What I Will and Won't Miss about Oklahoma

[fishwax]

It's pretty much official now that I'll be moving to Illinois for graduate school near the end of July. With that in mind, I've started reflecting on things, other than close friends, of course, that I will and won't miss when my 12 years in Oklahoma comes to a close.

I will miss the excitement generated when a large group of Oklahoma progressives and liberals come together. Sometimes it feels like we're such a minority here, that when we do gather in numbers we have a tremendous amount of energy. I remember how great it felt being in Gallagher Iba for the Democratic Primary Debate two years ago, seeing a few thousand Oklahomans give Dennis Kucinich repeated standing ovations.

I won't miss either of our Senators.

I will miss Norman on a home football Saturday.

I won't miss all the Keating/Watts/Largent/Inhofe/Nickles/Coburn, etc. stickers and signs that have dotted the home game crowds during every election year.

I will miss autumn in Norman, which seems to last for about five months.

I won't miss the occasional feeling that I need to watch what I say in political discussions as a matter of personal safety (not that it ever really stopped me).

I will miss the Oklahoma Gazette, even though it's not quite the paper it used to be.

I sure as hell won't miss the Oklahoman.

I will miss OU/Texas weekend.
I won't miss having to hear about the Dallas Cowboys all the time.

I will miss Bedlam football, basketball, wrestling, and bedlam baseball at the Brick. But I won't miss Stillwater. ;)

I will miss walking on OU's campus in the spring when they plant the flowers.

I won't miss the ease and disregard with which strangers or loose acquaintances have no problem dropping mildy racist or blatantly homophobic comments into casual conversation, since such opinions are widely acceptable here.

There's more that I'll think of as time comes near, I'm sure.

What would you miss?

What would you not miss?

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Welcome to Illinois...

My :loveya: lives in Oklahoma and is an OU grad. He's a progressive and is very much in agreement with your views.

That being said, I can't diss Oklahoma too much, because it produced him.

:D

[fishwax]

2. thanks!

I'm looking forward to it, even though it's kind of surprising to me that it's where I'll end up.

It can certainly be frustrating being a progressive here, but it can also be good to be challenged in that way, I suppose. I just feel like I've been challenged enough, so we're ready to find a community with some common ground ;) Congrats to your :loveya: for hanging in :)

[RoyGBiv]

3. Interesting topic ...

Thanks for mentioning it. This sort of thing came up in my own life awhile back. I'm still here but don't plan on staying forever, for all the reasons you say and a few more, but I won't dwell on those.

I've lived in Oklahoma for 35 years, and in that time I've found a number of things about Oklahoma I truly love.

My progressive beliefs were germinated here and are owed fully to people I've met here. Despite the dominant political beliefs of most people, a strong sense of progressivism still runs strong underneath the the surface. It makes me appreciate it more, in aways that people who live in generally liberal areas cannot truly understand. This goes along with what you were saying about the energy involved in a gathering of progressives.

Some might find this strange, but I like the weather, even when the summer gets to be almost unbearable. There are so many rivers and lakes and other ways actually to enjoy the heat that it compensates. I also like thunderstorms, despite the destruction they can cause. (I generally look askance at people in some parts of the country who talk about thunderstorms. Until you've experienced one in the plains, you haven't really seen what they're like.) Some of my fondest memories -- some memories in which I truly saw human beings showing the best parts of their nature -- involve working with Civil Defense (now Emergency Management) in the wake of a tornado.

I like the fact I don't really understand the meaning of "traffic jam."

Most of all, I think, the open space of Oklahoma is what keeps me attracted to it. I have a place I go sometimes. It's one of the many places in the middle of nowhere, but it's special to me. There's a hill, and in the Fall and Spring a fine, misty fog tends to settle along the ground. Sunrises take your breath away. The quiet is prnounced. The stars are brilliant. I can sit there for hours and just think and not hear or see a thing that reminds me of the world outside where I am at that moment. The closest place I've found to this on is in south-central Kentucky, but even there you can see the lights of three major cities polluting the far horizon. On my hill, no lights intrude save the moon and the stars. There's not even much airline traffic to spoil it. I'll miss that a lot when I go.

[fishwax]

5. I will DEFINITELY miss the storms

I love the spring storms in Oklahoma. There is nothing like watching a wall cloud roll across the plain. I always hate the thought of people getting hurt in tornados, etc., but those thundershowers are amazing.

