th tried unsuccessfully to break into another couple’s red Cadillac then I remembered the beeping sound had come from the opposite direction. I mentioned that to Betty and she wiped her brow then grinned sheepishly as we exchanged glances across the top of the car. “Oh!” she said.

Over the next few months it became readily apparent that the both of us were very conservative with our money. Betty must have had that on her mind one evening at the Elks Lodge because she said something about me being tight. I wasn’t upset by her comment but did ask her to explain. She sat back in her chair and gestured around the table where several of our friends sat and said, “Well, I would like to see you buy a

The following speech, Betty Ann Ross, Just Who Is that Woman, was given before Will Rogers Toastmaster Club on August 29, 2006.

December 26, 1994, I was living in a small apartment on the south side of Pryor, Oklahoma, attempting to recover from an emotional 15-year marriage when the phone rang on the wall outside the kitchen door. I wasn’t expecting a call and was very surprised by what the caller had to say. Bill, one of the men that worked for me said a woman called him and asked him to give me her phone number.

I thought that was a little strange and let the number lay around a few days before finally making the call on December 30, 1994. The ensuing conversation was my first encounter with Betty Ann Ross. The next morning we met in her dining room and shared a cinnamon roll with a cup of coffee and discussed the New Year’s Eve Dance at the Pryor Elks Lodge. I was a little surprised when Betty asked me if I would like to go then doubly surprised when she asked me if it was all right for her mother to go along. She said her father had passed away a few years ago and her mother lived alone. Of course I had no problem with her mother going and said so. But if the events played out as Betty proposed then I suppose one could say that the dance would not be our first date, unless of course, one considered Betty’s mother as being our chaperon.

In the ten-year plus span of time since that unusual phone call I have learned a lot about myself, also that beautiful lady. We’ve kind of grown together. But, as in any relationship or marriage, there are things that are better left alone.

Having said that, I’m sure there are those of you that would immediately become inquisitive and wonder what I mean by ‘things that are better left alone’. I could easily spend the next hour telling you about all the good Betty has brought to my life but this evening I want to deviate off the beaten path and share with you a couple of things that happened while we were getting started.

Right out of the bag, the day after the New Years Eve dance, Betty suggested I take some dancing lessons. And hearing her say that, I suppose she wasn’t that impressed with my dancing prowess but I didn’t have a problem taking the lessons. In fact I thought it would be fun.

Later I was just getting started with a three-month session when Betty and I attended a Wednesday night dance at the Home Builders in Tulsa. Betty didn’t think it was appropriate to take my pickup to a big band dance so we took her red Cadillac. Inside we danced several dances together, made some new friends and had a great time.

Afterward we exited back to the parking lot and Betty clicked her remote and headed off toward a red Cadillac parked on the right side. At the same time I heard a double beeping sound on the left side and started to go there but seeing Betty headed toward the right I went along with her.

The next few seconds we both tried unsuccessfully to break into another couple’s red Cadillac then I remembered the beeping sound had come from the opposite direction. I mentioned that to Betty and she wiped her brow then grinned sheepishly as we exchanged glances across the top of the car. “Oh!” she said.

Over the next few months it became readily apparent that the both of us were very conservative with our money. Betty must have had that on her mind one evening at the Elks Lodge because she said something about me being tight. I wasn’t upset by her comment but did ask her to explain. She sat back in her chair and gestured around the table where several of our friends sat and said, “Well, I would like to see you buy a r

e met in her dining room and shared a cinnamon roll with a cup of coffee and discussed the New Year’s Eve Dance at the Pryor Elks Lodge. I was a little surprised when Betty asked me if I would like to go then doubly surprised when she asked me if it was all right for her mother to go along. She said her father had passed away a few years ago and her mother lived alone. Of course I had no problem with her mother going and said so. But if the events played out as Betty proposed then I suppose one could say that the dance would not be our first date, unless of course, one considered Betty’s mother as being our chaperon.

In the ten-year plus span of time since that unusual phone call I have learned a lot about myself, also that beautiful lady. We’ve kind of grown together. But, as in any relationship or marriage, there are things that are better left alone.

Having said that, I’m sure there are those of you that would immediately become inquisitive and wonder what I mean by ‘things that are better left alone’. I could easily spend the next hour telling you about all the good Betty has brought to my life but this evening I want to deviate off the beaten path and share with you a couple of things that happened while we were getting started.

Right out of the bag, the day after the New Years Eve dance, Betty suggested I take some dancing lessons. And hearing her say that, I suppose she wasn’t that impressed with my dancing prowess but I didn’t have a problem taking the lessons. In fact I thought it would be fun.

Later I was just getting started with a three-month session when Betty and I attended a Wednesday night dance at the Home Builders in Tulsa. Betty didn’t think it was appropriate to take my pickup to a big band dance so we took her red Cadillac. Inside we danced several dances together, made some new friends and had a great time.

Afterward we exited back to the parking lot and Betty clicked her remote and headed off toward a red Cadillac parked on the right side. At the same time I heard a double beeping sound on the left side and started to go there but seeing Betty headed toward the right I went along with her.

The next few seconds we both tried unsuccessfully to break into another couple’s red Cadillac then I remembered the beeping sound had come from the opposite direction. I mentioned that to Betty and she wiped her brow then grinned sheepishly as we exchanged glances across the top of the car. “Oh!” she said.

