just days before the SCOTUS opinion was released, the Trump administration finalized a rule that would remove nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people when it comes to health care and health insurance. The SCOTUS ruling may make it easier to challenge the changes made by Trump.

The Supreme Court also declined to take up California’s “sanctuary” law, denying the Trump administration’s appeal. This means that the lower court opinion upholding one of California's sanctuary laws is valid, limiting cooperation between law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two of the Court's conservative members, supported taking up the case.
A federal appeals court appeared unlikely Friday to stop a judge from examining why the Justice Department sought to walk away from its prosecution of Michael Flynn. "I don't see why we don't observe regular order," said Judge Karen Henderson. "Why not hold this in abeyance and see what happens?" Judge Robert Wilkins told Flynn's lawyer that if Sullivan doesn't let the government drop the case, "then you can come back here on appeal."

Other

Good read: Fiona Hill on being mistaken as a secretary by Trump, her efforts to make sure he was not left alone with Putin, and what the US, UK and Russia have in common. “It’s spitting in Merkel’s face,” said Vladimir Frolov, a former Russian diplomat who’s now a foreign-policy analyst. “But it’s in our interests.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry welcomed Trump’s plan to withdraw more than a quarter of U.S. troops from Germany.
Op-Ed: Why cutting American forces in Germany will harm this alliance

According to a new book, the Secret Service had to seek more funding to cover the cost of protecting Melania Trump while she stayed in NYC to renegotiate her prenup - taxpayers paid tens of millions of dollars to allow her to get better terms. Additionally, NYPD estimated its own costs conservatively at $125,000 a day.
Georgia election 'catastrophe' in largely minority areas sparks investigation. Long lines, lack of voting machines, and shortages of primary ballots plagued voters. As of Monday night, there were still over 200,000 uncounted votes.
Fox News runs digitally altered images in coverage of Seattle’s protests, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Fox News Mocked After Mistaking Monty Python Joke for Seattle Protest Infighting
In addition to holding a rally on the day after Juneteenth (originally scheduled the day of), Trump will be accepting the GOP nomination in Jacksonville on the 60th anniversary of “Ax Handle Saturday,” a KKK attack on African Americans.
Environmental news:

Ruling against environmentalists, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the federal government has the authority to allow a proposed $7.5 billion natural gas pipeline to cross under the popular Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia.
Trump administration has issued a new rule blocking tribes from protecting their waters from projects like pipelines, dams, and coal terminals.
The EPA published a proposal in the Federal Register that critics described as an assault on minority communities coping with the public health legacy of structural racism. The rule would bar EPA from giving special consideration to individual communities that bear the brunt of environmental risks — frequently populations of color.
The Trump administration is preparing to drill off Florida’s coast, but says it will wait until after the November election to avoid any backlash from Florida state leaders.

Immigration news

U.S. Customs and Border Protection used emergency funding meant for migrant families and children to pay for dirt bikes, canine supplies, computer equipment and other enforcement related-expenditures… The money was meant to be spent on “consumables and medical care” for migrants at the border.
ACLU files lawsuit against stringent border restrictions related to coronavirus that largely bar migrants from entering the United States.
Under Trump’s leadership, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has mismanaged its finances so badly that it has sought an emergency $1.2 billion infusion from taxpayers. When Trump took office, USCIS inherited a budget surplus. A large amount of funding is drained by its deliberate creation of more busy work for immigrants and their lawyers — as well as thousands of USCIS employees. These changes are designed to make it harder for people to apply for, receive or retain lawful immigration status.
Asylum-seeking migrants locked up inside an Arizona ICE detention center with one of the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases say they were forced to clean the facility and are 'begging' for protection from the virus
ICE plans to spend $18 million on thousands of new tasers and the training to use them

18k off a 4k freeroll vs. $800 to $12 to $10k. My first time playing bacc vs. most recent.

My first time playing bacc vs my most recent time (EPIC POLL & INSANE STORY)

