December 29 Observations from the Grand Lake Bum

Best Grand Lake Christmas I can remember! Golfers in shorts. Boats on the water. I wasn’t terribly surprised to see the Grinch out on the water, but the weather was so perfect, even Santa shrugged off a tough night at work. I saw him out boating on Grand Lake, too! I even saw a water skier and a couple of wakeboarders! Folks who escaped to regions further south to ensure a warm day for the holiday spent all that money for nothing. Grand Lake’s high temperature on Christmas Day was higher than the temperatures in Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. The only hot spot that tied Grand Lake’s temperature was Honolulu. I could get used to that! But Grand Lake wasn’t even the hottest spot in Oklahoma. Christmas Day temperature in Mangum, Oklahoma was the highest temperature in North America – 89 degrees.

*****

Temperatures cooled off after Christmas weekend, but that’s okay. New Year’s celebrations are all indoor sports, anyway. It’s my very favorite holiday of the year. All the pressures of family get-togethers, Christmas gifts, and holiday travel worries are over. Now we celebrate a holiday that is dedicated to absolutely nothing except eating, drinking, and football! It doesn’t get any better than that!

*****

I’m not going to start the year as a rich guy – again. Somebody in Arkansas won the $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot I was counting on. I didn’t even win my $100 back. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero. And it looks like that’s exactly what I’ll have to start another year.

*****

I can’t believe the kinds of things that catch people’s attention on social media. Not politics. Not tragedy. Not feel-good stories. Not even celebrities. But…over the holidays I saw a video of a piece of steak being cut with a knife. The question asked, “What doneness are we calling this Filet Mignon?” There were more than 5,500 comments, proving once again that there is nothing too small or insignificant to argue about.

*****

Can you believe it’s already “boat show” season? January means the two best boat shows in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Boat Expo is January 9-11 at Tulsa’s Arvest Convention Center. The very next week, January 16-18 is the Oklahoma City Boat & RV Show at the Bennett Center at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. There will be Grand Lake dealers at both shows, but almost all of them will be at the Tulsa Show. There’s another show on the distant horizon. The Tulsa Boat, Sport & Travel Show is a little more than a month away – February 2-8 at the Sagenet Center at Tulsa’s Fairgrounds.

*****

I hope you have a great celebration this week and a wonderful New Year. If you’re out and about this week, be patient with the servers, cooks, bartenders, hotel clerks, and entertainers who are working over the holidays to make sure you have fun. Tip a little extra, if you can. It’s a lot of hard work making everything look fun and easy.

*****

GRAND LAKE BUM SHOUT-OUTS: Happy birthday wishes go out this week to Grand Lakers Kole Kilcrease, Nate Trickel, Reggie Wallace, Patrick Crossland, Robert Vandommelen, Mark Londagin, Steve Cornell, Bryan Simpson, Paul Spechler, Sergio Andre, Clayton Shumaker, Kent Harrell, Patricia McDonald, Becky Wetwiska, Lacy Dvoracek, Scott Verplank, and Susan Graham.

*****

BEST GRAND LAKE EVENTS THIS WEEK: There are big New Year’s Eve Parties Wednesday night the Shangri-La Clubhouse & Summit Restaurant,  South 125 Bar & Grill, Drunken Rooster, Cherokee Yacht Club, The Monkey Bar, Pickles at the Lake, and Big Shots Rhythm & Booze. There is also a special “Kids’ New Year’s Eve Party” at The Anchor at Shangri-La (beginning at 6:00 p.m.). Christmas lights are still up this week for the beautiful drive-thru viewing at Twin Bridges State Park, Pine Lodge Resort in Ketchum. and America’s Outdoor Adventure Park in Jay. Shangri-La’s resort hotel and Anchor have awesome light displays, as well. The Ice Skating Rink is open for the final week Friday-Sunday at Grove’s Downtown Square including Snow Globe Photo Ops, a Snowball Range, and a 40-foot snow mountain Friday & Saturday.

