Miss Oklahoma at Large

The night I won Miss Oklahoma USofA at Large was a great night.  It was 2002 and I was enjoying my success in pageants. I had entered probably 5 or 6. I did not win them all, but found the experiences beneficial.  I was really coming into my own. I had been 1^st alt to Miss Oklahoma EOY and 1^st alt again at Miss Prairie States regional EOY.  I had won Miss Copa USofA at Large a few months prior.  I loved The COPA in OKC. It worked well for holding pageants.  This preliminary lead me to the state pageant to be held in Tulsa. Miss Oklahoma at large.  During this time I had moved back home to Wichita Falls.  There were no residency restrictions, so completing in another state was not a problem.  Tulsa had billed the Miss Oklahoma at Large pageant as “the fat girl” pageant.  And it was too. All of the queens had to be 200 lbs or at least 6 feet tall.  Most of us girls qualified by the weight.  GW, my late partner, was there with me the entire time.  He was also in my talent.  It was great to have his support.  I had been preparing for weeks. My gown was ready, my talent was well rehearsed, and my mind was in a good place.  I was going to make my mark.  The promoters from the Silver Star Club were great.  I had been in contact with them. They were truly welcoming as soon as I walked in the bar.  We had arrived the night before and met them for a drink. They were a great couple of guys.   We were accompanied by my friend, Raven. Raven was a queen from OKC.  Raven was good with details and I knew she would make sure I looked top notch and she did. We returned to the hotel early.  Raven spent time that evening, placing the final touches on my wig.  I was going through a blonde phase then.  It took some work to hide my dark hair under that pretty blonde wig. He wig line needed to be perfect. I had brought my sewing machine along and got the idea to cut my presentation costume.  I was not happy with the way it looked and felt this would be my last chance to re-do it before the competition. So Raven styled and I sewed. GW watched TV.  The personal interview was the next day at noon.  I showed up to the contestant meeting ready.  The interview was to follow.  I was contestant number 5.  There were a couple of girls from Tulsa and OKC. One girl, Chanel, was from Dallas.  (She is friend of mine today.) And I was representing Wichita Falls via OKC.  I was the true unknown.  The other girls did not seem worried.  They each had their interviews. Then it was my turn. I looked great in my new suit. I shined with each question.   It was amazing.  I nailed it.  The judges smiled as I shook their hands and thanked each one before leaving.  I was confident I had won interview.    

The pageant started late. I was ready early. So I had to stand in my presentation costume so it would not wrinkle.  Presentation was easy. You come out, circle around, then walk up the mic and say something sassy to introduce your self.  It was simple. The crowd clapped politely and cheered more when the Tulsa girls came out.  They looked cheap with bad makeup.  I hoped the judges could tell the difference.  Gown category was next.  My gown was navy blue bugle beaded gown. It was fringed and has liquid beaded collar and cuff. It was split up the front with a train.  It scored well.  My face looked fresh and hair was clean.  The talent portion of the contest was my shining moment.  I did my Trailer Park number.  I started out with a lip synced monologue about living in a trailer park.  I stood directly in front of the judges with nothing but a spot light on me.  I was ironing a shirt on al old rusty iron board.  I was dressed like a bingo playing granny, complete with big hair and an iron that said property of motel 6.  I even pretended to burn the shirt.  It was all a part of the act.  I leaned on the iron and you could see the burn mark (it had been faux painted with fabric paints.)  It looked real.  That was just one of the many details I tried to include. Plus it made it funny. 

I had built set props to look like the inside of someone’s trailer home.  After the sassy monologue, the song started and I rolled the iron board out of the way. My mom had helped me add casters to the legs so it would roll.  I did a song called 1-900-Bubba by Kacey Jones. She is a musical comedy genius.  I had GW play “Bubba” all he had to do was act like he was drinking beer on the couch and watch TV.  He was so cute in his overalls and wife-beater shirt.  He was my little actor. While the old wife (me) sang a story about how bubba was a redneck but she loved him.   It was awesome, the judges loved it. The big finish was at the end when I danced like an old lady and plopped down on the couch with Bubba.  I was in such a rush to make my queue that I kicked the leg of the couch and when I sat down the leg broke!  Bubba and I landed on the floor!  The laughter was awesome. All I could do was smile and throw my arms around Bubba like he was the king of the trailer park.  The judges thought it was part of the act. It was the funniest thing they had ever seen.  I won talent hands down.  I also took home the cash prize for interview too. Gown went to someone else. I think Chanel.  Then the big moment came. They Called Chanel runner up and then a big pause.  They called my name, I had won the whole damn thing.  My first reaction was to run and hug GW.  I was so happy, I forgot that they had to crown me first.  I was crying tears of joy.  I made my mark.  I was on my way to Miss USofA at Large to be held in Winston-Salem NC.  I did not worry about what a undertaking that would be. I was so proud of my self for winning.