DEMOLITION DAYS, Part 47

continuing
As I was picking myself up off the shooter’s shack floor, I glanced over to the TV.
The ballplayers were all wandering around the field, looking skyward. Evidently, there was this hellacious explosion…even the television sports commentators were speculating as to what happened.
Whoops.
I looked out into the quarry. The wall that I had charged had receded some 75 feet.
There was rather a large amount of shattered, blasted dolomitic limestone now in the quarry. Enough, I found out later, for a full month’s worth of orders.
We never did find the blasting mats. I think they sort of evaporated.
Luckily, the quarry is essentially an open amphitheater in plan view; basically a big hole in the ground with vertical limestone walls. The shockwave of the blast that didn’t spend itself shattering the limestone into which it was housed, blew out laterally, hit the opposite quarry wall, rebounded, and then dispersed, rather energetically, vertically upward.
I set off car alarms for a 20 block radius.
There were no broken home windows, as the lion’s share of the shock wave was redirected upward.
Good thing there were no low flying zeppelins or dirigibles in the area...
I waited the requisite time to allow for any loafers. There were none, so I jumped into the nearest wheel loader and began clearing the quarry floor. Hell, I had to so I could open the front gate.
As I was clearing the floor, making pile number eight of the loose rock I had liberated, I heard the characteristic whoop-whoop of emergency vehicles.
I parked the wheel loader, opened the front gate, and raised the green flag. That was enough blasting for one day.
A few minutes later, three police cars zoom into the site. Two were local city cops, and one was a state trooper.
“Hi, guys!” I waved, “Nice day, innit?”
“Doctor Rock! We should have known.” One of the local boys groaned.
“Hey, I did call you beforehand, as per procedure,” I said.
Polack the cop walks up, just knowing I was responsible. “Yeah, but we didn’t figure on you terrorizing the entire city.”
“Polack! How goes it?” I asked.
The other local cop and the state trooper look to Polack, “You know this maniac?”
“Oh, hell yeah. For years. Don’t worry, the good doctor is mostly harmless.” He chuckles.
“Damn. OK. I guess everything’s OK. Just no more shooting today, please, Doctor. It’s going to take hours to calm everyone down.” He laments.
“Yes, sir. I’m done for the day.” I reply, snickering slightly.
The one local and state trooper depart, shaking their heads in amazement. This left Polack to follow me over to the shooter’s shack to mooch a cigar and whatever else he can find.
“Jesus Hula-Dancing Christ, Rock. What the hell was that? I was all the way out in Whitewatosa and heard you.” He asks as he sneakily snakes a smoke out of my case.
“Just some common chemicals in the proper proportions.” I snicker.
“Which were?” he asks.
I go in the back of the shed and toss him an empty container of one of the parts of the binaries I used. He catches it, reads the label, and drops it like a live grenade.
“Binaries? Fuck! Like what you used at the tower?” he asks.
“Yep. I used just a little more.” I reply.
“Little more? Damn, as I said, we’ve been briefed on the stuff. This shit’s nasty.” He shakes his head.
“Yeah. Fun, too.” I reply.
Polack grabs a Sprechler’s Cream Soda out of the fridge as I opt for a cold Cream Ale and shot of potato juice. Hell, I was done for the day, so…
We sit around and have a chat, just shooting the shit, as it were. Manly topics, so the conversation eventually steered over to guns.
“Hey!” Polack remembers, “That’s right! You fucking owe me. Let me borrow that fucking cannon you carry. I want to show the chief a thing or two.”
“Yeah, that’s right”, I agree, “When do you need it?”
“This Friday, after shift. It’s the monthly qualifiers for us.” He notes.
“Are pyromaniacs allowed in?” I ask.
“To observe? Sure. To shoot? Nope. Insurance regulations.” He says.
“What time?” I continue.
“1800 hours.” He tells me.
“I’ll be there. I’ll bring my gun and an assortment of loads. Hey, this could be fun!” I evilly smile.
“Doctor. You’re doing that thing again. You’re grinnin’ like a shithouse rat. You know how much that scares me. Stop it.” He pleads.
“No worries. Friday at 1800 hours.” I reply, grinning.
Polack slurps down his Sprechlers, snitches another stogie, and squeals out of the quarry in a cloud of dense dolomitic dust.
I arrive back at our flat, after stopping for two frozen custard Turtle Sundaes, to go. I give one to an appreciative wife and I ask her about her day.
“Oh, went shopping with Oma. Got the cutest shoes, and a new purse, and…oh well, never mind. You’ll see.”
Between bites of Turtle Sundae, she asks how my day went.
“Oh, my dear. I had a real blast.” I replied, not lying in the least.
Monday, after my first classes, I’m back in the faculty lounge, savoring a Greenland Coffee.
There was the usual instructor chatter when Dean Vermiculari walks in.
“Good morning, Dean!” I say. “Care for a sit-down and a coffee?”
“Good morning, Doctor Rock. Yes, please to both.” He replies.
I fix us both a fresh Greenland Coffee and return to our table. I hand him one and sit down to savor my soupçon.
“How was your weekend?” I ask the Dean of the College.
“Oh, very nice. Had a fine time catching some perch and crappie out on Lake Genever. I see you had a victorious weekend as well. Twice.” He smiles.
“Twice?” I asked.
“Well, your handling of the tower demolition made all the papers. Very, very well done, Doctor. I congratulate you.” He smiles.
“Thank you, Dean. That means a lot. Just doing what I can with what I’ve got. But twice?” I replied.
“It wasn’t front-page news, but I saw there was some, well, let us just say, ‘energetic activity’ out at the Silurian reef limestone quarry yesterday.” He grinned.
“Oh, yes. I had a job to do and well, as I always say: ‘Nothing succeeds like excess.” I smile back.
“Quite. This beverage you’ve created is really rather extraordinary, Doctor. Again, I thank you.” He tips his mug my direction in the age-old Midwestern salute.
“It’s a little recipe I picked up on my last expedition to the northlands. I grew rather fond of the concoction.” I replied.
“Ah, I see. Marvelous.” He smiles.
“Thank you, Dean. High praise indeed.” I reply.
“Which leads me to…ah, Doctor Rock. I have another favor to impose upon you.” He says, all serious.
“Yes, Dean? How can I be of service?” I ask.
“We, as you no doubt know, have many, many fine extractive mineral company connections. We actually receive quite a large amount of funding and endowments from them. They recruit here extensively for our young geoscientists. Now, since Dr. Pataariki has left for industry himself, I would like to appoint you as the College of Natural Sciences corporate liaison.” He explains.
“Indeed?” I replied, too stunned for words for once.
“Yes, indeed.” He continues, “It will require travel, mostly domestic, and delivering symposia at various companies on differing extractive geological subjects. You will also serve as host and university coordinator when they are present on recruiting tours. There will, of course, be additional remuneration to accompany the added responsibilities.”
I slurped my coffee, thinking furiously.
“Could I please first discuss it with my wife before I answer?” I ask.
“Oh, Doctor. Of course, of course. Take your time. I will not require a reply until… tomorrow.” He smiles, finishes his coffee, thanks me again, and toddles out.
“Yow, Es!” I exclaim, “This is one hell of an opportunity. It’s never before been offered to a junior professor. This will cement my tenure-track. It’s going to be a bitch with time, though. What do you think I should do?”
“Well, Rock, honey, I think you should do…” Es begins.
“No! None of that ‘do what you think is best’ stuff. I want your own thoughts, just like when I decided to go after my doctorate.” I explained.
“OK, then.” Esme looks all serious like she’s going to deliver a bipartisan political speech.
“Yes.” She says, firmly
“That’s it?” I ask.
“Yep. You asked I answered. We’ll make it work. We always do. You can’t let the Dean down. You will accept tomorrow without fear or qualms of your wife’s hesitations, of which I harbor none.” Esme proclaims.
“Did I ever tell you of the myriad reasons I love you so?” I ask.
The next morning I meet with Dean Vermiculari. He’s pleased that I accept and hands over to me the charter. Then the lists of company representatives, their contact information, and some other secret stuff that I can’t divulge right yet.
A raft of oil companies will be coming in the late spring semester, so I need to contact each and every one to solidify dates, times and positions for which they’re recruiting. But that’s for then, I have something more proximal for now.
I have a Friday appointment with Polack the cop at the town police shooting range.
I arrive spot on time with my Casull .454 Magnum pistol, in its carry bag, along with a small duffel crammed with Pyrodex, Tannerite, and selection of specialty loads I had Herman the German, the inveterate gunsmith, create.
Herman the German, his actual sobriquet, was this incredible gunsmith, craftsman, and all-around artillery specialist. Have any sort of problem with a rifle, shotgun, or pistol? See Herman. Gun holding too high? See Herman. Barrel warped? See Herman. Need solid gold projectiles for a certain one-off job? See Herman.
Herman the German can sort it out.
Just never ask him: “How?”
“Ach! I’ve lived so long to learn, and you want it free? I’ll fix it, you pay, but I am only one knowing how!”
Herman was a cranky old Kraut, and has lived here for as long as anyone can remember. Even my Grandfather had deferred to Herman when he had some particularly delicate machining operation that need special attention and was unique.
As far as anyone knew, Herman had no family, but was never at a loss for friends. He was one of the most popular, and well known, but still oddly really unknown, kind of mysterious, old bastards in the entire community.
Herman the German liked me because I could obtain for him certain high-energy things he couldn’t. All were entirely legal, but some were sort of out there in the gray zone.
He also liked that I was educated, as he held education in the highest esteem. He also liked that I was of German extraction myself.
I often made it a point to drop by with odd and unusual high-octane potables while never expecting anything in return other than a story or a shared cigar.
Herman created some special loads for my .454 Magnum, which he prized.
“I like your gun, Doctor Rock, it is so big! I can still see well enough to build things for it.” He told me one day over cheroots and Schnapps.
Herman was a character to be certain. It must have been the pixie in him to dream up some of the specialty rounds he created for me to share with the local constabulary.
He lived out in the county by himself in an old farmhouse. He had a full machine shop in his basement, complete with forge, metal handling equipment, and a firing test range.
He handed back my .454, rather solemnly.
“Doctor, I am afraid to say I couldn’t test all the special rounds I’ve created for you. I need to patch the hole in the cinder blocks in the downstairs range. Your gun punched right through the back…” he apologized.
Now, Herman does all sorts of work on the local’s deer rifles, the police’s ordinance and has even worked some with the Baja Canada National Guard. Some of the little novelties he’s dreamed up for me are the first to escape his homemade basement test range.
I felt oddly honored.
After proving who I was to the nice range officer, I looked around trying to find Polack.
“It’s 1550. Where the hell is Polack? I wondered.
“Rock! Over here.” Polack calls to me.
He motions me outside to the police department’s tactical outdoor range. I had thought all along he was referring to the indoors police target range. This might pose some problems.
The tactical range was a series of clapboard shacks, all setup and designed to represent some downtrodden urban inter-city landscape. There were a couple of junked cars, broken sidewalks, storefronts, houses, bus stops…in short, all things necessary to replicate the seediest sections of a settlement where malefactors live and breed.
The cops all run around this range, shooting at bad guy pop-up cut-outs and avoid the not-bad-guy pop-up cut-outs. They’ve got music blaring, firecrackers going off, all trying to re-create a shady deeply urban environment. Points are awarded by the accuracy of fire on the run, time to maneuver the course, and the ability of not gunning down innocent bystanders.
It is not the best place to test a .454 Cusall. This hand cannon recoils like a fundamentalist Christian being solicited for donations to Anton LaVey, shoots flames and incandescent gasses like Smaug after a hard night of drinking and a stop at the Taco Bell buffet, is louder than a dime-store Karen demanding to see a Manager, and more powerful than a Ghost Pepper suppository.
To quote Joe Piscopo: “It shoots through schools.” Especially faux-schools made of plywood.
A .32 or .38 cop special is the correct weapon here; even a 9mm is a little heavy. Enough power to make a serious dent, easy on control, light on the recoil…a good tactical weapon.
But, nothing succeeds like excess.
Polack’s Chief is running around, capping off his ‘big ol’ .44 Magnum, and making the valley echo. He punches considerable holes in the pop-up cut-outs, but has such a hard time handling the recoil, his score is barely passable.
Polack runs his test with his standard 9mm sidearm and qualifies easily. However, he’s nowhere near done with his Chief yet.
I suggest to Polack we have a shoot-off. And since a .44 Magnum bullet ‘is so close to a .454 Magnum’, which it isn’t…the .454 Casull generates nearly 85% more recoil energy than the .44 Magnum; that we’d need something other than holes punched in plywood to judge the efficacy of each.
We are literally just down the road from Max Yazzer’s farm and market. They’re the place you go for your Halloween jack-o-lantern. However, now, he has a surplus of melons.
I think you can see where this is headed…
I borrow Polack’s personal conveyance and run down to Max’s farm. I return with a trunk-load of elderly, overripe, cheap as chips, melons. Watermelons, Honeydews, Musks, and Casabas.
We place them in strategic areas on the course, five for the Chief to find, and five for Polack.
A .44 vs. a .454 melon-wise results in pretty much the same sort of mess: high-velocity fruit spatter. Although, the Chief was very impressed by the report of the .454. So, after running the tactical-melon course, clear demarcation of a winner was elusive.
OK, OK, clever dicks. How about this? A standing shoot-off? We’ll set up 3 melons each at 30, 20, and 10 yards. Beginning at 30 yards, your time will be until you take out all three melons. But, they’re not going to be in a straight line, we’re going to make them somewhat camouflaged. You will stand in one small demarcated area, hunt those miscreant melons, and bring them to justice. Fastest time and greatest display wins, as determined by the Police Peanut Gallery.
Polack and the Chief agree.
The Chief goes first and dispatches the melons, with a fair amount of spatter, in 15.3 seconds.
Not bad.
Polack is next. He wipes out all the melons and creates some thoroughly impressive displays with Herman’s ‘special’ rounds. Normal ballistics for the .454 are, for a 250 grain (16 g) bullet, a muzzle velocity of over 2,400 feet per second, developing up to 2,800 ft-lb of energy.
Herman’s hot loads are double that.
Polack wins the day on impressive high-velocity melon distribution, but misses, so close, with a time of 17.0 seconds.
Recoil’s a bitch.
Then there are Herman’s ‘specialties’.
The Chief is duly impressed and even comments that his ears are ringing even with the ear protectors. He asks to inspect the weapon. He is even more than duly impressed.
Polack knows what’s up and asks the Chief if he’d like to give a whirl.
Of course, the Chief can’t back down.
Polack loads the .454 with 5 of Herman’s specialties: hollow-point rounds loaded hot, compressed, and tipped with alkaline earth metals, like metallic sodium and metallic potassium…
We set up the nastiest, glorpiest, just barely-holding-together, overripe, laced with Tannerite (an impact-actuated low-explosive) watermelon at the ‘Concealed Carry’ distance of 5 meters.
We slowly fade back into the distance to avoid the inevitable ‘Gallagher reaction’.
The Chief fires one, and just nicks the top of the melon. Don’t laugh, with the type of recoil and heft of the sidearm, and tensing up in anticipation, it’s easy to be off the mark initially.
The second round impacts dead-center. Now, alkaline earth metals and water don’t get along really well. In fact, their relationship is explosive. Especially explosive when delivered at 2,900 feet per second.
The Chief catches a huge smattering of vitamin-packed watermelony back blast goo.
He’s not entirely happy. He looks positively grisly with all that blown-up melon schmoo on his nice, neat uniform.
He returns my gun and bans me from ever showing up at the police range again.
Polack is on traffic duty for the next month.
He figures it was well worth it.
Back at the flat, Esme is shaking her head and wondering if I’ll ever grow up.
“I may grow old, but I’ll never grow up.” I reply.
I see I have several missed phone calls. Ah, me; no rest for the weary. Back to company-university liaison duties.
After I had contacted these companies, I receive no less than 12 requests for symposia, talks, and seminars to be given to various level of industrial scientific employees in their respective companies.
I am now slated to give academic conferences on stratigraphy, sedimentology, and seismic structural geology to different companies in Houston, Oklahoma City, Denver, Casper, Corpus Christi, New Orleans, and Tulsa. In the next 12 weeks, I’ll be giving no less than 8 talks in seven cities.
I speak with Dean Vermiculari on how best to handle the situation. He understands and appoints two graduate student teaching assistants to handle my classes while I’m on the road. That relieves me of being physically there, but I still have to grade papers, compose lesson plans, and keep things running smoothly until finals.
Besides giving the talks, there’s travel to oil fields, production facilitates, manufacturing plants, hotels, restaurants while I’m in town…the pace is excruciating. I’m gone more than I am at university. Plus in my time back home, I’m still the ad hoc master blaster for the limestone quarry.
Then, there’s the companies arriving on campus, and the roles are reversed. Now I’m the welcome wagon and have to sort out the logistics of receiving the company representatives. I need to set up the colloquia to introduce the companies to the prospective students, arrange lodging, arrange passes for the university, transportation, “Meet-and-Greet’s, ad infinitum.
I knew this was having a bit of effect on me when I came back to the flat after one particularly grueling ordeal of canceled flights, full hotels, missed connections and lukewarm reception by the company workers.
“Hello”, I said, as I walked in the flat, “I believe you have a reservation for…”
Esme just stood there, wondering if I was having a laugh.
No, I wasn’t. I was completely hallucinating from road weariness, lack of sleep, jet lag, and total disorientation. This continued on for the next approximately 18 months.
Esme was beginning to have second thoughts about all this.
My teaching load was diminished by one whole introductory course. However, I was still flying hither and yon, delivering symposia, meeting with young geoscientists and getting to know the ins-and-outs of the Oil Industry.
I found it particularly fascinating.
Time marched on and it was once again it was the recruiting season. We had no less than eight oil companies visiting the university in their quest to swell the roster of their junior scientists.
I’m still busier than a one-armed paperhanger in a windstorm, but have settled into a groove of sorts. I know the company recruiters and they now know me. I’ve actually struck up friendships with several. Particularly since I take them to the best local restaurants and bars after their recruiting duties are finished.
I’ve met with recruiting representatives of Shrill Petrol, Mexxon, Nobil, Nocono Oil, Flug, Geddy, Brutish Petroleum, and Qexaco.
The recruiting season is winding down and I find myself with Red (not Adair), of Nocono Oil.
“Well, Doctor Rock”, Red states, “Another fine recruiting run. We’ve snagged two of your young geologists and one geophysicist. I’d say it was almost a perfect score.”
We’re sitting in the Norton’s Steakhouse. After a couple of prime pink porterhouses, we’re working on the post-dinner double vodka and bitter lemon for me, and Lagavulin for Red.
“Almost perfect?” I ask.
“Yeah. There’s been this one small nagging concern from our company higher-ups.” Red continues.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“We need some more senior people. For one thing, we’ve recently opened a new petroleum laboratory down in our Houston office. Going to need some serious talent to run that show.” Red says.
“I see”, I reply, “And…?”
“We need mentors. Those with varied and far-flung knowledge. They must be well educated, global in experience and stature, with an [ahem] diverse set of skills.” Red notes.
“Whew”, I agree, “That’s a tall order. You want my help with names of possible candidates? Is that it?”
“Not as such, Doctor.” Red drains his drink, motions for me to do the same, and orders another round.
Our drinks arrive and Red downs half his in one gulp.
“Well, then”, I continue, “How can I help?”
Red chuckles, “For someone so educated, you can really be thick as two short planks at times.”
I sit back, and sip my Old Thought Provoker.
The mercury-vapors light off.
“No!” I say, incredulously.
“Oh, yes.” Red smiles.
“No?” I ask, slowly taking in the possible effects of what he’s hinting at…
“OK, Doctor Rocknocker”, Red gets all serious and corporate, “We’d like to offer you a position at Nocono Oil as Senior Laboratory Manager and Head of Corporate Continuing Education.”
You could have knocked me over with a grenade. I was stunned. I fumbled with my drink.
“Red, you old con artist” I reply, “Is this a set-up?”
Red, serious as a heart attack, looks directly at me and replies, “Doctor Rock, absolutely not, it’s a genuine offer.”
He slides over a folder with some papers inside. “Here are the particulars.”
Reeling, I accept the folder. I open it and right after the corporate logos and legal bullshit, I see a tall figure with a whole raft of zeros trailing behind it.
I read furiously. The job would be both interesting and challenging. It would be in Houston, with travel and teaching at all other company outposts on a regular basis. I reexamine that figure from before and verify that I’m not now hallucinating.
The job comes with furnished, corporate-paid housing, incredible benefits, loads of opportunity for advancement, more opportunity to travel, really generous vacation time…
“Right. On the level?” I ask again.
“Yep.” Red bluntly says.
“Well”, I gulp, “you know I have to discuss this with Esme”, whom he’s met several times previous.
“Of course, and you probably want to finish out the semester, correct?” red asks.
“Oh, yes.” I reply. There would be a monsoon of paperwork and other grunt work I’d need to conclude or hand over if I were to accept this offer.
“OK, then”, Red finishes his drink, motions for me to do the same, a real rarity; but I was in another dimension at this point. He orders another round and sits back, waiting on a refill.
“You have two weeks to reply” Red states.
“I know that’s not a terribly long time, but we need to fill this position ASAP. Can I ask for that? Your answer, yea, or nay, within a fortnight?” Red demands.
“Yes”, I reply. “I at least owe you that.”
And that was the end of the discussion for the night about me joining the private sector. We stayed a few more hours, chatting, smoking my cigars, and discussing everything but the lumbering elephant in the room.
We part outside as I need to head back to our flat. Red wants to go downtown to one of those “Gentleman’s Clubs” he’s heard were so famous at the time.
