Bedlam. Really.

It was a more than a week ago, and everyone is still talking about the Bedlam game, so I’m going to talk about it too. I went to a Bedlam Watch Party with the best food in Tulsa: Hot wings, spinach dip, chili, cookies… you name it, we had it. Ginormous TV: check. Cheering and shouting: check. People in pajamas: check. TV reporters: check. My party was at the Center of Hope and my hostess was Cathy Kumm, an amazing woman who during the week heads up our Emergency Financial Assistance program. Cathy hears a lot of sad stories during the week, and sometimes she has to tell people who apply for financial assistance that they don’t qualify. It’s a tough job and Cathy deserves all the fun she can have. So six years ago, she started hosting a Bedlam party at the Center. She did it as a volunteer, it’s certainly not in her job description. Cathy’s idea was to help guests at the center by giving them an experience they would likely have if they had a home. Her grandsons started helping her host it as young children and now they are teens. More than 80 guests came Saturday night, and their ages ranged from newborn to elderly. I invited reporters and during interviews Cathy told them she received a lot more from hosting the party than she thought she gave. “It warms my heart,” she said. Mine too.

-Sallie