*****

RANDY KREHBIEL’S RANDOM FACTOID OF THE WEEK: "Baroque," used to describe European art and architecture of c. 1600-1750, originally meant "bizarre and uselessly complicated."

*****

FUN FACT OF THE WEEK: In 1869, Wyoming Territory gave women the right to vote. When they applied for statehood in 1890, Congress demanded they revoke it. Wyoming refused, sending a telegram saying they would rather stay a territory for 100 years than join the Union without their women. They won.

*****

ODD FACT OF THE WEEK: Turning Point USA was founded by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery with two primary policies: fewer gun controls and abolishing Covid restrictions. Bill Montgomery died of Covid. Charlie Kirk was shot to death.

*****

BEST FACEBOOK POST OF THE WEEK: A minister said to his congregation, “Next week, I’ll be preaching about the sin of lying. To prepare, I’d like everyone to read Mark Chapter 17.” The next Sunday, he asked, “Who read Mark 17 like I asked?” Every hand went into the air. The minister grinned and said, “Mark only has 16 chapters. Let’s talk about lying.”

*****

WORD FUN OF THE WEEK: How old were you when you found out HOSPITAL stands for “House Of Sick People Including Treatment And Labor”?

*****

BEST SIGN SEEN THIS WEEK (seen at a McDonald’s Restaurant): We Are Currently Out of Boy Toys. Sorry for the Inconvenience (I’m thinking there will be lots of disappointed cougars in the drive-thru).  

*****

BEST BLUESKY POST OF THE WEEK: I guess they had to invent Artificial Intelligence since real intelligence is running out.

*****

PUN OF THE WEEK: A copy of “A Christmas Carol” just fell on my toe. It hurt like the Dickens!

*****

UNANSWERED QUESTION OF THE WEEK: When do you think we’ll receive our $2,000 “tariff checks” and our $5,000 “DOGE checks” we were promised?

*****

OBSERVATION OF THE WEEK: One thing I learned is when you’re in church for Christmas service and they say they’re gonna sing “Joy to the World,” you don’t start off with, “Jeremiah was a bullfrog!”

*****

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The cleverest people pretend to be stupid so the stupid feel comfortable revealing themselves.” – Leo Tolstoy

*****

FEEL-OLD MOMENTS OF THE WEEK: Award-winning actor, director & producer Denzel Washington turned 71 this week. Legendary actor Sir Anthony Hopkins and actress Jane Fonda both turn 88 years old this week. Iconic French actress & model Brigitte Bardot died over the weekend at the age of 91. The Peanuts cartoon gang turned 75 last week; and everyone’s favorite cuddly character, Winnie-the-Pooh, turned 100 years old on Christmas Eve.

*****

BEST WEEKEND LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: On Monkey Island, Terry Jordan  entertains at The Summit at Shangri-La during the New Year’s Eve dinner. DJ Brock leads the Shangri-La New Year’s Eve Celebration on the main clubhouse north patio New Year’s Eve while The Travis Kidd Trio entertains in the Buffalo Bar.

On South Grand Lake, The Brent Giddens Trio will provide the New Year’s Eve entertainment at Mooney’s Sunset Bar & Grill. The Bison will perform for the New Year’s Eve dinner party at The Drunken Rooster.

In Grove, there’s plenty of musical entertainment New Year’s Eve at Cherokee Casino Grove’s 1897 Bar. An Evening of The Rat Pack begins at 3:00 followed by the Beaty Creek Band at 6:00, and Paralandra at 10:00, all on New Year’s Eve. Brent Giddens will be on stage Friday night followed by D ‘Elegantz Saturday. Western Justice will provide the New Year’s Eve music at Grand Lake Casino’s Venue 655.

The BakBeatz will entertain on New Year’s Eve at Downstream Casino’s Legends Sports Bar. Until Now will provide the music at Buffalo Run Casino’s Backwoods Bar on New Year’s Eve. Riverbend Casino’s Club 60 West will return to the 80s on New Year’s Eve with music by two great tribute bands, Poison Overdose & Motley Crucial. Saturday night, The Blue Underground will be on stage at Riverbend.