I was flummoxed the whole cab ride home.
It was late when I returned, but I simply had to wake Es with the news.
“Rock, for pity’s sake, its 2 o’clock in the morning!” Es protests. “Can’t this wait until later?”
“Sorry, my dear” I reply, probably as serious as I ever had with Esme. “This is a potential game-changer.”
“What is it? Are you OK?” Esme trembles.
“Oh, I’m fine. Better than fine.” I reply.
She’s relieved.
“Then what’s so important?” she asks.
“Um…how would you like to move to Houston?” I ask.
“You going to teach at Cougar High (University of Houston)?” she inquires.
“Nope. Brace yourself. I’ve been offered a job with Nocono Oil.” I finally spill the beans.
Esme is slightly stunned and sits down.
I go to the wet bar, fix me a bracing potato juice and citrus and Esme a stiff white Zinfandel.
I hand her the wine and she is still semi-dazed and digesting the information.
I slurp a good portion of my drink, retrieve her Sobranjes and me a cigar from my Turkmenistan humidor.
I sit on the couch next to her and hug her soundly.
“Esme? Es? Earth to Es? You in there?” I joke.
“Oh, Yeah. Rock. Really? Hang on”, she leaves, returning with her housecoat as this might take a little time.
“So?” I ask, “Your thoughts. Now! Immediately! Initial reaction!” I try to jar her back into reality.
“Well, what do you want?” she asks.
“C’mon, my dearest. You know I hate that. No, what do you think? What do you honestly think?” I reply.
We both fire up our smokes, and I refresh our drinks. We return to the dinner table where Red’s folder lies.
“Es, here. Look at this.” I say, sliding the portfolio over to her.
She reads like a hungry man at a Vegas casino buffet. I can tell where she was stopped by something extraordinary.
“This is for real?” she asks, “Red’s not pulling a fast one?”
“Nope. It’s the genuine article”, I tell her, “He needs my reply within two weeks.”
“Rock, Rock…I just don’t know. It’s a lot to process at 0230 in the morning. Let’s go to bed and have a think in the morning. You have the luxury of at least that amount of time.” She notes.
“Right again, as usual”, I say, “Stuff it. It can wait.” We toddle off to bed.
The next morning, over Cuban omelets and Greenland Coffees, we sort through the particulars.
“Rock, it’s an extraordinary offer. But, do you want to leave teaching? I remember how you got all animated by Dean Vermiculari giving you the corporate liaison job and how that would improve your shot at tenure.” She notes.
“I just don’t know. I’m still shell-shocked.” I tell her. “Let me go to school and we’ll pick this up tonight. We both have work to do no matter what. Oh, bloody hell. I hadn’t considered your job. Another wrinkle in the mess.”
“Don’t you worry about that”, Esme smiles. “One catastrophe at a time.”
“I do so love you.” I hug her soundly. “Think I should mention this offer to anyone at school?”
“No. Definitely not.” Esme shakes her head. “Let’s figure this out on our own.”
“I agree”, I say, kiss her and depart for school once again.
The next week was a blur. Recruiting duties were dragging and I was being preoccupied.
Even my students noted the lack of in-room explosions lately.
I spend the next Saturday at the quarry, doing some small amount of blasting. I quiz the quarry owners about their progress in acquiring a new master for the quarry’s operation.
“Oh, Doctor Rock” they gush, “You’re doing such a fine job, we haven’t really looked. Why do you ask?”
“No particular reason at this time, I reply, “But perhaps you might want to begin looking”
The chinks in my armor were finally starting to show.
Sunday was spent out on Sliver Lake, with Esme and me chasing the elusive crappie, perch, and bucketmouth bass. It also gave us a chance to clear our heads from work, school and other such intrusions. We both needed a bit of downtime.
Later that night, after a meal of beer-battered fillet of crappie and perch on the barbie, we sit down at the dinner table.
The portfolio sits there, taunting us.
I get up, makes us both our drinks, sit down and declare that this is it.
“Es, darling” I say, “its nut-cuttin’ time. We need to make our decision.”
“You’re right.” Es agrees, “Time for risk-reward analysis. Get some paper and some pencils.”
We spend the next few hours listing the pros and cons of accepting the Houston position or staying here and pursuing my tenured professorship.
After several hours, I stretch, stand, and go to the fridge. I retrieve the bottle of Bollinger Les Vieilles Vignes Francaises I had purchased the other day.
I return to the table with the wine and the glasses, pop the cork and pour us both a glass of high-brow bubble water.
I hug and kiss Esme like I had just returned from a long, solo expedition.
“Esme, my darling. I’d like to propose a toast. First to us. Hа здоровый!”
“Cheers!” Esme replies.
“Secondly to Red, Dean Vermiculari, the quarry guys, Polack the Cop, and all the others that makes our life weird around here.”
“Seconded”, Es echoes.
“Finally: to Houston, Texas. Our new home!” I finally add.
The next morning, Dean Vermiculari peers over the top of his pince-nez glasses. He’s not looking overly happy with me right now.
“Why is it, Doctor, that everyone that receives the job of corporate liaison ends up going with corporate?” he asks.
“Perhaps it’s just the exposure to another world that exists beyond academia.” I reply, truthfully.
“Doctor Rocknocker,” the Dean gravely states, “I am not at all happy about your decision. We had great hopes for you here and you were riding right up the tenure track. Another five years and it would have been assured.”
“Five years is a long time, Dean”, I state the obvious.
“Yes, indeed.” The Dean replies frostily. “However, you are young. Perhaps you need to get this private sector nonsense out of your system, then you can return to academia where you belong.”
“Perhaps, perhaps”, I reply.
“Please, do consider this option down the road. You and your antics will be missed here, by students and faculty alike.” He says.
“I will, Dean, I promise.” I reply “However, for now, it’s time for my boot heels to be wanderin’.”
“Doctor, I will miss your strange and unique way of looking at life. I reluctantly accept your resignation at the end of the current semester and wish you all the best in your newest endeavors. Please remember us when corporate support for academia is mentioned in your new company.” he says.
“I promise you, Dean, I will not forget what I’ve learned here and what you’ve taught. It’s the least I can do,” I reply. “I will never forget my roots.”
“All I can ask”, he concludes. He stands to shake my hand. We shake and my audience is over.
I resign from the quarry a week later. They haven’t found a new blaster but wish me well on my new journey. I tell them I’m here until the end of the semester, so I won’t leave them high and dry.
I tell Polack the Cop about all the goings-on.
“Who the hell can I roust for beer and cigars now?” He whines. “Let me know when you get to Texas if they need any cops. I wouldn’t mind trying’ that. Hell, maybe a Texas Ranger!”
“A Cheesehead Ranger…?” I assure him I will and pass a box of cigars to him as a parting gift. He gives me a mayoral-signed get-out-of-jail-free card.
“Now you can drive that old Harley just as crazy as you want.” He chuckles.
“Thanks, Polack.” I say, shaking his hand. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I sold my bike a week earlier.
Red was very chuffed with the news.
“Snagged me a big one this time!’ He laughed, over the phone.
There was enough paperwork, considerations and decisions to be made to last the remaining time Esme and I had in-state until our move. Already, a moving company had arrived, done inventory, and was preparing for our move to Houston.
Esme resigned her position and decided she wanted to take some time off. She wanted to be a housewife, a colleague, and not have to work for once at an outside job. My new position allowed for that in spades. Besides with her credentials, anytime when she wants to re-join the workforce, there are myriad opportunities in the Bayou City.
We made the choice of housing out west of town, in Katy, Texas. We could have chosen Sugarland, Addicks, Greenspoint, Greenway, or the Memorial area. However, these west Houston company properties were closest to the job and largest in square footage.
My students got wind of my resignation and relocation. They threw me an unexpected farewell party at the Gast Haus. It was nickel-beer night and since they were footing the bill, it all worked out just fine.
I would miss the old place. The camaraderie, the seasons, the university; hell my home these last many years. I’ve been on many, many expeditions, but I always returned home.
Now, home was moving and was awaiting our arrival.
Esme and I said our farewells to our families as well. We were the first through college, the first ones to travel international, the first Doctor in the family, and the first to leave the state.
That’s a lot of familial firsts.
I had to keep reminding everyone it wouldn’t be the last. Hell, we’re just moving to Texas, it’s not like we’re off to Greenland or Mongolia…
[Gasp]
We saddled up Es’s old Chevy Nova, took one last, lingering look in the rearview mirror, and said fare thee well to our previous lives.
“We’ll be back. Someday. I promise” I told the city of our youth and young married adulthood.
We decided to drive to Houston because we had the luxury of a bit of time. We needed the stretch to chew over some interpersonal and private things on the way to the next chapter in our lives. Besides, the weather was good, the roads ahead open and clear, and Texas had no ‘Open Container’ law, yet.
We pointed the old Nova south and hit the gas.
A week later, we’re wandering around our new house in Katy, Texas. Our belongings, scant though they may be, arrived the day after we did. Esme and I spent the next couple of day rearranging the house, buying necessary domestic bits and pieces, and getting to know our new neighborhood.
First thing, though, Esme wanted to replace the old Nova. I concurred, but insisted we keep it as a second car and went out to purchase our first new car as a couple.
I wanted a Land Rover. We ended up with a glossy black Toyota 4-Runner. Close enough.
I was scheduled to show up at my new job the next Monday.
I had my own parking spot, complete with “Reserved for Dr. Rock” painted on the bumper block. I was shown my new lab and was introduced to my seven laboratory assistants. I was shown the catalogs I could use to order what I needed and went over the requisition procedures.
I was trotted around to meet the company CEO, CFO, CIO, VPs and many, many more company executives and managers. I’ve met with presidents and heads of state, I was impressed but not overly. They seemed like a more or less nice bunch of chaps.
Almost exactly five weeks to the day from our arrival in Houston, I come home, yelling “Darling, I’m home!”
Esme comes to greet me with a rib-rearranging hug. She tells me to sit at the dinner table, where my long hard day at the office drink, cigar, ashtray, and lighter are already set.
“How was work, dear?” she asks, sitting down with her Perrier water.
“Oh, it’s going great. The knotheads let me have an open-ended budget until I get the labs sorted just the way I want it. These guys pay their bills on time and I have carte blanche at Wards Scientific, and other supply houses. My crew is great, no interpersonal crapola, and hard workers. I can smoke in my office and no one dares give me shit about my cigars. I’m getting to know the exploration department quite well. They’re really interested in our expeditions and are more interested in my opinions of their new exploration directives.”
Esme just smiles and sips her water.
“Odd”, I thought.
“That’s great, dear.” She says. “I am so glad to hear it.”
“Me too”, I say, “How are you holding up after all these weeks alone?”
“Oh, I’m getting used to it.” She smiles.
And smiles. Beatifically. Glowing.
“What?” I ask.
“Remember what we talked about in the car on the way down here?” She asks.
“We talked about a lot of things…” I say, suddenly my eyes grew very, very wide indeed.
“Yes. You’re going to be a father. I’m pregnant, Rock.” Esme smiles.

