Red dust covered the back window, forcing me to use the much-neglected side mirrors.  Gravel roads on the prairie – a great improvement over the ruts formed by mud and covered wagons – dirtied only the outside of the car. The occupants remained clean and cool under the air conditioner on padded seats.

Clear blue skies and mild weather reminded me how beautiful our state is – accept when it isn’t.  An F-5 tornado racing across the plains creates a different picture.

But this day great friends and beautiful weather backdropped the homestead of Angie Debo, Oklahoma historian. She was a woman ahead of her time.  Born before the Oklahoma Land Runs, she attained a PhD when most people couldn’t graduate high school. She told history through the eyes of a woman bent on finding the truth.

The Enid Library, in conjunction with other libraries in the state are hosting “One Book, One Community” and the works of Angi Debo will be read and discussed.  I have the honor of leading one of those discussion groups as we talk about her book Prairie City – her only work of fiction.  The book is about the town she grew up in, Marshall, OK even though she named it Prairie City in the book.  The book described life on the prairies of Oklahoma before statehood.

After driving around town, finding her home and church, we drove to the local cemetery.  Her headstone said it all: “Angi Debo, Historian, Discover the Truth and Publish it.”

I hope my life says as much.