Oklarama

Infant Mortality

2006-05-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Since Oklahoma is in the Bible Belt and since most folks around here profess great love for the unborn, you would think that we would have enormous concern and compassion for the going-to-be and newly born babies of our state. It is pathetic that our infant mortality is so atrocious. Not even at the level of so-called developed nations.

It's time that people put their piety into action, and not in the tsk-tsk-tsking form that it usually takes.

A Rough Winter?

2005-09-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

I noticed that the squirrels have been extra busy this year. My driveway is, as usual this time of year, littered with pecans. The big difference I have noticed this time is that all of them have been chewed by those cute little rats with fluffy tails. The squirrels are packing it in.

My mother reports similar observations with her Norman-based squirrels.

Do they know something we don't?

Do We Claim These Guys?

2005-09-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Times is among many news organizations talking about the unqualified resumes of the leaders of FEMA, and unfortunately, about their Oklahoma ties:

"Both Allbaugh and Brown were Oklahoma natives involved in that state's Republican politics. FEMA's acting deputy chief of staff, Brooks Altshuler, also hails from Oklahoma."

Did any of these guys have anything to do with the response to the Murrah bombing? To the May 3rd tornadoes?

And now Time Magazine reports that Michael Brown appears to have padded his resume.

We are a state that has done disaster management, and, despite some problems, has done it pretty well. I hate any implication that incompetence in FEMA may be linked to being from Oklahoma.

I lived in California for a while and was shocked to hear it then. I can certainly hear Californians (and, I fear, others) now..."Dumb Okies!"

I know, this is a cras and paranoid concern at a time of national disaster. But I much prefer Frank Keating as the face of Oklahoma disaster response to Brown and Allbaugh. Any way we can disown them?

Anyone else feel like a vulture?

2005-09-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

I am alone in this or were other people disgusted by the report in today's Oklahoman that the Ford Center may become temporary home to the New Orleans Hornets? The article says,

If the Hornets were to relocate to the Ford Center (capacity 18,567), even on a temporary basis, it would give Oklahoma City a unique opportunity to evaluate the feasibility of a major-pro franchise existing locally - and at no financial risk.

"We would get a chance to look at something we've always wanted to get a look at," said Tim Brasfield, president of the All Sports Association.

Nine potential conflicts exist because the Oklahoma City Blazers 2005-2006 hockey schedule already has been set. The Blazers are the Ford Center's primary tenant, but would agree to play in the myriad when there is a conflict.

It was quite a stunner to read such a mercenary-sounding article after just reading that the Astrodome is full, and more housing is needed for Hurricane Katrina's refugees. I had had hopes that our city would once again demonstrate the "Oklahoma Standard" and offer the Ford Center.

Don't you think the Blazers might be willing to move to the Myriad for devastated storm refugees, too?

The Oklahoman Disappoints

2005-09-02T05:46:00.000-07:00

Today's editorials in The Oklahoman demonstrate an inexcusable attitude toward disaster relief efforts. To say that the response is just right, that some people may die, but in time the rest will be fine, we don't need to see any errors, improve any process, is infuriating.

I have been a disaster responder in several situations, including to the World Trade Center. One of the most important aspects of any disaster response is to notice and learn from mistakes so that the next response will be better. And there are always mistakes. When babies and old people are dying in New Orleans of dehydration and starvation and lack of basic care, that isn't good enough of a response. When people in Mississippi go for days and days without seeing a single soul there to help, that is not good enough.

One of the biggest hindrances to improving disaster response here in Oklahoma is the belief that we did just fine, just great with the response to the federal building bombing. That, too, was a bungled job in many respects, but it was a relatively small disaster, at least compared to 9/11 and Katrina. To have seen the errors and yet feel resistance to improvement because of the mistaken belief by policymakers and the public that there is no need to do better is infuriating and frustrating and maddening. Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but only if you look.

The Oklahoman's comments seem a veiled apology for the government's inadequate action. What are a few lives here and there? In time, people will move on, they say. Well, you can say the same about the plague.