Gov. Stitt says Nontribal Casinos Would Mean More Money For State

Rise and Fall Part 7. Its long.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
This section is a bit erratic as I had to jump around a lot and it may not flow well. I almost didnt post it and instead did a short version, but it did the story no justice imo. The tail off in these posts are going to end with a lot of self reflection and things I have learned through all of this. I hope to keep the remainder to less than 3-4 parts but could genuinely make it 30-40 if I wanted to. This part (the bulk of it) is going to cover the least amount of actual time but its a pretty important juncture in my life.
I am about 3-4 weeks clean of opiates but I am still withdrawing badly, though no where near as bad as I was early on it was still bad. Could not sleep was always sore and achey sneezy runny nose etc etc. They say a month is what it takes to cold turkey but I was taking so much that it wasnt pacing well. One thing I realize in my current day and I will probably elaborate on it more later but taking oxy or opiates was only about the high for a month or two in the beginning. If you know anyone who struggles with it they arent taking it to get high, they are taking it to not hurt, taking it just to feel normal. Opiates are so unbelievably addicting its mind boggling to me. They are the most evil thing I have ever encountered.
I am driving to go play as I am trying to start playing live for income and I reach into my center console to grab some aspirin (it kinda helped the joint pain and physical pain of the withdraw) and I dump a few aspirin out and a little blue/green pill falls into my hand. As it turns out there were three 30s in that bottle. I remember this so vividly. I havent had an ounce of opiates since WSOP. Im 2-3 weeks from being clean of withdrawal and the worst is behind me, and I stumble onto these. I clench them in my hands for the rest of the drive to the casino. I even call my dad to tell him to try and get motivation to rid of them. He told me to throw them out the window obviously. Its why they were clenched in my hand. I rolled down the window and just hang my hand unable to open it. I cant bring myself to get rid of them. I remember laughing at it. A weird thing about being on oxy/heroin then getting clean is the emotions, despite being in pain from withdrawal I was laughing again, I hadnt laughed in a while. Emotions are strong when you havent felt them in a long time, whether it be anger or joy or sadness it is overwhelming. Anyhow I convince myself that I can handle doing 3 more and be fine. So I crush one up and blow it. I go into the casino to play, and within an hour I am getting the other two crushed up. My tolerance was still sky high even after a month roughly. I blow all 3 in an hour and play for a couple hours and leave once they wear off, withdrawals end up increasing a bit and now I am just wanting some hydrocodone to make the withdrawal go away.
So now I break my 3-4 weeks clean (immediately following WSOP) and buy some loritabs. These just took the pain away. There was no high from them but it took a lot to make the pain go away, was taking 3 10s at a time 5-6 times I day. Ashamedly I was actually snorting these too :/ which is a lot of powder and aspirin.
My body has been waking up from not having oxy. What I mean is oxy numbs you physically and mentally. You could jerk off for 3 hours and make your dick bleed but you wont get off. Youre emotionally and physically numb. So my sex drive is coming back. I have about 6k to my name. I am playing cards one day and I just snap. I lose it. I cant handle the monotonous live game. Not to mention I was playing 1-2nl as thats what was available in Tulsa outside of weekend nights and a scheduled big game.
So I text a girl I messed around with before oxy. I havent talked to her in 18 months she had no clue I was even doing oxy but I still remember the text I sent (for the most part)
I sent her a text asking her if she wanted to go on a mini road trip. (Im absurdly blunt and overly analytical and it hurts me with women) She asked to where and I responded by jokingly saying theres a good satanic cult meet up in Kansas. A few messages exchange and I tell her to just pack a bag and I will be there in an hour. She agrees. I run home and pack myself a bag. I go to pick her up and shes having second thoughts and I convince her once again. We go to the airport (yea its changed to flying somewhere) with intention of taking the next flight out to anywhere really. Well Tulsa has few options so we have to go to Dallas and we will assess from there. I only have cash mind you and they rape you for buying cash. We get to Dallas and its either Vegas or Orlando. Vegas it is. We get to Vegas and I we have no reservation so we go to Caesars (decent rooms much cheaper than Bellagio etc) and all they have are Junior Suites. Fuck it give me two nights (its a Friday and were going back Sunday because she works Monday) at 650 a night. Then we eat a couple nice meals and money already running thin.
Now, I am supposed to be having fun on this trip. I like this girl actually, shes a great girl. However what I have yet to mention is when I ran home and packed my bag I left my bottle of hydrocodones... every passing hour after flying to Dallas I am further into withdrawal. I end up drinking most of the trip. I have the shits. Im sneezing. Im paranoid and over analytical and it just made an awful trip.
At one point on that Saturday night she gets frustrated and cries and tells me “I like love you _, but this _” the first __ is my name, the second I dont remember. I basically just got hit with the first part and I actually cry, standing in front of the Bellagio fountains. It was a combination of frustration with life having gone broke, opiate withdrawals, was drunk trying to mask withdrawals and that aided it and lastly hearing her say that just hurt me because I had clearly hurt her. I had messed with her 18+ months ago but was always playing cards never really made any efforts, essentially unavailable emotionally. Then I take her to Vegas and I am drinking and so fucking paranoid to fool around with her cause I am withdrawing and will blow a load in seconds or wtf ever else. Those words hit me hard though. I am too dumb to know that she felt that way. That is pretty much my assessment of that and a common theme with women for me. I do not pick up on subtle cues very well, and I am so analytical that any cues I do pick up I find a way to chalk it up to something else.
She was angry the rest of the trip and I never once talked to her again. I tried once but its irrelevant. I am in my early 30s and have never had a serious relationship in my life, thanks to poker and drugs. Honestly I think poker is the biggest reason. At the end of the day when you first start playing poker it is an addiction. I at one time in my life was a poker addict (spoiler alert I still play) and it consumed me. Time away from poker was spent altering my mind. I never was available to anyone. Before I played poker I had normal encounters with women. The longer I played the worse I became.
Ok I will try to rev this up a bit, those two or three months I reflect on a lot though. I think about her occasionally and had even meant to tell her this stuff at one time but never did (shes still unaware of everything outside of the shutdown breaking me, and that was more me than the shutdown).
So part 6 ended with me selling my truck. This actually happens now. I get home from Vegas with her and have relief with hydrocodones. I shatter my relationship with her, and actually one with a good friend who had owed me money and I had him run his card for my flights from Dallas to Vegas to save like 2000$ and made the mistake of saying I will write his debt off which was 3x what the flights cost. In fairness he used a company card, I agreed to terms and failed them. He was a very good friend to me and I have never talked to him since either. Partly because he is kind of a psycho (I say this kindly, hes just good friend or a bad enemy, not much in between) and told me if I ever see him I should turn around and run (to this day if I see him I would be tempted to do so, the guys a brute, hits harder than anyone I know, and I could write several pages of stories about him, I have seen him shatter the front window of a brand new corvette with a punch, not joking, shattered not cracked, be it a fluke or not I saw it, was in 2010 sometime, he went to jail obviously, quite the ramble on this but am tempted to share the story as its something out of a movie)
Fuck it. Short version.
At a bar 2010 with him his roommate and one of my friends in Dallas where he lived and we were visiting. His roommate walks over to a table of girls to hit on them and comes back saying her brother is mad. His roommates back turned to the table, my friend Joey is facing that table. The brother starts walking towards us angrily as Joey watches. This guy has 40lbs on Joey, but Joey is a freak of nature.
Once in range Joey swings and lays this guy out cold. Bar fight ensues. Joey breaks another guys jaw and has the original guy knocked out and the first guy in torn up. Theres a pile of security and shit with Joey on the bottom. It gets split up (Joey never got hit somehow, or had no bruises) and the bouncers are taking him outside. On the way outside with bouncers routing him by pushing him in front he bumps a table. Asshat hero at the table with two guys two gals says “hey buddy watch the table”. Joey breaks his right arm free and swings around his body (guys on his left) and literally knocks this guy on his back while still in his chair. Basically got a wind up and a 180 degree turn for that punch.
Outside they push him off and tell him to get the fuck out of here (cops are called already, I am not sure why they didnt try to detain him tbh, he fucked 3 guys up at this point) so Joey being Joey he kicks a potted plant over walks out towards his car to drive off and on the way to his car hes walking between two cars, one of which is this brand new 2011 Camaro and he just shatters the window... hits it dead center and fucking shatters it. Cops arrive pretty quickly and scoop him up.
One of the guys had his jaw wired shut and one needed reconstructive surgery on his nose if I remember right. The third guy got out good I guess. There was a fuck load of blood though.
Ok back to my shit. Had to tell that though, its a nuts story that doesnt even sound real. I wouldnt believe it from an anonymous source either, its ok.
As 2011 wears on I am losing control further. I end up having to move out of the house I dump like 40k into (while my sister refuses to show me any of the note progress and its now her house again, though she loses it eventually)
I have nowhere to go basically. My parents wont let me come if I am doing opiates. So I end up staying with a friend in Joplin MO. I am unable to stay afloat on pills and poker. I go busto a few times. Random money would arrive to me from old carbon checks to Stars paying out to running ok on TruePoker (kept a 10-15k roll alive long enough to do opiates for a couple months) but I am bouncing from hydros to oxycontin back and forth, running out quite often.
I end up in a methadone clinic early 2012 and eventually quit doing the pills. I am beyond depressed, barely leaving the room I had at my friends house. I am sure I laid in bed for 7 days straight a time or two. I pay him no rent and have to borrow money for my clinic trips. He had the house for free via a mutual friend though. Once my True account ran out I go on poker hiatus.
From 2012 to 2014ish I play essentially no poker aside from a few hands on Intertops from left over cake money. Which I bust eventually.
One isolated poker story from this stretch goes as such. I am staying at a hotel my grandfather (poker one) owns in a small town in NE Oklahoma. Hes letting me stay in one of the cabins on the property. I drive 45 minutes 3-4 days a week to get methadone here. I am depressed have no job and hustle money somehow. I dont even know where it came from but I would stumble onto a thousand here and there.
Tulsa is having tourneys one weekend. So I go play this 350$ two day. I forget the guarantee (it wasnt wsop or wpt it was local) but I think its 100k. It is one of the two or three times I enter a casino over these two years but I bag day one and day two goes well and we end up chopping it 3-4 ways with me and another guy taking two best spots at 15-16k. I remember zero hands from this tourney.
I go back to the cabin I was staying in. I have 15-16k now. I remember being alleviated about having money. I hadnt held 10,000$ in 12-18 months. I dont play a single hand of poker with it. It was so calming to have this money, I was content and didnt want to lose a dime of it. I did buy some oxy with it despite being on methadone and it doing nothing basically. This actually all happened before moving to Joplin, so it is chronologically wrong here. I slowly bleed this money off over a couple months. I just remember the contention I had for having it.
I get accustomed to methadone eventually and move back to Tulsa with another friend. I get a normal job slinging Pizzas at Papa Johns and fucking hate it. What an awful company, they make good pizza (for chain) but they are a joke to work for. Tip those drivers well, they make shit and get (at the time) 50 cents a delivery. PJs charges people 3$ and gives 50 cents to the driver...
Later on I have a buddy who deals circuit events and I get him to help me get hired. He gets me on under the assumption I have dealt before, I have not. I have dealt at my home games back in the day a time or two, I ended up being fine. I deal an event in St Louis then am trying to get set up for Tunica, buuuut I have a felony from when I was 18 (pre poker, never told story but long story short I got B&E charges for getting into a bunch of unlocked cars) and that ends my dealing career. So I move back home as the friend I was sharing a place with in Tulsa was on methadone and genuinely the dumbest guy I know. He was a highschool friend who I partied with a long time, but he ended up fucking me out of rent and didnt pay (just kept my money) and we get evicted.
Side note to the dealing job I had. I did play some poker in St Louis because the stop was so slow. I ended up making like 800$ dealing and 2k playing 1-2nlh while there. I play no poker when returning though, once again content to have any money at all.
I am still on methadone which my parents hate me being on it for obvious reasons. I get a job near them at a mushroom farm doing manual labor. I needed the exercise. Then get hired on to work in a warehouse driving a forklift for dick money. I do this for 6~ months or so.
I will do the next part picking up here. I make an unusual style return to poker. It is a great story imo and things get more positive.

Current state of affairs in Oklahoma gaming dispute roundup: Casinos are open for business

What's happening around town (Wed, Mar 4th - Tue, Mar 10th)

Tulsa's event list.

Wednesday, Mar 4th

😂 Brendan Eyre (Loony Bin - Tulsa) Thru Sat, Mar 7th
♪ Brown Bag It: Finnegans Awake (Tulsa Performing Art Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 12:10pm The Brown Bag It free noontime concert series at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center happens the first Wednesday of the month. The series features some of Oklahoma’s finest professional musicians performing in the PAC's Westby Pavilion. This month is local band Finnegans Awake.
Build A Reader: Stay and Play (Owasso Library - Owasso) Start Time: 11:00am Playing is learning! Join us for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages birth-5.
Build A Reader: Stay and Play (Zarrow Regional Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 11:00am For babies, toddlers and preschoolers, playing is learning! Join us for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills.
Build A Reader Storytime: Babies & Toddlers (Tulsa City County Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 10:00am Ready, set, READ! This beginning storytime focuses on helping your baby or toddler develop important literacy skills while emphasizing the fun of reading.
Build A Reader Storytime: Babies & Toddlers (Zarrow Regional Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 10:30am Bring your babies for bubbles and books, and your toddlers for trikes and tales! Our songs, stories, games and activities will aid in developing your child's early literacy skills.
Build A Reader Storytime: Family (Jenks, OK - Jenks) Start Time: 10:30am Bring the whole family for this 0-to-5 storytime! Thereâs something for everyone â simple songs and books for the little ones, more interactive stories and activities for your older children.
Build a Reader Storytime: Preschool (Owasso Library - Owasso) Start Time: 10:00am The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 3-5.
Build A Reader Storytime: Toddlers (Hardesty Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 10:00am Join us for songs, stories and movements geared to your toddler.
C.J. Box - Master of the Modern Western (IDL Ballroom - Tulsa) Start Time: 7:00pm Magic City Books is proud to welcome bestselling author C.J. Box in celebration of his 20th novel in the Joe Pickett series, Long Range. This is a ticketed event, each ticket includes one (1) copy of Long Range and one (1) seat at the event on Wednesday March 4 at IDL Ballroom (230 East First Street). There is a limit of four (4) tickets per…
🎓 Tulsa Collegiate Career Fair - Tulsa Collegiate Career Fair (Donald Reynolds Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 1:00pm Held annually, the Tulsa Collegiate Career Fair is a multi-university event for students and alumni seeking a full-time job, summer internship, or part-time experience in a variety of industries. Recent graduates and alumni of the consortium schools are encouraged to attend. A career fair is an opportunity for you to present yourself…
Dog Play Wednesday presented by AARP Oklahoma (Gathering Place - Tulsa) Start Time: 9:00am Bark your calendars! All day, every Wednesday. But that’s not all! Once a month, Gathering Place will have a special event made just for you and your pup. Keep checking our events schedule to see Pup-coming activities you won’t want to miss. Our tails are wagging just thinking about it! Please note, all dogs must be on a leash. Dogs are not…
♪ Eicher Wednesday featuring Annie Ellicott and Scott McQuade (Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame - Tulsa) Start Time: 7:00pm listening room jazz. $10
🎨 Homeschool Art: Ages 5-8 (Philbrook Museum of Art - Tulsa) Start Time: 1:00pm Members: $10 per class $45 for the Spring 2020 Semester Package (all 5 classes) Not-Yet-Members: $15 per class $65 for the Spring 2020 Semester Package (all 5 classes) Join Today NEW THIS YEAR: Both Members & Not-Yet-Members welcome! Homeschool art experiences at Philbrook are specifically designed to provide opportunities for social interaction…
Introduction to Finding Grants (Hardesty Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 10:00am Are you new to the field of grant seeking? Discover what funders are looking for in nonprofits seeking grants and how to find potential funders in this introductory course. Registration is required.
🎓 Intro to Microsoft Excel: Basics of Excel 2016 (Martin Regional Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 2:00pm Learn to create, format, edit, save and print documents in Excel. Starting with the basic tools, weâll cover ways to make documents that not only are functional but appealing.
LitWits' Book Club (Hardesty Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:30pm Join fellow book enthusiasts to discuss "Cherokee America" by Margaret Verble and discover similar authors and titles you may enjoy. For adults.
🎭 Open Auditions for Cast (Tulsa Spotlight Theatre - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:30pm Open Auditions first Wednesday of every month. 6:30pm
♪ Open Session with host Clark Gibson- All Ages (Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm Clark Gibson Director of jazz studies hosts our Open Session. Basic back line is provided. House Yamaha grand piano, jazz drum kit. (Must provide own cymbals and amps). RSVP tickets here
Tulsa Performing Arts Center (Tulsa Performing Art Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 12:00pm Tulsa PAC Brown Bag It series
🎭 Speaking Of Which A Spoken Word Open Mic (Gypsy Coffee House & Cyber Cafe - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm Every Wednesday evening we open our doors to poets, prophets, raconteurs, wordsmiths, and bards, so they may share their original art with the fine people of this city. Sign ups for the open mic portion with be at 7:30pm, the show starts at 8pm
Success with Sourdough (Tulsa Garden Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm Join us with our friends from Dale & Daughter to learn the what, why, & how of creating a successful sourdough starter. In this class by Lacey Wissen, participants will learn about the necessary tools and steps for making bread in addition to the variables that can affect the outcome of bread-making. Everyone will take home their own starter, a…
SUSTO / Molly Parden (Mercury Lounge - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm
🎓 Teen Tech Month: Spheros (Rudisill Reginal Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 4:00pm Use code to control Sphero robots and get them through a maze.
🎓 Tom Skinner Science Project (The Colony - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm Science Project 21+ • Tip the Band • Special Guests Weekly
Young @ Heart Book Club for Adults (Helmerich Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 4:00pm This month's book is "After the Shot Drops" by Randy Ribay from the 2020 Intermediate and High School Sequoyah lists.