Over the next few months it became readily apparent that the both of us were very conservative with our money. Betty must have had that on her mind one evening at the Elks Lodge because she said something about me being tight. I wasn’t upset by her comment but did ask her to explain. She sat back in her chair and gestured around the table where several of our friends sat and said, “Well, I would like to see you buy a

utiful lady. We’ve kind of grown together. But, as in any relationship or marriage, there are things that are better left alone.

Having said that, I’m sure there are those of you that would immediately become inquisitive and wonder what I mean by ‘things that are better left alone’. I could easily spend the next hour telling you about all the good Betty has brought to my life but this evening I want to deviate off the beaten path and share with you a couple of things that happened while we were getting started.

Right out of the bag, the day after the New Years Eve dance, Betty suggested I take some dancing lessons. And hearing her say that, I suppose she wasn’t that impressed with my dancing prowess but I didn’t have a problem taking the lessons. In fact I thought it would be fun.

Later I was just getting started with a three-month session when Betty and I attended a Wednesday night dance at the Home Builders in Tulsa. Betty didn’t think it was appropriate to take my pickup to a big band dance so we took her red Cadillac. Inside we danced several dances together, made some new friends and had a great time.

Afterward we exited back to the parking lot and Betty clicked her remote and headed off toward a red Cadillac parked on the right side. At the same time I heard a double beeping sound on the left side and started to go there but seeing Betty headed toward the right I went along with her.

The next few seconds we both tried unsuccessfully to break into another couple’s red Cadillac then I remembered the beeping sound had come from the opposite direction. I mentioned that to Betty and she wiped her brow then grinned sheepishly as we exchanged glances across the top of the car. “Oh!” she said.

Over the next few months it became readily apparent that the both of us were very conservative with our money. Betty must have had that on her mind one evening at the Elks Lodge because she said something about me being tight. I wasn’t upset by her comment but did ask her to explain. She sat back in her chair and gestured around the table where several of our friends sat and said, “Well, I would like to see you buy a

didn’t have a problem taking the lessons. In fact I thought it would be fun.

Later I was just getting started with a three-month session when Betty and I attended a Wednesday night dance at the Home Builders in Tulsa. Betty didn’t think it was appropriate to take my pickup to a big band dance so we took her red Cadillac. Inside we danced several dances together, made some new friends and had a great time.

Afterward we exited back to the parking lot and Betty clicked her remote and headed off toward a red Cadillac parked on the right side. At the same time I heard a double beeping sound on the left side and started to go there but seeing Betty headed toward the right I went along with her.

The next few seconds we both tried unsuccessfully to break into another couple’s red Cadillac then I remembered the beeping sound had come from the opposite direction. I mentioned that to Betty and she wiped her brow then grinned sheepishly as we exchanged glances across the top of the car. “Oh!” she said.

Over the next few months it became readily apparent that the both of us were very conservative with our money. Betty must have had that on her mind one evening at the Elks Lodge because she said something about me being tight. I wasn’t upset by her comment but did ask her to explain. She sat back in her chair and gestured around the table where several of our friends sat and said, “Well, I would like to see you buy a

th tried unsuccessfully to break into another couple’s red Cadillac then I remembered the beeping sound had come from the opposite direction. I mentioned that to Betty and she wiped her brow then grinned sheepishly as we exchanged glances across the top of the car. “Oh!” she said.

Over the next few months it became readily apparent that the both of us were very conservative with our money. Betty must have had that on her mind one evening at the Elks Lodge because she said something about me being tight. I wasn’t upset by her comment but did ask her to explain. She sat back in her chair and gestured around the table where several of our friends sat and said, “Well, I would like to see you buy a round of drinks, just one time!”

A year later we were at the Elks Lodge again and I bought everyone a drink that was seated around the bar. Betty turned around and stared at me. She said, “What did you do that for?” I got a little irritated with her and said, “Betty, you wanted me to buy a round of drinks and I bought a round of drinks, and now you want to chastise me for buying a round of drinks!” She just glared at me. “Yes, but it’s been a year now and you’re still buying a round of drinks!”

That same year on a Saturday afternoon we were watching the Oklahoma and Texas football game from her living room. All of a sudden my pager went off and I went to the phone and called the plant and learned that some equipment was down and the shift foreman needed my help. I told Betty I would be back in a few minutes and to let me know how the game ended. She said she would and I left.

A couple of hours later I came back and asked her about the game and she said Texas won. The next morning we drove to a local restaurant to read the Sunday paper and have some breakfast and I immediately saw on the front page that Oklahoma had won the football game. I glanced over at Betty. “I thought you said Texas won the game.” She glanced up from the women’s section of the paper. “They did win, didn’t they?” “No!” I said, and showed her the score. “Oh!” She said. “I suppose I should have watched the rest of the game.”

But Betty also had a spontaneously funny side to her and I want to finish up by telling you about one of those. We had been married about a year and were on a road trip up north when Betty got up early one morning and started stirring around in the room. I was half asleep and didn’t pay that much attention but I could smell the aroma of coffee brewing and it smelled good.

A few minutes later I heard the coffee pot sputter in its final stages of percolation then heard the sound of coffee being poured. In just seconds I heard Betty say, “Honey, you want a cup of coffee?” I immediately threw back the covers and sat up like a rake someone had stepped on and saw Betty standing there beside the bed with the most insidious grin on her face, and without a stitch of clothes on her body. “This is Hooter’s Plus,” she said, offering a hot steaming cup of fresh coffee in her outstretched hand.