I believe that when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was on the cross, hanging off the fresh cedar while being in the most intense pain possible, that when he cried out “Why have you forsaken me?” he wasn’t doubting God—I’m convinced he glimpsed the future and saw the hordes of Oklahoma women spending money hand over fist on overpriced rustic crucifixes and other mostly Christian ephemera at An Affair of the Heart.
Oklahoma’s bi-annual arts, crafts, collectible and powdered chili-mix extravaganza—sponsored by Braum’s, in case you’re wondering what that smell is—returned to the Bennett Building at the State Fairgrounds this past weekend, with an ocean of “Can I speak to your manager?” hair-dos as far as the eye can see, pushing rental-carts full of metal windmills, life-like baby dolls and so many bootleg Thunder shirts. So many.
An Affair of the Heart, I was surprised, is remarkably close to the horror and sci-fi conventions that I used to go to, but I suppose, with the television stations offering constant coverage, it’s on a far more socially acceptable level – a mixture of city and country coming together in a consumer festival that brings out the best rest of what Oklahoma stands for, from blind patriotism to unwavering faith, as long as you have a ten-dollar bill to pay the admittance fee, you’re in.