Thursday, Mar 5th

🎨 Advance Screening: Emma (Circle Cinema - Tulsa) Start Time: 7:00pm Join us at Circle Cinema on Thursday, March 5th at 7:00pm for an advance screening of "EMMA," based on Jane Austen's beloved romantic comedy. Tickets are on sale now. (Regular engagement of Emma at Circle Cinema begins Friday, March 6th - Thursday, March 12th.) About the film: In 1800s England, a well meaning but selfish young woman meddles in…
Tulsa Area Daylily Society - March Meeting (Tulsa Garden Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:30pm Our first meeting of the year will feature Dr. Todd Lasseigne, President & CEO of the Tulsa Botanic Garden. Our members will be bringing their favorite dishes to share, so join us at 6:30 for food and fellowship, and Dr. Lasseigne's presentation will start at 7.
♪ Ben Neikirk (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 5:00pm
♪ Bounce'n Beethovens (Owasso Library - Owasso) Start Time: 6:30pm Ages 0-5 and parents explore music through movement and instruments as they play with egg shakers, bells, rhythm sticks, drums and maracas in this fun, interactive program. Registration is required. Register online or call 918-549-7323. Please register for only one Bounce'n Beethovens session per month. Register here for Thursday, March 5,…
😂 Brendan Eyre (Loony Bin - Tulsa) Thru Sat, Mar 7th
Build A Reader: Bilingual Baby Storytime (Martin Regional Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 11:00am Join Ms. Emily for stories, rhymes and songs in English and Spanish that help your baby or toddler develop important early literacy skills.
Build A Reader: Stay and Play (Nathan Hale Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 11:00am For babies, toddlers and preschoolers, playing is learning! Join us for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills.
Build A Reader Storytime: Family (Hardesty Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:30pm Bring the whole family for this 0-to-5 storytime! Thereâs something for everyone â simple songs and books for the little ones, more interactive stories and activities for your older children.
Build A Reader Storytime: Family (Nathan Hale Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 10:30am Bring the whole family for this 0-to-5 storytime! Thereâs something for everyone â simple songs and books for the little ones, more interactive stories and activities for your older children.
Cacti Soil Workshop by Tulsa Cacti and Succulent Society (Tulsa Garden Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 7:00pm RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 6. Join us as we learn about components of a good cactus and succulent soil mix! Participants will make their own soil mix with provided materials, and we will compare some top selling pre-bagged soil mixes as well. Let's get our hands dirty and have a great time! Click here to register:…
Celebrate Life (Cox Business Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm LIFE Senior Services presents "Celebrate LIFE" and an evening with complimentary valet and cocktail reception, a gourmet dinner by Chef Devin Levine, CEC, Live and Silent Auctions, Mystery Boxes, Raffle, and musical entertainment by Ayngel and John. The evening's emcee is KJRH Chief Meteorologist Mike Collier. Tickets on sale now.
🎓 D&D Character Creation Workshop Series: Clerics (Zarrow Regional Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm Making player characters is big part of D&D (Dungeons & Dragons). This series guides you through creating the different types of classes in the Player's Handbook (5th ed.) and possibly beyond!
♪ DJ Demko (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 5:00pm
♪ DJ Vector (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 6:00pm
♪ DJ Whit (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 7:00pm
🎡 OK Electric Festival feat Inbal Segev + David Broome Band (Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm Living Arts of Tulsa's annual OK Electric will feature two sets of music for acoustic instruments together with electronic elements. 2020 guest artist is international cello soloist Inbal Segev. Segev will perform works for cello and electronics by composers Missy Mazzoli, Anna Clyne, Gity Razaz, and Dan Cooper, with a world premiere by Noam…
♪ Exile (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 8:00pm
🎨 First Thursday Art Show (Dennis R Neill Equality Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm Shawna Chisholm is a two-spirit or Transgender Native American woman who has spent her life defending and fighting for the things she believes in; her family, her country, and spreading the ideals of her Native American heritage. She has spent over 30 years in military services and is currently a Warrant Officer in the United States Army, and…
Gaming in the Digital Lounge (Hardesty Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm PS4, Wii, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One â¦ which one will it be? Search through our gaming library in the Digital Lounge and play a few games on a first-come-first-serve basis. For ages 12-18.
Girls Night Out the Show (Hyatt Regency Hotel - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm Girls Night Out, the #1 Ladies Night Event Is Coming to Thursday March 5th! Tickets available through Osage Casino! Get ready for the BEST GIRLS NIGHT EVER! Whether you’re celebrating a Birthday, Bachelorette Party, Divorce, Dirty Thirty or your Sheer Awesome Self; You will meet your party match with “GIRLS NIGHT OUT THE SHOW”! Purchase…
Hands-on Storytime (Tulsa Central Library - Zink Study Room - Tulsa) Start Time: 10:30am Busy hands, busy brain! Preschoolers learn through hands-on activities. We will explore, experiment and create. Be ready to get messy! For ages 3-5 and their caregivers.
Mystery Readers Book Club (Tulsa City County Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 2:00pm Join us for a discussion of our favorite mysteries! We do things a little differently â no special book to read each month. Simply discuss what you've been reading and get suggestions from others.
🍴 Pearl Party-Women of the Year-Pinnacle Awards (Tulsa) Start Time: 5:00pm
Pop Up Shop with CM Customs (Mother Road Market - Tulsa) Start Time: 11:00am We’re going to be setting up in The Vault at Mother Road Market for just one day! We will be selling wood and leather earrings, farmhouse home decor, along with Tulsa and Oklahoma items. You’re going to love the selection of items we have. Here’s a little background on CM Customs. We’re a husband and wife ran home based business in…
🎓 Spring Infusion Class (Inner Circle Vodka Bar - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm Our seasonal Infusion class is here with some delicious spring themed infused liquors. This class only happens 4 times a year and it is a really fun way to learn to make your own infused cocktails at home. The class starts at 6 pm on Thursday, March 5th. Price includes a chance to taste the infusions, try cocktails based on the infusion, put…
Story Time (Gathering Place - Tulsa) Start Time: 4:00pm Fall in love with the magic found in children's books! Join us every Thursday at 4 p.m. and every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in ONEOK Boathouse for Story Time from guest readers.
Guest Reader Schedule Saturday, Jan. 25th - Gathering Place Education Team
February Guest Readers: Saturday, February 1 - Gathering Place Education Team Thursday,…
♪ TCC Music Department Concert (VanTrease PACE - Tulsa) Start Time: 7:00pm Tags: Concert Free Music Southeast Campus VanTrease PACE Share
🎓 Teen Leadership Club: Teen Advisory Board (Nathan Hale Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 4:00pm Whether you're looking for volunteer hours for school, scouts, or just like to work on cool projects, eat and have fun, the Teen Leadership Club is the place to be! For ages 13-18.
🎨 Teen Tech Month: Teen Photo Lab (Martin Regional Library - Tulsa) Start Time: 3:30pm Use some props, a computer and an iPhone with a photo app to create funny and interesting photos. It is the next step to learning animation. For ages 10-18.

Friday, Mar 6th

😂 Brendan Eyre (Loony Bin - Tulsa) 1 day left

Saturday, Mar 7th

🏆 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championships Session 1 (BOK Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 11:00am
🏆 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championships Session 2 (BOK Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 5:00pm
😂 Brendan Eyre (Loony Bin - Tulsa) Last Day
🏃 Health Zone Kids (Mini) Triathlon (Health Zone at Saint Francis - Tulsa) When you sign up your little athlete for this fitness event, you both help other kids, as all proceeds benefit The Children's Hospital at St. Francis.
Distances 10-13 age group: Swim 100 yards;Bike 1 mile; Run 1/2 mile
Distances 6-9 age group: Swim 50 yards;Bike 1/2 mile; Run 1/4 mile

Sunday, Mar 8th

🏆 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championships Session 3 (BOK Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 11:00am
🏆 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championships Session 4 (BOK Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm
😂 Desi Banks (Loony Bin - Tulsa)
🏃 The Snake Run - 3 Hour or Six Hour Trail Race (Turkey Mountain - Tulsa) Join us for the 2020 Snake Run where everyone has the same finishing time. You run as many loops as you can in Six or Three Hours.
The course is a flat and sandy single-track trail named the Snake Trail, located on the upper west section of Turkey Mountain. The Snake Trail is one of the smoothest, rock and root-free trails on Turkey Mountain. …

Monday, Mar 9th

I was unable to find any published events for Mar 9th.