Anybody think we are ready for the plague here? A dirty bomb? A big anthrax or smallpox attack? If you do, just keep burying your head in the sand. We aren't ready for any of it.

"So far, so good"? So far, not nearly good enough.

Comment Spam

2005-08-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

I have been really, really, really bad about posting anything on this site. I dropped by to see if anyone had visited and found the comment spam on my post about the trees. Hm... I guess the contagion was bound to spread to blogs. Any idea how to get rid of it?

Water the Trees!

2005-08-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

One thing that just boggles my mind is how local and state government and various civic organizations can spend hundreds of dollars to plant trees, and then let them die for lack of water. Does this make any sense at all?

Farmer's Markets

2005-06-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

Ceres from The Joker's Wife is asking for tips on the best OKC-area farmer's markets. Anyone with any suggestions? I'm sorry to say I've never been to one.

Here's the website for the OSU-OKC Farmers Market. Isn't there one in an old building on the southwest side of downtown, too? Just south of I-40?

And, as a new tomato farmer, I need to know how long to leave the dang things on the vine. Are they supposed to be completely ripe before you pick them?

Redo the Commercials

2005-06-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been so long since I posted that I temporarily forgot my blogger name and password.

I've got a baby on the way (with resultant morning/afternoon/evening sickness) and a new puppy in the house, and those things plus work have left very few brain cells functioning for blogging.

I have managed to drag myself out of the house long enough to go see a movie or two at the Harkins Bricktown Cinema. I really like the place, and it is a kick to see so many people out enjoying themselves in our new little entertainment district.

One comment: I really can't stand the moviefone.com commercials they show before each movie. Moviefone.com is a national site run, apparently, by AOL. You would think that they would be able to make clever commercials with relatively high production values, along the lines of the "turn off your cellphone" spots at AMC. But no.

Another curmudgeonly comment: What's with the lousy Sonic commercials these days? Looks like a cheapo, unimaginative, low-budget local production. And as one of the flagship companies of our fair city, they need to represent us better.

At least we haven't embarrassed our state (lately) like Missouri has with its cheesy, retro, 70's-themed tourism ad campaign.

Can you tell I've been sitting around a lot lately?

Pause, Please

2005-05-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Here's my snooty comment about the snootier-than-thou element that attends Oklahoma Philharmonic concerts. Most people in the crowd are just fine. Some people still get the rules wrong and applaud between movements, which is just a touch embarrassing.

Even more embarrassing, I think, is the small number of yahoos who insist on proving their incredible knowledge of classical music by breaking into wild applause and bravos the millisecond a piece is finished.

Don't they know that there is often great beauty in the silence? That the silence brings something magical, like a collective holding of breath? That that is why the conductor's hands are frozen in the air? That they should wait until the conductor signals the audience that the orchestra is truly finished? These nouveau snooties really know how to ruin a moment.

Frontier City

2005-05-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

In all my years of living in the Oklahoma City area, I have never been to Frontier City. And I love amusement parks. People tell me I'm not missing much. How can that be so? Why wouldn't the company that owns all the Six Flags theme parks want their hometown amusement park to be a great flagship?

Is Frontier City getting better? Should I go?

Oops!

2005-04-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hats off to Garth Brooks too! I hear he's living local.
Sorry 'bout that!

Keith and Coyne, I Salute You!

2005-04-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

I tip my hat to Toby Keith. Whereas other singers whom Oklahomans claim as our own (Reba, Garth, Vince, etc.) don't actually live here anymore, Toby Keith has set up his home base on the east side of Norman. His house is beautiful, flies a humongous OU flag, and overlooks a really pretty valley with horses running around in it. Plus he spends his money here, with the upcoming Toby Keith's Roadhouse as a prime example.