I hope I'll be able to see similar storms in Illinois. I spent a few summers in Iowa as a kid, and the storms were great there, too, but here in Oklahoma it's something else entirely. :D

I know what you mean about open spaces, too, though I lived in Wyoming for several years before moving here, so I'm used to wide open (and that's a big empty on a whole other level ;))

[Blaine Dixon]

25. i liked the tornado season as a kid

i liked the tornado season as a kid cause we had the only storm shelter in the neighborhood and the really well built football homecoming queen next door would come to our shelter! :)

[Tess49]

4. Believe it or not, when I left Norman for a few years, I missed the

wild spring storms we have here. They are beautiful, terrifying and exciting all at the same time. I also missed Campus Corner and running into people I have known for years at Brothers and other places. I REALLY missed Braums! Good luck, and come back and visit.

[fishwax]

6. I totally believe it. I love the storms too

as I was saying in a reply above. You're right about the terrifying beauty. I'll have to come back and visit because I've got so many great friends here (sigh :)).

[Blaine Dixon]

26. How about earthquakes?

How about earthquakes as a subsitute for stimulation...they are awesome also..and they have the added value of being almost unpredictable and unexpected

[fishwax]

27. I'm not sure I see the beauty in an earthquake, though

Welcome to DU, Blaine Dixon :hi:

[Behind the Aegis]

7. I hope I can say this soon!!!

Congrats on your grad school!

I am not from Oklahoma and I don't really like it at all. I have been here for five years and I still don't like it and I have lived in 10 other states! But, I will not rail too hard on it in this post.

I lived in Stillwater, so I can agree that it is a great place to see in your rear-view mirror. But, I do have some nice memories from there.

The storms here SUCK!!! I was driving from OKC to Stillwater one day and the car I was in almost had a tornado set down on it!!! We could see it in the rear-view. I think I peed myself a little that day! However, the power of the storm here is majestic in its own right! It is very humbling.

The OKC Bombing Memorial is breath-taking, especially the "survivor tree!" If anyone can tour that building and not shed one tear, I don't ever want to know them. The creators of that memorial did such a good job at making it "personal." I also got to see it when the "9-11 Memorial" was there.

This is also one of the few states, where even in the city, you can find a place and see the night sky!

There are TWO zoos here!!! They ROCK! I love zoos and the Tulsa zoo is awesome!

Traffic? What does that mean?! Even in the big cities, traffic is nothing compared to other places I have been!

Little humidity!!! As hot as it gets, it is not as bad as it was when I lived in the South!

I don't like the small minds here. I had never heard "Jew someone down" until I moved here. People still use the term 'colored' and say "nigger" and aren't embarrassed to say it in public. Black folk are far and few between. Diversity is lacking here, or rather, covered up.

I was lucky enough to have a few good people working with me. One of those people saved my life!

The best thing, which is the state's real saving grace...I met my partner! He makes me glad I am alive! He is nothing short than a blessing from the gods! So for him, Oklahoma is not all that bad!

I wish you the best in your studies and your new state. May the joy you found here, be found there. May the friends you leave behind, remain in your heart and prepare you for the friends waiting to welcome you!

[fishwax]

8. That's a great post, thanks!

And I'm glad you've found something in Oklahoma to make it worth it :D

[SoonerShankle]

9. I don't blame you for missing

anything bedlam or OU!

Boomer Sooner!

From a CalOkie.

[gaia_gardener]

10. I miss Mayflower UCC

and Robin Meyers. It's one of the few things I miss about OKC. I also miss my La Leche League group.

I miss southeast OK and the redbuds and dogwoods. I don't miss the neo-con attitudes.

I don't miss dirty, windy OKC.

[fishwax]

11. I've never been to Mayflower, but

I've enjoyed reading Meyers's commentary in the OKC Gazette over the years. :)

[gaia_gardener]

12. If you have any christian leaning

you should go. My husband is not christian but he does like the teachings of christ and he loved this church. It is very much about the liberal message of christ.

[flashg]

13. I miss Taco Bueno

Along with almost the same list you made, but also thunderstorms and balmy summer nights. I miss my family too, but sometimes it's nice they can't drop by.

[fishwax]

17. welcome to du flashg

:hi:

I miss taco bueno sometimes too :)

[flashg]

20. thanks fishwax

Hope you are enjoying Illinois :hi:

Just had Taco Bell tonight :puke: I miss Taco Bueno!

