Highways and Byways: The Finale& Farewell to Moristotle & Co.

By Maik Strosahl

I wanted to go out with a bang, but was struggling for a big idea until an old family friend posted a photo of Twelve Apostles or Walking Iris flowers blooming. What a joyful explosion of color!

Photo by Mary Wingard Crain

    I hope you enjoy this final burst and I will see you around this big, bright, beautiful world!

Heavenly

Detail from “Sunset”

Paintings by Shirley Deane/Midyett

By Vic Midyett
[c. 1952–2/11/2022]

[Published originally in the “Tuesday Voice” column on May 5, 2015.]

Shirley has completed two new paintings, both commissioned.

Highways and Byways: Poinciana

By Maik Strosahl

A couple of months ago I stumbled on Vic Midyett’s December 2016 posts, “Thunder Down Under: Four little paintings for Christmas,” which featured art works his wife, Shirley Deane/Midyett, had done for Christmas gifts. I really liked her 5" x 7" painting of a Poinciana (#4), 12/29/2016, but didn’t know much about it.

In Memoriam: Victor L. Midyett

Missionary kid, 

storyteller, 
man of all trades

By Moristotle

Our beloved columnist Vic Midyett passed away this morning. He had recently been conversing with me and a couple of others about some differences between dogs and cats. His last email, on Wednesday, said:

Y’all know the difference between dogs and cats, right?
    The dog says, “You house me, you feed me, you love me: you must be God.”
    The cat says, “You house me, you feed me, you love me: I must be God.”

So typically to the point!
    I was told the news of Vic’s death in a reply to that email thread by his widow, fellow columnist Shirley Deane/Midyett.

Highways and Byways: The Noisy Outback

By Maik Strosahl

I love sounds. Yes, in music, nature but especially in poetry. I used to experiment a lot with onomatopoeia, but have not for a long time.
    I was reading a piece by Vic Midyett detailing an event that took place while he lived in Australia. Our leader put the article under the heading “Thunder Down Under,” a series that I as a newer member was not familiar with. I took a quick look through the archive articles and came across a painting of a Kookaburra done by Vic’s wife Shirley Deane/Midyett.

More Than Enough

Detail from the collage

A collage of covers

By Moristotle

Vic Midyett emailed me on Wednesday afternoon this week that his and Shirley’s package to me had just been delivered at my front door, right on UPS’s schedule. The email arrived almost before we heard the deliveryman ring our doorbell. His big box contained a stretched canvas on which Shirley had painted a modified collage of book covers^* from Moristotle & Co.’s Book Authors’ Corner.

Two Is Enough: Motel repair

Return to “Housing is for the birds”

By Vic Midyett

About the middle of June, I found that one of my metal purple martin motels had been damaged by strong winds. It was one of two that I obtained from an old lady now deceased. I am guessing that both motels are well over 40 years old, and each has bits missing. The one that was damaged seemed to have been constructed of second-hand aluminum. Its bottom floor had slipped down the pole about 3 feet. I got my tall stepladder and tools to fix it back up.

Two Is Enough: Housing is for the birds

A photo I pulled off the net

By Vic Midyett

I love having birds around! We have finches and tits. And I think starlings. Saw a white pigeon even. Before we left here 13 years ago for Australia, I had around the place six bird houses specifically designed for bluebirds, mounted on posts the height of fence posts, but none of them were still here when we returned.

Two Is Enough: Thanks to Judy

Detail

Two paintings saved

Paintings by Shirley Deane/Midyett

Text by Vic Midyett

Shirley painted these two scenes over 35 years ago. When we went to Australia in 2008, our CPA friend, Judy, wanted to keep them in her house, and thank goodness she did, for otherwise we would have lost both of them. For, like morons, we left our home to rent fully furnished, including other, larger paintings (one about 4' x 5'), all in expensive frames. All gone now.
    Judy is a good friend. She helped us out of a lot of situations while we were in Australia. She has been a life saver. On our return to Tahlequah, she returned the paintings to us so they might once again hang in our home.

Two Is Enough: Life as senior citizens

By Vic Midyett

Fear not, you who are young'ens, for life as a senior citizen can still be hilarious!
    I had planned to get my hair cut on the day the government morons decided to close the barber shops. My hair had gotten a lot longer than I like and was batting my forehead.

Two Is Enough: A painting for a friend in Australia

Detail of “Benny”

A dog named Benny

Painting by Shirley Deane/Midyett

Text by Vic Midyett

When Shirley visited Australia last year, she stayed for a few days with her friend Dr. Adele Thomas and Adele’s husband Ely Lazar, a chiropractor, some of whose “Lifestyle Tips for Over 50s” columns on their “Passionate Retirees” website have been republished on Moristotle & Co.

Two Is Enough: Ladybug

By Vic Midyett

For the last couple of months we have had a house guest living with us, or at least in our kitchen, mostly in the sink area. Right now it is on the frame around the window above our sink. We purposely don't clean up all of our bread crumbs, for it to graze on.

Two Is Enough

Let’s start

By Vic Midyett

Shirley & I were gratified recently when Moristotle asked us to please continue doing a column, maybe called “Thunder Up Over,” to carry on from “Thunder Down Under,” or something mentioning Oklahoma or Tahlequah, where we live in Oklahoma, back in our own house on our own acreage.

A little painting for Christmas

Painting by Shirley Deane/Midyett

Text by Vic Midyett

[Editor’s Note: Originally appeared on December 28, 2016, along with three other little paintings for Christmas. All four can be seen here.]

Here is the third of four little paintings Shirley created as gifts for Christmas 2016.

Missionary Kid: Champion Kite

“Kite” (detail)

By Vic Midyett

[Originally published on September 7, 2016. The original stock image of a kite has been replaced with the painting by Shirley Deane/Midyett, and Vic has made a few minor changes.]

I was about 10 years old, maybe 12. Every summer the kids where we were living in India bought or made kites and flew them in the summer breezes. Any given day or time you could see hundreds of kites in the air.
    The Indians did something that I haven’t heard of anywhere else. Most kite makers there also sold a string with very fine crushed glass glued onto the string. The reason for this was a game kids played where, with skill, they would wrap their kite’s string around another kid’s kite’s string, and jerk down suddenly in hopes of cutting the other kid’s string and setting his kite loose. This brought bragging rights.

One of our authors’ books can now be borrowed from North Carolina public libraries

Brain Tangles, by Shirley Deane/Midyett

By Moristotle

One of our book authors has just had her book accepted by BiblioBoard for distribution through public libraries in the State of North Carolina, with possible distribution in a few weeks through public libraries in the rest of the United States (we will let you know).

Thunder Down Under: Waterfall

(detail)

Near Salem, Oregon

Painting by Shirley Deane/Midyett

Text by Vic Midyett

Shirley saw this waterfall in the State of Oregon while visiting our oldest granddaughter and her three sons. It isn’t far from the City of Salem. The eagle was not in their field of view, but it entered Shirley’s imagination.

Thunder Down Under: An Australian wild flower

(detail)

Affectionately called “the Bird of Paradise”

Painting by Shirley Deane/Midyett

Text by Vic Midyett

This Australian wild flower, “the Bird of Paradise,” has blossoms a good 4-6 inches long and very pronounced in color and presentation.

Thunder Down Under: For Ben’s birthday

Signature

A rare portrait

Painting by Shirley Deane/Midyett

Text by Vic Midyett

Ben is my son, but Shirley regards him as hers too. So, last year, she painted her second portrait ever, of Ben for his 38th birthday. (Her first portrait was a self-portrait, done many years ago, and it appears on the cover of her book, Brain Tangles.)

Brain Tangles published by Shirley Deane/Midyett

Under the imprint Change Foundation

By Moristotle

Brain Tangles was released three days ago for world-wide distribution. Barnes & Noble and Amazon are already selling it online, in paperback or as an electronic book: Barnes & Noble; Amazon.