But my hat comes completely off and flies in the air for Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips. The Grammy winner from OKC not only continues to live here, but lives in the most impoverished neighborhood I've ever seen in our town (at 13th and Gatewood). And Mr. Coyne loves being from here and loves living in his neighborhood. He also does a mighty fine job of stereotype-busting when it comes to Oklahoma musicians. In an appearance at the art museum's recent showing of the new Lips documentary Fearless Freaks, Mr Coyne said that he would like to be one of those voices on a PA system at the airport welcoming visitors to OKC.

I say he'd be great! Let's hear it!

It would be really great to have a Keith-Coyne duet, but somehow I just can't wrap my mind around what that might sound like...Or look like...

Memories of April 19, 1995

2005-04-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

I was in Cincinnati when the bombing happened, at the bedside of a very nice man who was in an intensive care unit and who had just been put on a ventilator. I was talking about his ordeal with his wife, who had no room in her own anxious heart for anything other than her beloved husband. I will never forget glancing up to the television set that was suspended over his bed and seeing a building with black smoke pouring out of it, and bloodied, dazed people walking and running and being carried away. Underneath the images, "Live: Oklahoma City."

I am from Norman. I went away to school, first on the East Coast, then in the Midwest, then on the West Coast. No one ever knew where Norman was, so I always said, "I'm from the Oklahoma City area." (Which was too frequently followed by, "Oklahoma...Doesn't that border California?") When the blast happened, I felt a personal connection, and yet I felt even more a fraud, as I didn't even know where the Murrah building was. This happened in my home, and yet what right did I have to claim it as such?

My parents knew someone killed in the bombing, and a librarian at the downtown library who used to do a story hour for the kids in the daycare. But my family and my friends were safe.

My niece, the first baby of her generation in my family, was born on the first of that month. I flew home to see her, and it happened to be right before the implosion of the building. For reasons I still can't completely sort out, it was very important to me to see the Murrah building in person. I went there the day before it was brought down.

I was struck first by the extent of destruction far beyond that building, especially by all the boarded up windows all over downtown. And then somehow, seeing the federal building helped me wrap my mind around what had happened. I needed to see where it was in relation to things I knew. I needed to see it life-sized, rather than the constant, in your face, up-close view shown by the national networks. I needed to see it as it was, a regular place where regular people worked on a regular day, where something very horrible had happened. Much like a funeral or a memorial service gives grief someplace to land, I felt like that site gave my grief someplace to rest.

When the bombing happened, I longed to be back in Oklahoma. I felt like a person out of the country while a loved one is seriously injured back home.

Less than a year after that day, I was making my way home again for another visit. A guy asked me where I was headed and I said, "Oklahoma City." His response was to say with a laugh, "Oh, Oklahoma City! Where the motto is 'Rent a Ryder and have a blast!'" I would have strangled him had I not been shocked by the callousness of his words.

I'm glad to be back home. Oklahoma City is my home now, my home of choice, and there's no place I would rather be.

My grief is nothing compared to that of the families and friends of the lost and injured. But it is there nonetheless. Last week, with the lecture by Rabbi Kushner, the grief started to make itself known with surprisingly fresh intensity. I feel drawn again to the Murrah site, to the Oklahoma City National Memorial. Thank you to all the people who worked to make it a place of beauty and peace and comfort.

Positive Tomorrows

2005-04-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of Positive Tomorrows, read about it here. What's it all about?

Positive Tomorrows is a school for Kindergarten through 12th grade children who are homeless, fleeing domestic violence or seeking refuge from an abusive home-life. All of our students are in crisis during the time they are enrolled, and the program goal is to stabilize families as quickly as possible. Although there are only 30-40 students enrolled in the program daily, Positive Tomorrows serves over 400 children in crisis annually, considering the average stay for a child is 6 weeks.

It is a bright shining example of compassion and hope for the Oklahoma City area, and you can get involved.

Oklahoma Flag

2005-04-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

Anyone know where I can find our state flag with a wide sleeve to fit over one of those big garden-type wooden flag poles? The only kind I've seen are the type with the metal grommets. I know, garden flags with the flowers and pumkins and Christmas trees are a bit out of fashion. I like them anyway. But I really want to fly our state's flag. What can I say? I'm in a festive, Oklahoma-loving state of mind.

Rocky Shores

2005-03-28T01:43:00.000-08:00

So when are they going to plant something that will hide the rocky edges of the newly renamed Oklahoma River? I like seeing the water in there, but the rocks are a constant reminder that the river is ARTIFICIAL. A recent Oklahoman article (sorry, forgot title and author) envisioned a future for the river with camouflaging landscaping on the river banks, but I haven't seen any sign of it yet.

Cain's Ballroom

2005-03-22T00:11:00.000-08:00

I just went to my first concert at the Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa: Elvis Costello and the Impostors. The concert was great, the crowd was middle-aged hip, and I really liked what one Tulsan called, "The Cain's." (Is that what you call it if you are in the know?) Despite the fact there is minimal seating and most people (including me) had to stand for the show, I really enjoyed one particular unique feature. There is a hill in the ballroom floor, a buckle almost. I got a perch on that high spot and felt tall for once. Anybody know why that speed bump in the wooden floor is there?

Helping Our Furry Friends

2005-03-17T06:51:00.000-08:00

I stopped in PetsMart last weekend and was sorely tempted by a cute little...beaget? bassle?... part beagle, part basset hound puppy. I didn't take him home, but did pick up some info on the great local organization that works to get unwanted pets adopted, Volunteers for Animal Welfare.

The volunteer I spoke with said that the Oklahoma City animal shelter kills 16,000 dogs and cats a year, at least half of which are adoptable. That means that every day on average well over 20 adoptable pets are killed by our shelter. And that's only one of our metro area shelters. VAW not only works to get these animals adopted, they work very hard on spay/neuter projects to bring the number of unwanted animals down. You can be a part of it! Here's how you can help!

My Favorite Oklahoman

2005-03-16T00:53:00.000-08:00

It's a stretch to say that this is an Oklahoma-related post, but today is the birthday of my favorite among all our state's citizens: my darling, my husband. Happy birthday to the love of my life!

Sooner Haven

2005-03-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it in the August, 2003 New Yorker, here's another chance to read Katherine Boo's eye-opening account of life here in Oklahoma City in one of our public housing projects. It is a "must read" for anyone who cares about our city and our community. The article is long so I linked to a printable version. Read it and then share it with your friends. In case you don't know, Sooner Haven is the housing project on the south side of 36th street, west of the Zoo.

Embarrassingly Obnoxious

2005-03-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

Somehow I have gotten on the mailing list for Oklahoma City Friday, the newspaper whose slogan is, "Serving affluent Far Northwest Oklahoma City, Nichols Hills and The Village since 1974." It has a column entitled, "Oklahoma's Beautiful People by Vicki Clark." How much more nauseatingly nouveau riche can you get?

When I moved back here from San Diego I remember being utterly amazed at the laughable snobbishness of some folks from Nichols Hills. Yes, there are some nice parts and some nice houses, but I remember thinking how patchy it looked, and how ugly the overhead powerlines are, and how ostentatious some of the houses were. It's an overrated neighborhood, for heaven's sake. Make us a really classy wealthy neighborhood (and I'm not talking about the pinnacle of fake flash, Gaillardia) and then perhaps (big perhaps) I won't want to vomit when I read about a self-labeled affluent part of town.

I'm back and I'm crotchety.

It's true! I swear!

2005-03-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

My tasty side dish at Earl's in Bricktown reminded me of a ridiculous true story from a few years ago. A group of Japanese educators visited central Oklahoma to tour our schools, particularly the vo-techs. They went to the home of one of the local officials and while they were there, they toured the garden. The gardener/homeowner explained "squash," "tomatoes," etc. When she got to "okra," suddenly everything made sense to one of the guests, who proclaimed, "Ah! Okra-homa!" I'm not making it up. Instead of the land of the "red people," I guess we are the home of the red slimy green vegetables. (Who can eat that stuff steamed, anyway? Fried or pickled or hidden in gumbo, thank you very much.)