Tuesday, Mar 10th

I was unable to find any published events for Mar 10th.

Ongoing

Devon Ice Rink (Oklahoma City) Thru Sun, Feb 2nd The Devon Ice Rink returns for its ninth season in the Myriad Botanical Gardens this November through the beginning of…
Downtown in December (Downtown - Oklahoma City) Thru Sun, Feb 2nd Spend your holidays experiencing fun activities as downtown Oklahoma City is turned into a winter wonderland during the…

Wednesday, Jan 15th

🍴 Anthem Drown Night! (HiLo Club - Oklahoma City) Our local friends at Anthem Brewing Co. have some great beers! Every Wednesday night from 9pm to close enjoy $8 Drown Night! Their Power Pils will be flowing!
🏆 Central OK: University of Central Oklahoma Men's Basketball vs Northeastern State (Edmond) Start Time: 7:30pm University of Central Oklahoma Men's Basketball vs Northeastern State https://www.bronchosports.com/calendar.aspx?id=6509
🏆 Central OK: University of Central Oklahoma Women's Basketball vs Northeastern State (Edmond) Day 1 of 2 Start Time: 5:30pm University of Central Oklahoma Women's Basketball vs Northeastern State https://www.bronchosports.com/calendar.aspx?id=6539
Edmond Fire Department -- Come Meet Your Local Firefighters (Edmond Senior Center - Edmond) Start Time: 10:00am Get to know your local Firefighters and play a fun card game!Questions and answers afterwards.
http://edmondok.com/calendar.aspx?EID=7674
🍴 Junction Coffee Wednesdays (Myriad Botanical Gardens - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 7:00am Wednesdays, 7am-3pm Junction Coffee will park its double-decker bus curbside at the Devon Lawn
🎓 Lego Club (Guthrie Library - Guthrie) Thru Sat, Jan 18th Start Time: 3:30pm Create, Build, Learn, and have Fun! RSVP for this event. All Ages are Welcome. Please keep your Legos at home unless you wish to make a donation to the Guthrie Library. The City of Guthrie, OK - Municipal Government Talk around guthrie where nobody gets deleted ChooseGuthrie Guthrie Chamber of Commerce Guthrie, Oklahoma
🎭 MISS SAIGON (Civic Center Music Hall - Oklahoma City) Thru Sun, Jan 19th “A DYNAMITE BROADWAY REVIVAL.” - The New Yorker
Experience the acclaimed new production of the legendary musical MISS SAIGON, from the creators of Les Misérables. This is the story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim who is orphaned by war and forced to work in a bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. There she meets and…
Reading Wednesday (Myriad Botanical Gardens - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 10:00am Reading Wednesdays Every Wednesday, at 10 am The Visitor Center FREE Best for ages 2 to 5 NO READING WEDNESDAY ON DECEMBER 25 AND JANUARY 1 Bring your toddler for story time each Wednesday at 10 am. Books are nature-themed and selected based on the season. We’ll begin with an interactive song and children will enjoy creating a small craft…
🏆 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Toronto Raptors (Chesapeake Energy Arena - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 7:00pm Tickets for the 2019-20 season will be available directly from the team starting on Thursday, September 26 at 10 a.m. Can't wait to purchase tickets? You can purchase tickets from other fans and prices are determined by the seller and not the team. A 20% service fee for all resale tickets will be added to the cost of each ticket at checkout.…
😂 Triple Feature Week Oklahoma City!!! (Loony Bin Comedy Club - Oklahoma City) Thru Sun, Jan 19th

Thursday, Jan 16th

The Big News and On Holiday (The Deli - Norman) Start Time: 10:00pm Honey Creek (Milwaukee, WI) - http://honeycreekwi.bandcamp.com/ The Big News - http://thebignews.bandcamp.com/ On Holiday - http://onholiday405.bandcamp.com/ $5 • 10pm • 21+
♪ Black Flag (89th Street Collective - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 7:00pm Black Flag with The Linecutters Presented by TLP Entertainment. This show is all ages. Tickets are $20 in advance at ticketstorm.com, charge by phone 18669661777, purchase hard copy tickets at any Uptown Grocery/Buy For Less location or Starship Records in Tulsa.
Black Flag is an American band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, CA by guitarist,…
🏆 Central OK: University of Central Oklahoma Women's Basketball vs Northeastern State (Edmond) Day 2 of 2 Start Time: 5:30pm University of Central Oklahoma Women's Basketball vs Northeastern State https://www.bronchosports.com/calendar.aspx?id=6539
🎭 David B. Hooten, Trumpeter (Armstrong Auditorium - Edmond) Start Time: 7:30pm
🎓 Lego Club (Guthrie Library - Guthrie) Thru Sat, Jan 18th Start Time: 3:30pm Create, Build, Learn, and have Fun! RSVP for this event. All Ages are Welcome. Please keep your Legos at home unless you wish to make a donation to the Guthrie Library. The City of Guthrie, OK - Municipal Government Talk around guthrie where nobody gets deleted ChooseGuthrie Guthrie Chamber of Commerce Guthrie, Oklahoma
🎡 Looking For Something? (The Blue Door - Oklahoma City) Day 1 of 2 Start Time: 7:00pm As instant gratification becomes the norm and certainty is worn as armor, Sean McConnell is choosing patience and ambiguity - especially when it comes to himself. "I think embracing the blurry lines is a sign of getting older and just having more life experience," he says. "It can be healthy to break your own boxes."
🎨 Love's Third Thursday: Night of Hygge (Oklahoma City Museum of Art - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 5:00pm It’s that time of year again! Join us for A Night of Hygge during #LovesThirdThursday featuring:
- Subversive Cross Stitching
- Story Time for Grownups in the Galleries
- Warm food and drinks
- And more! Moderns members, enjoy exclusive access to the Moderns' Bar, craft area, and a gift basket raffle! “Hygge” represents the Danish art of…
🎭 MISS SAIGON (Civic Center Music Hall - Oklahoma City) Thru Sun, Jan 19th “A DYNAMITE BROADWAY REVIVAL.” - The New Yorker
Experience the acclaimed new production of the legendary musical MISS SAIGON, from the creators of Les Misérables. This is the story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim who is orphaned by war and forced to work in a bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. There she meets and…
♪ Sean McConnell (The Blue Door - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 7:00pm An intimate acoustic performance featuring a very special guest
🎨 Teen Anime Night (Guthrie Library - Guthrie) Start Time: 6:00pm We will choose between three anime and partake in snackage. The City of Guthrie, OK - Municipal Government Guthrie Chamber of Commerce Guthrie, Oklahoma ChooseGuthrie Talk around guthrie where nobody gets deleted
😂 Triple Feature Week Oklahoma City!!! (Loony Bin Comedy Club - Oklahoma City) Thru Sun, Jan 19th
🎓 The Truth about Senior Living Options (Quail Creek Golf & Country Club - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 10:00am In this session we will first take a look at the benefits offered by senior living communities, as well as the costs and associated services. Next, we take a deep dive into how to fully investigate whether a senior community is right for you or someone you care about. Learn the differences between independent, assisted, memory care, and longterm…
🎨 Whitney Forsyth Artist Talk (Artspace At Untitled - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 6:00pm Join us for an artist talk with Whitney Forsyth covering her exhibition at ARTSPACE at Untitled called Re-New. Cash bar and hors d'oeuvres. Re-New: An Exhibition by Whitney Forsyth January 9th – February 29th Free and open to the public. https://www.1ne3.org/current-exhibition
🍴 Wine For The People: Bubbles (Vast - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 5:30pm Whether you prefer flutes of fruit-focused wines or the best in glass of dry and rich flavors, sparkling wine offers delightful options for any wine enthusiast. From Prosecco to Cava and everything in between, we've got you covered. Start the new year with a POP & head to #cloudwine to learn about various sparkling wine production methods,…

