They wouldn’t let me be a judge for the Bloody Mary contest, so I’m hoping to get a job helping to clean up afterwards! The fun all starts Saturday morning at 1l:00 at The Shebang Patio and Big Shots parking lot on the Island. There’s a chili cookoff and a live auction – but, more importantly, there’s a Bloody Mary competition. It’s the first party of the year with the purpose of raising money for Christmas gifts for kids who might otherwise not get anything. I’m excited about Saturday’s big “Heart of Monkey Island” event. He’s trying to hire another PR specialist at the Department of Education to get him more interviews with national media. State Superintendent Ryan Walters, meanwhile, is apparently jealous. It’s not clear what state government has to do with foreign policy, but at least they got their picture taken. Speaking of politicians, what’s with all the sudden effort by local politicians trying to crowd their way onto the national and international stage while we pay for it? Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Texas Governor Greg Abbott got together to jet to Israel for a photo op with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Oklahoma State Representative Kevin West continues his efforts that would hurt Oklahoma’s tourism by locking the state into “Standard Time.” Senator Blake “Cowboy” Stephens has re-filed legislation that would enhance Oklahoma tourism by locking us into “Daylight Saving Time.” I don’t know of anyone who likes changing clocks back and forth twice a year – but which direction we go toward “permanent time” impacts our biggest Grand Lake industry big time!

We still have some warm days on the schedule, but it won’t be long before we can look forward to the next chilly morning fall adventure – watching the “low tire pressure” warning lights come on in every vehicle you touch. With the new Rolling Stones album at #1 and a new Beatles single on the market this week, a lot of folks are probably confused – and worried that they set their clocks back way too far! If you can’t manage, just leave ‘em alone.

I saw a great little song lyric on social media (with apologies to Simon & Garfunkel): “Hello darkness my old friend Soon you’ll be here at 5:00 p.m.” Now, the only remaining task is to figure out how to reset the clocks on your microwave and in your car. I assume everyone managed to set their clocks back from sunshine and happiness to misery and despair over the past weekend.

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