Capitol Hill

2005-03-05T06:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday on a whim I drove through the Capitol Hill neighborhood. What a diamond in the rough! The hill itself makes it a fun and unusual part of town, and the buildings are great. It reminds me of a trendy part of San Francisco or Austin minus most of the businesses and with more small town charm. The number of empty store fronts is amazing, but apparently much smaller than in previous years. We can all be grateful that the buildings haven't been torn down to make way for another Walgreens or Dollar General Store. The evidence of revival is apparent and heartening. The new entry sign looks terrific (and is how I knew where to turn off of Shields) and the street landscaping adds panache. I saw the empty theater on Commerce (for sale!) and thought what a great art film and independent theater it could be. Then I saw a truck with a Confederate flag as its front license plate, and wondered if my independent theater would be burned to the ground. Could Capitol Hill tolerate a showing of Going Upriver?

Spring is Springing!

2005-03-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

My neighbor's daffodils are now in bloom! This has gotten me in the gardening mood.

My woeful behavior of last fall is now painfully apparent, as the east half of our front flower bed is beautifully in bloom with invigorated pansies, while the west half's pansies are being, well, pansies and limping along pitifully. Probably has to do with the fact that they languished in their tray for a whole month after their brethren of the east were planted. I finally stuck them in the ground when they were getting all yellow and scraggly.

The east side of the garden also benefited from my reworking of the border, in which I replaced the perpetually falling apart brick edging with some nice fiberglass edging. The ragtag bricks are still "in place" on the west side.

Anyway, this brings me to the point of this post. Did you know that Habitat for Humanity's Renovation Station will come and pick up things like piles of used bricks? They pick up construction equipment, too, like the old boards that used to clutter up my garage. What a great service! And if you are in the market for these sorts of supplies, they sell them in their store on Broadway, just south of 23rd.

Now I just want someone who will put together a resale store for plants. I've got some survivor rose bushes that have been here forever, and that I'm sure would do great under the loving care of a proper rose gardener. I'd love to rip them out and plant a vegetable garden, but guilt holds me back. If only I could donate them, too!

More on Not Me

2005-03-02T11:49:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned before, my blogger name happens to be pretty darn close to that of the secretly written, satirical state capitol newspaper, The Oklahoma Partisan. Rest assured, that paper and I have no links whatsoever (though if I could find one I would gladly add it to this blog). Want to know more? Read all about it from the Oklahoma Gazette. If someone can tell me how to take a computer snapshot of a pdf file, I'll share the real thing with you.

Crazy for Books

2005-03-01T06:01:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I went for the first time to the Friends of the Metropolitan Library Book Sale at the state fairgrounds. It was amazing!

That was the best place to people-watch I have ever seen (my favorites: a family of four all in bright orange hunting caps so that they could find each other amidst the sea of people). The fact that thousands of people were crammed in a huge building and lined up in seemingly endless lines to buy books restored my faith in humanity and particularly in Oklahomans. There were people with big plastic garbage cans on wheels, with wagons, with suitcases--all filled up with books. The parking lot was packed. Again I say, it was amazing!

My favorite purchase: A very small book published in 1924 entitled, The Book of Courage: A Little Book of Brave Thoughts. It cost me a dollar. On the intricately patterned inside cover is an inscription (in very neat script), "To Charlie From Estelle, 1936." Don't you wonder who they were? Why Charlie needed courage? Whether he found it in the book that is now sitting next to my computer?

And now for some controversy...

2005-02-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm sure I'll step in it with this post. But are the tribes that were forcibly removed to what is now Oklahoma really natural history rather than history history? (whatever that is?) It strikes me as very odd that people who were moved here against their will are the subject of a display at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History, as if they are part of the flora and fauna. It seems insulting, actually.

The Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Creek, and Chickasaw tribes were from the southeastern part of the US and probably felt as at home here as Chinese immigrants, or as the black slaves who were removed with them. The history that is told is vitally important for us to learn, along the lines of "never again" regarding the Holocaust, and has been considered by some but not others as part of a systematic Native American genocide perpetrated by the United States. But it belongs in a human history museum and not alongside dinosaurs and stuffed coyotes.

It does seem reasonable for a natural history museum to discuss the truly native people of our state, who lived here thousands of years ago. The museum has, for instance, a painted bison skull that is 10,000 years old. The display on Mississippian culture, which dates from 1200 to 500 years ago, is fascinating. Talking about the descendents of those ancient, local people also seems appropriate to me. But immigrants, voluntary or involuntary, to the state who have been here less than 200 years don't seem ancient enough to be considered specimens of the natural world, and deserve their story to be told as part of the complex and compelling human history of this area.

I don't really blame the Sam Noble Museum since there isn't another good outlet in this area for their exhibit. Perhaps they should rename that museum the Sam Noble Museum of Natural and Native American History.

I love history museums and have a lot of hope that the Indian Removal story with all of its power and complexity will be well told in the new American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, and in the new Oklahoma History Center, whenever they finally open.

Hit and Run

2005-02-25T08:53:00.000-08:00

I was just catching up on the news from the Oklahoman, and saw a brief article about a car accident involving a hit and run driver. In that particular case, the hit and run driver was arrested.

Last summer my husband and I were in a small car and were hit by a pickup truck whose driver didn't stop at a stop sign. Although his truck was so damaged that it couldn't turn to the right and lost all of its coolant, and although he hit directly on my door and broke out the window and totaled our car, he didn't so much as slow down to see the damage but went as fast and as far as his pickup could take him before leaping out of the vehicle and running away into someone's yard. A very kind passing motorist witnessed the accident, followed the truck, got its location and license plate number and a description of the driver, and then came back to check on us. For that I am truly grateful.

Here's the part that really irritates me: Because we only had minor injuries and didn't want to clog up an emergency room with trivial stuff, the police didn't come for almost two hours. The officer practically yawned when he heard it was a hit and run case. The tow truck driver said that every weekend in Oklahoma City his company alone gets at least ten vehicles they have to pick up that were damaged by hit and run drivers. The driver of the car that hit us was eventually identified, was an unlicensed driver, and the police didn't even arrest him.

My next door neighbor was also hit by a hit and run driver and got the license plate number, but the police wouldn't even go track down that vehicle or its driver. Someone low-level with access to vehicle registration information slipped my neighbor the driver's address, against the rules. My neighbor went there, found the car, and found the father of a teenager who had been wondering what had happened to his son's car. The father did the right thing when he found out.

When will our police department do the right thing? I know that they have a lot of responsibilities and are stretched thin, but hit and run drivers are time bombs. Maybe they didn't kill someone this time, but what about next time? And there is nothing more irritating than to feel that someone broke the law, could have killed you, and the police don't care.

An Airport on Every Corner

2005-02-23T06:31:00.000-08:00

I was watching Stateline on OETA last night and learned a thing or two. Most interesting was that Oklahoma has 123 public airports, 4th most per capita in the United States. I can't decide whether I think this is a good thing that we could somehow use better to our advantage ("Oklahoma loves pilots! Bring your planes and your money!) or if it is just another example of the populism in our state that makes everyone want everything for their own little town, even if consolidation would make better quality regional facilities. It brings to mind again the question of consolidation of our 540 school districts, which will probably never happen because of the inverse NIMBY syndrome, YIMBY (yes in my back yard!), which is so pervasive in our state. The YIMBYs have a very good point that needs to be addressed for the health and vitality of our state: how do we help small towns survive and thrive? How do we keep government and publicly funded institutions as responsive to local needs as possible? If we could find other ways to preserve the identity, character, independence, and economic survival of small towns, perhaps there would be less of a need for public institutions to provide those things, and we could look at consolidation issues from purely a cost and quality perspective.