*****

DINING & DRINKING UPDATE: The Summit Restaurant at Shangri-La will be closed New Year’s Day. Doc’s Bar & Grill closes for the season January 1, reopening March 10. Boom at The Regatta in Grove is also closed for the season, reopening in the Spring. The Anchor and The Galley Restaurant at Shangri-La are open both New Year’s Day – and seven days a week. The Juan Montez restaurant building at Red Arrow Marina has been torn down, but a new building is on the way for 2026. In the meantime, a food truck is on site serving the same great food; and the Cantina is still open.

*****

BUM MUST-SEE TV: Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve with Ryan Seacrest airs at 7:00 Wednesday night on ABC and New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash also airs Wednesday night at 7:00 on CBS. The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony airs Thursday night at 7:00 on ABC. A new season of Dateline premiers Saturday night at 8:00 on NBC; and the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards will be televised Sunday night at 6:00 on USA.

*****

BUM MUST-SEE MOVIES: Song Sung Blue, Anaconda, Avatar, David, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, and Marty Supreme are all in theaters this week.

*****

SAVE THE DATE: Friday-Sunday, January 9-11 – Oklahoma Boat Expo Boat & RV Show at Tulsa’s Arvest Convention Center. Friday-Sunday, January 16-28 – Oklahoma City Boat & RV Show at the Bennett Event Center at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.  Thursday-Sunday, February 12-15 – Oklahoma Tackle, Hunting, and Boat Show at the new Wolf Creek Expo Center in Grove.

*****

In the college football world, bowl season continues and we’re narrowing down the field in the College Football Playoffs. Miami takes on Ohio State Wednesday night in the first CFP Quarterfinal in the Cotton Bowl. New Year’s Day Quarterfinal games feature Oregon vs. Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl (11:00), Alabama vs. Indiana in the Rose Bowl (3:00), and Ole Miss vs Georgia in the Sugar Bowl (7:00). There are also four bowl games Friday beginning at noon.

The NBA has a busy schedule. After home games hosting Atlanta Monday and Portland Wednesday, the OKC Thunder hit the road for a late game Friday at Golden State (9:00), and a Sunday night match-up in Phoenix (7:00) before returning home to host Charlotte Monday (7:00) and Utah Wednesday (7:00).

The NFL is a hot mess with networks flexing games like crazy this week as they try to narrow down the playoff teams. As they say, check your local listings.

There’s some good college basketball, too. Saturday games include OSU at Texas Tech (12:00), BYU at K-State (12:30), Kansas at UCF (1:00), Tennessee at Arkansas  (2:00) and Ole Miss at OU (2:30).  There are a couple of really good women’s games Sunday afternoon – OU at Texas A&M (2:00) and Baylor at Iowa State (2:00).

*****

I hope you enjoyed the incredible weather last week because, after the bottom fell out of the thermometer Sunday night, we’re facing sharply cooler temperatures this week. It’s still great weather for this time of year, though, with high temperatures in the low 50s and lows in the mid-30s. Get out those warm clothes you got for Christmas, because there’s plenty of holiday action around the lake this week. Get out of the house and join the fun! Remember, though, wherever you party, be sure to buy a drink for the guy next to you. It could be me!

GRAND LAKE BUM

If you would like to join the growing list of sponsors of The Grand Lake Bum e-blast and the Bum’s page on both  Grand Lake Living and www.360grandlake.com, the cost is only$50 a week and the list of readers continues to grow.  E-mail grandlakebum@gmail.com to sign up. The Grand Lake Bum column is also published in The Grand Laker newspaper.

Looking for places to go, things to do, services to use or property to buy in the Grand Lake area?  Here’s a starter kit listing of “open to the public” fun places to spend time at Grand Lake.