Friday, Jan 17th

🎓 26th ANNUAL REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR SCHOLARSHIP BANQUET (Embassy Suites - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 7:00pm 26TH ANNUAL REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SCHOLARSHIP BANQUET SPONSORED BY THE MARCELLA GUTHRIE SCHOLARSHIP FUND ONE OF THE PREMIER EVENTS DURING THE REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR NATIONAL HOLIDAY WEEKEND
🎨 ArtWorks Academy's Production of Disney's Frozen JR. (ArtWorks Academy of Performing Arts - Norman) Day 1 of 2 Start Time: 7:00pm ArtWorks Academy Presents DISNEY’S FROZEN JR. Friday, January 17 at 7:00 pm Saturday, January 18 at 10:30 am Saturday, January 18 at 2:00 pm Saturday, January 18 at 7:00 pm Sunday, January 19 at 2:00 pm Sunday, January 19 at 6:00 pm Performances will be held at Randall University (formerly Hillsdale College) in Moore, OK, which is located at…
🏆 Central OK: University of Central Oklahoma Wrestling vs Newman (Edmond) Start Time: 7:00pm University of Central Oklahoma Wrestling vs Newman https://www.bronchosports.com/calendar.aspx?id=6483
🍴 Edgar Cruz & Blake Bricker Rock Belle Isle Brewery (Belle Isle Restaurant & Brew Pub - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 8:00pm Come out Friday as Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery welcomes back Edgar Cruz & Blake Bricker!! 🎸🎶 **21 & over #EdgarCruz #BlakeBricker #OKCMusicScene #BelleIsleBrewery
The Flock of Pigs (Opolis - Norman) Start Time: 9:00pm
Oklahoma City Home and Garden Show (Oklahoma State Fair Park - Oklahoma City) The Oklahoma City Home & Garden Show is the place for consumers to experience what's new in Home, Gardening, Remodeling, Home Decor, and More! The show offers homeowners a convenient destination to gain expert advice for any home and garden related product and service. Exhibiting companies
🏆 International Finals Rodeo (Lazy E Arena - Guthrie) Thru Sun, Jan 19th Start Time: 7:30pm Visit ipra-rodeo.com/ifr or lazye.com for more info.
♪ Jared Tyler And Luke Bulla (The Blue Door - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 8:00pm
🎓 Lego Club (Guthrie Library - Guthrie) 1 day left Start Time: 3:30pm Create, Build, Learn, and have Fun! RSVP for this event. All Ages are Welcome. Please keep your Legos at home unless you wish to make a donation to the Guthrie Library. The City of Guthrie, OK - Municipal Government Talk around guthrie where nobody gets deleted ChooseGuthrie Guthrie Chamber of Commerce Guthrie, Oklahoma
🎡 Looking For Something? (The Blue Door - Oklahoma City) Day 2 of 2 Start Time: 7:00pm As instant gratification becomes the norm and certainty is worn as armor, Sean McConnell is choosing patience and ambiguity - especially when it comes to himself. "I think embracing the blurry lines is a sign of getting older and just having more life experience," he says. "It can be healthy to break your own boxes."
🎭 MISS SAIGON (Civic Center Music Hall - Oklahoma City) Thru Sun, Jan 19th “A DYNAMITE BROADWAY REVIVAL.” - The New Yorker
Experience the acclaimed new production of the legendary musical MISS SAIGON, from the creators of Les Misérables. This is the story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim who is orphaned by war and forced to work in a bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. There she meets and…
♪ My So Called Band (The Deli - Norman) Start Time: 10:00pm Your favorite 90's rockers are back for their monthly installment at The Deli! You know what to do. 10pm 21+ $10
😂 Open Mic Night (Don Quixote Club - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 8:00pm Every Friday is Open Mic Comedy at Don Quixote's! Laugh with local talent as they hone their skills. Are you funny? Sign up at 7:30. See you this week!
🎓 Oklahoma City Personal Injury Attorneys Meetup (Oklahoma City) Start Time: 9:00am Come and have drinks and share personal injury case stories with other lawyers in Oklahoma City. We are professional network of legal professionals comprised of attorneys, law students, legal professional staff, recruiters and legal industry and technology. This meetup is designed to provide live networking opportunities and support for legal…
♪ Souled Out (University of Central Oklahoma - Edmond) Start Time: 8:00pm Featuring one of the most entertaining and exciting horn sections in the industry, Souled Out has been thrilling audiences throughout the Southwestern United States for over 20 years. Souled Out's repertoire includes classic party/dance hits from the glory days of Motown through today. Their members have opened for, or performed with: Aretha…
🏆 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat (Chesapeake Energy Arena - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 7:00pm Tickets for the 2019-20 season will be available directly from the team starting on Thursday, September 26 at 10 a.m. Can't wait to purchase tickets? You can purchase tickets from other fans and prices are determined by the seller and not the team. A 20% service fee for all resale tickets will be added to the cost of each ticket at checkout.…
♪ Tony Macalpine (89th Street Collective - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 7:00pm Tony Macalpine with Schiermann This show is all ages. $20
😂 Triple Feature Week Oklahoma City!!! (Loony Bin Comedy Club - Oklahoma City) Thru Sun, Jan 19th

Saturday, Jan 18th

🎡 2020 Norman Chocolate Festival (Norman High School - Norman) Start Time: 10:00am
🎨 ArtWorks Academy's Production of Disney's Frozen JR. (ArtWorks Academy of Performing Arts - Norman) Day 2 of 2 Start Time: 7:00pm ArtWorks Academy Presents DISNEY’S FROZEN JR. Friday, January 17 at 7:00 pm Saturday, January 18 at 10:30 am Saturday, January 18 at 2:00 pm Saturday, January 18 at 7:00 pm Sunday, January 19 at 2:00 pm Sunday, January 19 at 6:00 pm Performances will be held at Randall University (formerly Hillsdale College) in Moore, OK, which is located at…
🎓 Castle Falls\Council Grove Historically Local Tuor (Castle Falls Event Center - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 4:00pm The only castle in Oklahoma City, whose construction began on 1- 23-45, is celebrating its 75th anniversary by hosting a historically local tour the 3rd Saturday of each month at 4PM. Just west of the city, the original castle is now Castle Falls Restaurant & Venue.
Free but registration is requested: www.westendistrictokc.com
🏆 Central OK: University of Central Oklahoma Men's Basketball vs Rogers State (Edmond) Start Time: 3:30pm University of Central Oklahoma Men's Basketball vs Rogers State https://www.bronchosports.com/calendar.aspx?id=6510
🏆 Central OK: University of Central Oklahoma Women's Basketball vs Rogers State (Edmond) Start Time: 1:30pm University of Central Oklahoma Women's Basketball vs Rogers State https://www.bronchosports.com/calendar.aspx?id=6540
Chelsea Days / Burl / Roots of Though (89th Street Collective - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 7:00pm Chelsea Days with Burl and Roots of Thought This show is all ages. $10
🎨 Chris Tucker (Riverwind Casino - Norman) Start Time: 7:00pm Chris Tucker is an international award-winning actor and comedian best known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the “Rush Hour” film series with Jackie Chan. He became a favorite on HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam” in the 1990s and came to prominence in his first starring role, the 1995 film cult classic “Friday” starring…
♪ Equilibrium (University of Central Oklahoma - Edmond) Start Time: 8:00pm Reserve by calling (405) 974-2100 · Equilibrium fuses urban sounds and backgrounds to create the vibe that has mapped their musical landscape for years. They've each stopped off to the land of "funk," and laid bare their "soul" more times than can be counted. Equilibrium has sweated it out in a garage to make their harmonious echo and sharpened…
🏆 International Finals Rodeo (Lazy E Arena - Guthrie) 1 day left Start Time: 7:30pm Visit ipra-rodeo.com/ifr or lazye.com for more info.
🎓 Jack Waters & The Unemployed / The Contraband (The Deli - Norman) Start Time: 10:00pm The Deli presents a solid evening of down home folk and americana with Jack Waters and The Unemployed and The Contraband. 10pm 21+ $5
🏆 Learn to Curl at Devon Ice Rink at Myriad Gardens (Myriad Botanical Gardens - Oklahoma City) Bring your family and friends and join Oklahoma Curling Club members as they walk through the etiquette and rules of curling. Dress warm, wear rubber soled shoes, and prepare for a fun morning on the ice. All other equipment will be provided. Book now before it sells out! Saturdays, 9am-10:30am November 23 December 7, December 21 January 4, and…
🎓 Lego Club (Guthrie Library - Guthrie) Last Day Start Time: 3:30pm Create, Build, Learn, and have Fun! RSVP for this event. All Ages are Welcome. Please keep your Legos at home unless you wish to make a donation to the Guthrie Library. The City of Guthrie, OK - Municipal Government Talk around guthrie where nobody gets deleted ChooseGuthrie Guthrie Chamber of Commerce Guthrie, Oklahoma
🎭 MISS SAIGON (Civic Center Music Hall - Oklahoma City) 1 day left “A DYNAMITE BROADWAY REVIVAL.” - The New Yorker
Experience the acclaimed new production of the legendary musical MISS SAIGON, from the creators of Les Misérables. This is the story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim who is orphaned by war and forced to work in a bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. There she meets and…
Mississippi Jake live (Red Brick Bar - Norman) Start Time: 9:00pm Mississippi Jake is a working-class folksinger based out of Des Moines, Iowa.
Oklahoma Winter Bead & Jewelry Show (Oklahoma State Fair Park - Oklahoma City) Jewelry, & bead show featuring fine jewelry, fashion jewelry, gemstones, beads, beading supplies, and more. Wholesale buyers who preregister will be admitted free of charge. Like Us on Facebook for a free AKS shopping tote.
♪ Paul Dyer And Heartland (The Blue Door - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 8:00pm
🎓 Redline Championships (Cox Convention Center - Oklahoma City) Redline Championships Oklahoma Money Madness will take place on January 18, 2020 at Cox Convention Center.
♪ School of Rock LIVE at VZD’s (VZD's - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 1:00pm School of Rock of Edmond, Oklahoma showcases their talents LIVE at VZD’s! Event schedule for the day is as follows: 1:00pm- Rock 101 & Rock 102 2:00pm- Proto Grunge 3:00pm- Indie Alternative 4:00pm-Opera Rock 5:15pm- Edmond School of Rock House Band
Smokey Motel, Bad Jokes and The Kid (Opolis - Norman) Start Time: 9:00pm 8pm door 9pm show ALL AGES $8
🏆 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers (Chesapeake Energy Arena - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 8:00pm Tickets for the 2019-20 season will be available directly from the team starting on Thursday, September 26 at 10 a.m. Can't wait to purchase tickets? You can purchase tickets from other fans and prices are determined by the seller and not the team. A 20% service fee for all resale tickets will be added to the cost of each ticket at checkout.…
😂 Triple Feature Week Oklahoma City!!! (Loony Bin Comedy Club - Oklahoma City) 1 day left
🎭 wonder women (The Paramount OKC - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 9:00pm A celebration of Hui Poos 50th Birthday as well as a show and Dj! http://www.racedance.com

Sunday, Jan 19th

🏆 International Finals Rodeo (Lazy E Arena - Guthrie) Last Day Start Time: 7:30pm Visit ipra-rodeo.com/ifr or lazye.com for more info.
🎭 MISS SAIGON (Civic Center Music Hall - Oklahoma City) Last Day “A DYNAMITE BROADWAY REVIVAL.” - The New Yorker
Experience the acclaimed new production of the legendary musical MISS SAIGON, from the creators of Les Misérables. This is the story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim who is orphaned by war and forced to work in a bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. There she meets and…
PJ MASKS LIVE! Meet & Greet Upgrade (Chesapeake Energy Arena - Oklahoma City) Start Time: 2:00pm The event ticket is not included in the meet & greet upgrade. Children age 12 and under must be accompanied by a Parent/Guardian. Each Child, Parent or Guardian must have an event ticket as well as a Meet & Greet Upgrade to attend.
The PJ Masks Meet & Greet upgrade features access to an after-show Meet & Greet photo opportunity with your 3…
😂 Triple Feature Week Oklahoma City!!! (Loony Bin Comedy Club - Oklahoma City) Last Day

Monday, Jan 20th

I was unable to find any published events for Jan 20th.

Tuesday, Jan 21st

I was unable to find any published events for Jan 21st.

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[Lost in the Sauce] Trump admin hides Paycheck Protection program details; lawmakers benefit from loans