A Use for a Wal-Mart Box

2005-02-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

I tend to be a pack rat. I was sifting through my stuff with newfound zeal, courtesy of flylady.net, subject of a previous post, and I have found all sorts of things. Among them: a bunch of shoe boxes, "just in case I might need them someday". What am I going to do, make a bunch of diorama boxes based on the latest books I've read? I don't think that part of my brain realizes that the rest of me is a grown-up. And another part of me is really into recycling and feels great pain when I throw away stuff that could be useful to someone. This, plus recurrent sightings of empty Wal-Mart buildings got me thinking.

What if we could covert one into a free store for teachers?

Our teachers are always scrambling, paying their own money to get materials for their kids. Wouldn't it be great to have a place where the public could donate good quality items that would be free for the taking by teachers? Shoe boxes, unused wrapping paper, ribbons, cards. All kinds of art materials. Office supplies, books. Props for plays. Maybe this could be partly directed by a website, where teachers could put out requests and the public could then donate the items, via the store.

This would take a lot of work to keep the garbage out and to get it organized.
The other half of the Wal-Mart box would probably need to be either a pit-stop to the dump or a thrift store. Probably both.

But wouldn't it be nice to know that your leftover (uncooked) macaroni is going to be spray painted gold and made into a necklace? Or that goofy old uniform you have will be used in some high school play?

Oooh. Bloomington's already doing it (but only with donations from businesses)! So is Cincinnati!Maybe our crew is doing it too, and I just don't know about it.

How do we get there?

2005-02-21T07:09:00.000-08:00

I've gotten some positive feedback on the International Mall idea. But an idea stays only an idea if something doesn't happen to make it a reality, and I'm not good at that part of the equation. I just wanted to say that I will feel nothing but happiness if someone takes ownership of this idea (or anything else I've come up with) and runs with it. I'd be happy to help out.

Of course the fantasy is that someday I will be stinkin' rich and will quit my day job, start my foundation, and run around funding all sorts of cool ideas. I already have the name (The Scissortail Foundation), just don't have the dough. My idea of the greatest job in the world? This.

2005-02-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

Piura, Peru

International Mall

2005-02-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

We all already know that Oklahomans are very involved in charitable activities, and many of these are international in nature. An excellent example is World Neighbors, founded in Oklahoma City in 1951. Many of our cities also have sister city agreements with other cities around the world. And then there are relationships like that between a church in Piura, Peru and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edmond, in which hundreds of Oklahoma families provide $25 per month to Peruvian families for basic living supplies, and Oklahomans go on a regular basis to provide medical care and to do other work such as building houses. Many other churches and civic organizations do very similar projects. I was lucky enough to go on one of the trips to Peru, which was an eye-opening experience. I would like to find a way to help the people there and elsewhere in the developing world to not only survive but to improve their lives.

Unloading a shipment in Piura, Peru

Here's my idea: I think we should find some empty building in downtown (and there are certainly a lot to chose from) and open an international mall, similar to the artist cooperative stores or antique malls. Artisans from Peru and other countries create wonderful and unique goods that they sell in their own countries for very little money, but often a little money goes a long way. The groups from here who work with them could bring their goods here, mark up the price, and send the artists the profits, perhaps with a portion going to support other charitable activities. We could help musicians travel here to perform and record their music. We could have a food court with interesting foods from around the world. All of this could be presented along with educational displays about the countries, communities, and organizations represented.

If we are going to make our state a world-class place to live, we need to be good and informed citizens of the world. An international mall would be a great way to raise awareness among our citizens about the rest of the world while helping to improve people's lives.

"We are sorry..."

2005-02-18T06:38:00.000-08:00

I was trying to get today's forcast from weather.com and I accidentally put my ZIP code in the wrong spot. I got the following message:
"We are sorry. There are no resorts matching your search criteria."
I love our state, but darn it, that was kind of depressing.

ONG, You're Doin' It wrONG

2005-02-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

When is Oklahoma Natural Gas going to come up with a better way of finding out how much of their product I have used besides showing up unannounced, without any kind of uniform, in my backyard to read the meter? Don't they know how scary that is, particularly for women who are outside alone? Aren't they afraid someone will mistake them for burglars and shoot them? My dog is very sweet and perfect in almost every way, but she has absolutely no street savvy and if given the opportunity would happily race toward the largest, fastest cars on the busiest street just to say 'hello.' Why should I have to wonder if someone is going to open our gate while she is outside and supposedly secure in our own backyard? There's got to be a better way in today's information age to get ONG the information they need.