Anchor Sports Bar & Activity Park at Shangri-La

Big Shots on Monkey Island (Open Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights)

Billy’s Burger Bar & More in Ketchum

Blind Swine on Duck Creek at Safe Harbor Harbors View Marina

Blue Bluff Café at Blue Bluff Harbor

BOOM at The Regatta (at Sailboat Bridge)

Buffalo Bar at Shangri-La on Monkey Island

Buffalo Run Casino in Miami (smoking)

Casa Gutierrez in Gro

Cesar’s Place in Vinita

Cesar’s Place in Langley

Checkered Past in Grove

Chickanellas on Monkey Island

Chicken Coop west of Langley

Chubby’s Grill at On Target in Grove

Clanton’s Café in Vinita

Copper Penny Bar in Ketchum

Cosby’s Catfish on Highway 28 in Eucha (East of Disney)

Cregan’s Confections & Ice Cream (Ketchum)

Doc’s Bar & Grill at Shangri-La Resort Hotel

Domino’s in Grove

Downstream Casino in Quapaw (smoking)

Drake’s Restaurant in Grove

Drift at the Regatta (at Sailboat Bridge in Grove)

Drunken Rooster Bar & Grill (Cleora)

Drunken Rooster – on the Water (Grove)

E&H Liquor Store at Littlefield Corner, Monkey Island

Eddy’s Lakeside Bar at Shangri-La Marina

Fire Pit at Wildwood Cove Resort in Drowning Creek

Galley at The Anchor, Shangri-La Resort

Gambino’s Pizza in Ketchum

Goodfella’s Pizza (Cleora and Grove)

Grand Getaway Mercantile (north of Grove)

Grand Lake Casino, north of Grove on Highway 10 (smoking)

Grand Lake Coffee Company in Grove

Hero’s Deli in Grove

Hero’s Deli in Langley

High Winds Casino east of Miami (smoking)

Indigo Sky Casino west of Seneca, Mo. (smoking)

Island Bar & Grill at The Landings Marina

Juan Montez Restaurant & Cantina at Red Arrow Marina

Keagan’s Coffee at Littlefield Corner

La Casita de Martin in downtown Grove

Legacy Eatery in Grove

Lighthouse Supper Club in Ketchum

Los Garcias in Langley

Lupe's Mexican Restaurant in Grove

Matt’s Place in Grove

Monkey Bar on Monkey Island

Monkey Island RV Resort

Mooney’s Sunset Bar & Grill in Disney

Monkey Grind at Shangri-La Resort Hotel

Monkey Island Trail Rides

Monkey Island Winery

Mosa Hibachi and Sushi in Grove

Mulligan’s at Patricia Island Golf Club in Grove

Nu Taste Restaurant in Grove

One-Eyed Monkey at Littlefield Corner, Monkey Island

Pappy’s Bar on Hwy 10 east of Grove

Pickles at the Lake in Langley

Pier 13 Liquor Store in Langley

Pistol Pat’s on Honey Creek in Grove

Pit Stop Café in Grove

Poppin’ on Grand in Cleora

Quarterdeck Cafe at Tera Miranda Harbor

R Bar Dance Hall & Saloon in Grove

Raggedy’s in Grove

Rancho Viejo in Grove

Rise-N-Dine, Ketchum

River Bend Casino in Wyandotte (smoking)

Road Hog Saloon at the entrance to Monkey Island

Roberts Bar & Restaurant in Langley

Royal Liquor Store in Grove

Scissortail Lounge at Scissortail Marina

Sharky’s at Hammerhead Marina

South 125 Bar & Grill on Monkey Island

Speedy’s Chophouse in Grove

Sugar Shack at Lee’s Grand Lake Resort

Summit Restaurant at Shangri-La on Monkey Island

The Artichoke Restaurant in Langley

The Grill at Indian Hills Resort & Marina in Bernice

The Stables Casino in Miami (smoking)

The Shebang on Monkey Island (smoking on patio and Balcony Bar)

Ugly’s Grill & Bar, Thunder Bay Marina

VIP Pizza at Hammerhead Marina (smoking on deck)

Wolf Creek Diner in Grove