From the Editor
HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME
SIMON HURST
S MIA BLAKE
Editor-in-Chief mia.blake@sliceok.com
12 SLICE // JUNE 2013
o, dear reader. We meet again. I guess this is going to be an every-monthkind-of-thing. Great! I think I like going steady. First, thank you for all the nice cards, voicemails, emails and general well wishes. It means a lot to me. Keep ’em coming … I’ll never tire of hearing from you. I read and reflect upon each missive – often sharing your words with the talented team here at Slice. We all appreciate you and love to hear what you think about the magazine. June seems to be the month of “The Festival.” There is a festival for just about any interest and our town does put on a great party. We’ve tried to highlight some of our favorites in this issue to point you in the right direction. Music lovers shouldn’t miss the Charlie Christian Music Festival (page 74) and Jazz in June (page 75), film enthusiasts need to make plans to attend the deadCENTER Film Festival (page 44) and every Oklahoman should experience the Red Earth Festival (page 72) to celebrate the important heritage of this place we call home. The summer solstice ushers in true summertime after a “normally abnormal” spring. As an avid gardener, Oklahoma’s weather likes to keep me on my toes and this year is no exception. Who knew that my tomatoes would go in the ground almost two months later than in 2012? And that those wet things would fall from the sky, repeatedly? What are those called again? Raindrops? I remember those! At press time, the metro has felt some relief from the drought, but parts of our state have not been as fortunate. The latest installment of M.J. Alexander’s “77 Counties” series takes us to Greer and Kiowa counties to inspect the condition of manmade Lake Altus-Lugert and the slow reveal of the town beneath the waters (page 54). Let’s all pray for rain. Features writer John Parker explores the birth of a dynasty with his examination of the media-neglected sport of roller derby. Let’s just say another one of our hometown teams has a shot to make it big on the national stage, albeit with a smaller platform than, say, NBA basketball or college football. The fascinating story of the little leagues that could begins on page 38. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the main holiday for June … Flag Day, June 14! Just kidding, that’s actually my 10th wedding anniversary, so that’s the reason I remember it so well. Oh, no one else is celebrating my anniversary? How about Father’s Day, then? In honor of the XY chromosomes in our lives, we’re bringing you a few men-centric articles, including a look at the “The Right Scruff” by Mark Beutler on page 22 (this includes a personal favorite, Mr. Editor-in-Chief Michael Blake), Caryn Ross’ Father’s Day feast on page 82 and a men’s health wake-up call on page 65. We want to keep you around as long as possible, so take care of yourselves, OK? Everybody hug somebody this month. And happy Father’s Day to my two dads. Love you guys.