A Moment in the Recreation of Ada

A Moment in the Recreation of Ada

Brandon Kelley

ADA, OKLA. – He fiddled with a newly acquired piece of jewelry on his left hand ring finger as he responded to my questions. Daron Ellis sat in a recliner in his living room with tall ceilings, taking no extra time to answer the question. More than anything noticeable, Ellis, employee of the City of Ada’s Recreation Department, seemed relaxed and content as he described his job, working for the city.

It took no time to realize that this man stays extremely busy. Ellis is in charge of many of the Ada based recreation activities. Ellis is in charge of the summer softball league and tournaments as well as flag football and volleyball. That alone does not make a dint in his list of obligations. Ellis is also in charge of the swimming pools in Ada, including Wintersmith Park pool.

“We rent out Wintersmith swimming pool for pool parties,” Ellis said. “One to 50 people are charged $75 and 50 to 100 people are charged $100.” Ellis said that his job continues to expand, and he is now in charge of the new Splash parks located in Ada.

Ellis is currently in his last semester at East Central University, majoring in Kinesiology Recreation with a minor in Sociology. When hearing about his last job, it was easy to make the connection with recreation.

“Since I was 18, I took over my dad’s sprinkler system business, Ada Sprinkler Systems. That was until I got this recreation job for the city of Ada,” Ellis said. Although sprinkler systems are not his main source of income, Ellis said that he still installs sprinklers on the side. “I actually have one coming up at the office buildings behind Sante Fe Restaurant,” Ellis added.

When asked more personal question, Ellis answered with a sense of dignity and compassion.

“I just got married to my beautiful and loving wife, Michael Elizabeth Ellis, in Durango, Colorado. We just bought a house together on Eighth St. We had to do a lot of work on the house, but it is working out nice now. Still a lot of work to be done though,” Ellis said with a bright smile on him and his wife’s face as he said it. The Ellis’ were more than happy to announce that they are expecting a baby boy that is due on May 26. “We’re gonna name him Paix Michael Ellis.”

“My wife and I have our own dirt bikes that we love to ride. Michael’s bike is a 100, four-stroke and mine is a 250, four-stroke. We have some pretty good times on those things,” Ellis said while pulling at his beard.

Whether its working for the city of Ada, riding dirt bikes with his wife or chasing his Capuchin monkey around the house, Daron Ellis seems like a man that has his life pretty well mapped-out.

Best dinner I've ever had.......

The smell of meat loaf over took everything that was important at that moment. The buzzer on the oven is going off, letting everyone know that they are about to taste something that is as close to heaven as one may get, without dying of course. The table at my grandparents' house is filled with bowls of macaroni-and-cheese and mashed potatoes and gravy. Another bowl offers up asparagus. Still, one thing is missing, and everyone senses it. My grandma's meat loaf, which is notorious to anyone in Dougherty, Okla., or all of Murray County for that matter, is just making its way to the table. There are eight close-relatives sitting around the table, already with head bowed, to get into and out of the prayer as quickly as possible, in order to fill their stomachs with that famous meat loaf.

The sweet tea is nothing to be left out either. There simply, was not a better-tasting beverage, than my grandma's sweet tea. With the meat loaf of all meat loafs about to be devoured, it's only right to serve it with the sweet tea of all sweet teas.

WHO DAT?!

The Saint's find glory...

Growing up, I always had a football in my hand. Since the day i became familiar with the National Football League, I have been a die hard New Orleans Saints fan. That's not to say that I don't root for the Cowboys every year as well. The Cowboys have been down "glory road" plenty of times however, the Saints had NEVER drove down that road before Super Bowl XLIV.

From the paper bag sacks worn as masks, to the familiar nicknames(the Ain'ts, and the Can'ts), the Saints have had one disappointing year after another. Never in the existence of the New Orleans Saints, has the team made it to the Super Bowl. Never had one shot to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, but four and a half years after Hurricane Katrina broke the levees protecting the city of New Orleans, the Ain'ts earned their first letter back and became the Saints.

After a season of unforgettable plays and comebacks that gave the Saints the number one seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Saints entered the playoffs as, believe it or not, underdogs. The Saints rolled through the first 13 games with ease before stumbling in the back stretch and losing their final three games of the regular season. They looked out of sync, but the Saints put the theory to rest when they demolished the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round of the playoffs. But then there was Brett Favre.

In the NFC Championship game, the Saints hosted Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.

After a game that went back and forth, Favre and the Vikings were driving the ball into field goal range with the final minute ticking away in the game. Favre however, made what may have been the best pass in the ball game if you were a Saints fan. Favre threw a bad pass over the middle after scrambling out of the pocket to his right, only to get intercepted by Saints cornerback Tracy Porter. The game would end up going into overtime, where Garrett Hartley would seal the Saints victory with a field goal. On to the Super Bowl for the "Aints", where they would face another next to impossible foe, Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.

The Super Bowl started out very scary for the Saints. The Colts jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead, and held the lead going into halftime with the score 10-6. Sean Payton, the Saints head coach, had a trick up his sleeve however. The Saints lined up to kick the ball starting the third quarter. Everything looked normal, nothing out of place. That is until the kicker for the Saints held up at the last minute and sent a perfect onside kick that bounced off the hands of a Colt's player and recovered by the Saints. The game was all in the hands of Drew Bress and the Saints offense after that. They drove the ball effectively and grabbed a 24-17 lead in the 4th quarter. After a scary Colts drive, Peyton Manning threw what was probably his only bad throw of the game, and Tracy Porter was there to take advantage again. Porter cut in front of the receiver and intercepted the pass, taking it all the way back for six. 31-17, was the final score, and the city of New Orleans finally got something to cheer about.

It was destiny, and I, being a Saints fan, could not have waited much longer for this perfect ending to a promising season. The Saints aren't the Aints no more. They are for real. ....