[newyawker99]

23. Hi flashg!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Z_I_Peevey]

14. What I missed when I was gone from the Oklahoma hills

where I was born:

The four distinct seasons. Talimena Drive in the fall. The cedars near Antlers. The Brady Theater. The swamps and cypress knobs everywhere at Broken Bow. Mostly, the hills.

With apologies to everyone in Western Oklahoma, out there on the plains, Oklahoma has always been hills and valleys to me.

And, I found I missed that certain brand of Okie bullshit when I was elsewhere. Good-natured bullshit.

Crazy small-town characters. I love them.

[bigbrother05]

15. Is El Palacios still downtown? Best Mexican food ever!

Everything you said and much more, leaving 'Normal' was tough.

Edit: meant to link to top

[fishwax]

16. I don't remember El Palacios

How long ago were you there?

I've been gone about six weeks now. Still missing it, especially on game days :)

[bigbrother05]

18. 25+ years

It was downtown, on the main street, just east of the tracks. Was there in the 70s and just a few times since, but still feel the connection.

[fishwax]

19. That's cool. I imagine

I'll still feel a connection down the years too. That town got into my blood :)

Alas, though, the Palacio must have been gone before I got there in 1993 ...

[Blaine Dixon]

24. I wont miss the 4 seasons

4 seasons means to me..huddling inside all summer with two airconditioners going full blast unable to get outside and exercise because of the heat and humidit..huddling inside all winter with the stoves going full blast unable to get outside and exercise because of the cold. I wont miss the propane and electric bills. I wont miss tornado season.

[clyrc]

21. In the eight years since I moved from Ok,

I've missed Braums, chicken fried steak, Indian tacos, a real, colorful fall season, and driving around looking at the beautiful houses of Tulsa. My family lives in Tulsa and I go and visit sometimes, making sure to get in some good Oklahoma food. But the people are kind of snooty in Tulsa and the politics appall me. So really it's better visiting every now and then.

[OKNancy]

22. LOL

But not everyone!! E. kind of likes me. :-)

[yellerpup]

28. I've been gone for 30 years.

I don't miss a damn thing about it.:hi:

[CornField]

29. What an interesting topic

I'm a native Oklahoman, transplanted in Iowa. I grew up in the northeastern part of the state and I must admit that now - even after 11 years - there are things I miss.

I miss lazy summer days on Ft. Gibson lake, watching the sunlight glint across the top of the water as it warms my hair.

I miss the feeling of everyone knowing my name and my family's history. I miss bumping into someone at the corner store only to find out that we are distantly related or they use to play cards (or run moonshine) with my father or grandfather.

I miss old men sitting out on the sidewalk playing cards or dominos. (Hard to do such things in the depth of an Iowa winter)

I miss cheap t-shirts, cutoffs and old flip-flops -- and wearing them without feeling out of place.

I miss crawdad hunting with pieces of raw bacon.

I miss knowing where all the best fishing holes are and what's at the end of all the country roads.

I miss people telling me they will be arriving "directly" (soon)

I miss cashiers, waitresses and other shopkeepers referring to me as "hun"

I miss being able to say anything bad about another person as long as I remembered to qualify it with "Bless his/her heart"

I miss saying whatever I want, qualifying it with "bless his/her heart" and having everyone within hearing distance nod in agreement because they understood exactly what that meant.

I miss good, creamy, country gravy on a good, crunchy, juicy, chicken-fried steak.

I miss not having to explain what buttermilk, mountain oysters, shit on a shingle, grits and other foods are.

There are many things I miss. :hi:

[TulsaTV]

30. Tulsa chicken-fried steak

Picture and article about chicken-fry, Nelson's Buffeteria-style:

http://tulsatvmemories.com/nelson.html

[karlrschneider]

31. Some of my friends and I would catch a bus downtown to go to Nelsons

back in the 1950s. Or to the Coney Island...was it on 4th street? Not far from the Ritz & Orpheum as I recall. I know we even walked to town a few times from our 36th & Lewis neighborhood! :D

[TulsaTV]

32. Coney Island recipe

Photo from Coney Island and recipe:

http://tulsatvmemories.com/coney.html

[karlrschneider]

33. Hey, THANKS!!

I'll try some of the Skyline chili, that's the one ingredient I never can get "just right"! :D
:toast:

[TulsaTV]

34. You're welcome.

Had to go eat some Coney I-landers today at lunch.

http://tulsaTVmemories.com

[newyawker99]

35. Hi TulsaTV!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: