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Show IN THE CLOUDS.-AH I know la Just what I see from the , air with this Captain Hawkes going 160 miles an hour. I am dinging on this little Corona away up In the air. We are In a Navy Curtis "Hell Direr" plane loaned to us by the Assistant As-sistant Secretary Secreta-ry of the Navy In charge of air. We thought we did some shows iniexas. aut, uoy(lwhen we got Into the old home State of Oklahoma then they showed us how to lay out some shows. I am trying to keep this little diary. You Just about have timt. to write a few words In here and then we have to land and do a show. . This Is Monday; we are "omlng Into Oklahoma from Texas. Its the only day we havent got a bunch of day shows; we only sve the opening show at Oklahoma City tonight We land about ten oclock; Captain Hawkes goes to the hotel, and I get the man to drive me by the Capitol building. You sea, I wanted to see the other Oklahoma show the Legislature. I dont constitute con-stitute Oklahoma's sole Comedy element Then, too, I had never met our new Govenor, "Alfalfa" Bill Murray. My dad had kuown him. They had served on the Constitutional Con-stitutional Convention of Oklahoma about 1906. Papa always said the crowning achievement of that Convention was that they made Hotel Bed Sheets nine feet long. He used to often say that be didnt know why they did it "as so few of the Dell-gates Dell-gates had ever had much contact with sheets." Well, he Is quite a fellow, this Murray. Big house in Oklahoma City that night; got over ten thousand dollars. Tuesday morning. Here we are lu the air again and early, as we have to be at Norman, Oklahoma, the home of Oklahoma's crack university. uni-versity. ' This show was at ten oclock In the morning. Captain Hawkes would do an act, too, and the "Revellers" Quartette, who only ' did the night shows, they come down there that morning and sang for the university. Tben to Chicasha, Okla. There an old Boy runs the biggest Bank that used to go to school with me In Kemper Military Academy about '98. There is a Girls School there, and we were In their Auditorium, flpiose Girls sbo would giggle when anything did strike em funny. They are a great audience. We flew out of there for Ardmore for our night show. Went out to a mighty fine barbecue at Roy Johnston's John-ston's house, w'aere we Joiaed all the rest of our troop, The Revellers, Revel-lers, and Jimmy Rodgers, who was with us then (the Yodler De Lux) and Chester Dyers, the Roper. Now we are off and flying again over the old Ft and off for Durant for the night It's a great life this. Talk about playing one nights stands. Some days we play a half dozen. This Hawkes is a sweet flyer, fly-er, and this Plane is a darb. We knock off 150 miles an hour right along. This is Thursday morning, and we are to be at the Oklahoma A. and M. at Stillwater at ten A. M. I had never been there and always wanted to go, as I had a Nephew graduated from there, and he has turned out mighty good, and its a great school. They win more prizes for fat Cattle than any other Agricultural Agri-cultural School in the U. S. There Is an animal Man there named Blizzard, Bliz-zard, and he is a Bear. He showed in all their fine cattle. Enid. Here she is for the afternoon after-noon show. Frank is bringing her In. He Is high and dropping and side slipping her in fast Ton cant write when this thing is doing do-ing this, tig hall and a bfg house full. Now we are off for P o n c a City. That's a great little city. That's the place tbey have a statue of the "Pioneer Woman." I was there and made a speech at the unveiling of it That fellow Mar-has Mar-has done a lot for that town. Oft again this morning early for Shawnee. Big crowd at the field. Here is a niece here to meet me. I drive with her and her husband and, Boy, to the Theatre. Now we are off for Muscogee; four shows today. Getting back in my own old Territory now, where I know a lot of folks. I used to go to school here t a Girls school. That's a fact. Myself and the President's son were the only boys ' there. We even roomed in a great big dormitory room with girls. We were ten years old. I bettor quit before I get too far into this. ( 1931, McNiuihl Srndicati, loc) |