Oklahoma Trails

2005-02-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

Construction is underway for the new Oklahoma Trails exhibit at the Oklahoma City Zoo. It is scheduled to open sometime in 2007 and will have some exhibits I have long looked forward to: bats, river otters, and bears. I hadn't realized that grizzly bears had ever lived in Oklahoma, but they used to, and for that reason, Will and Wylie will take up residence in the new exhibit. These bear cub brothers were brought to OKC after a hunter shot their mother and left them orphaned.

Will and Wylie
(photo by yours truly, who is excited to have another excuse to take pictures)

We have a terrific zoo, and Oklahoma Trails will make it even better. I am so glad and impressed that back in 1990 the citizens of our community voted to approve the permanent one-eighth penny sales tax for the zoo. It is symbolic of the optimism, generosity, and steady pursuit of a better future that are characteristic of our people.

Lola Makes Her Blog Debut

2005-02-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

Oooh. I just figured out (sort of) this picture thing. But is there a simpler way than to first send a photo via Picasa and Hello to the blog as its own post, and then have to edit the post to put text in?

Baby Lola

Cafe Bargoos: My New Favorite Restaurant

2005-02-12T04:28:00.000-08:00

My husband and I uncovered OKC's best kept restaurant secret last night: Cafe Bargoos in the Paseo. The Gazette describes its food as Asian, but it has a definite artsy "fusion" feel about it. It's located in the building that takes up the corner space created by Paseo, NW 28th, and Dewey. Address: 2909 Paseo Drive. Phone: 606-4607. The food and service were both great, and we were pleasantly surprised that our tab was less than $50. I particularly liked their "Red Noodles" dish. The only negative: no decaf coffee. How can you have chocolate cake or cheesecake without coffee? And while I love my caffeine, it doesn't let me sleep if I have it for dinner. Cafe Bargoos is probably taking their cue on that from their neighbor, Galileo's, where decaf coffee went off the menu in order to keep people from staying around forever, swilling joe. Despite this little flaw, I really enjoyed my dinner and would highly recommend Cafe Bargoos.

Not Related

2005-02-10T22:22:00.000-08:00

It has come to my attention that the Onion of the Oklahoma State Capitol is called The Oklahoma Partisan.
While I wish I were wickedly witty, I have no link to that publication. I also literally have no link to that publication, and so cannot show it to those of you who don't know what I'm talking about. Anybody got one?

Woo Hoo!!

2005-02-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

Three cheers! I finally passed the 1000 count! All you bloggers out there with your 10K's of visitors probably don't even remember the dark old days when that little counter didn't seem to budge. I was sorely tempted to reload and reload just to make myself feel some bloggin' love. I'm still a dang Crawly Amphibian in the TTLB Ecosystem, but what can you do? (Don't answer that. I know, I know. Be more informative, insightful, and witty.)

Bookstore for Bricktown

2005-02-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

What Bricktown needs is a big 2-story bookstore. Sure, the new IHOP will be a place other than a bar to hang out in, but a bookstore would be much nicer. I heard that Full Circle already decided against locating in Bricktown. If the usual Borders or Barnes & Noble aren't interested, how about snagging a franchise of a big chain from another city? How about Joseph-Beth Booksellers? Or how about Davis-Kidd? (An interesting thing has happened. I have discovered that the websites for my two favorite bookstore chains are the same. It's one big company, and it is expanding to other cities! Why not ours?) There's only so much mileage you can get out of restaurants, bars, movies, and fishing stores.

Call the White House!

2005-02-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

I am so impressed with Thomas Friedman's case for dumping the reward for Bin Laden, that I believe it is time we harness the power of the Blogosphere and get that message to the Bush Administration. I'm new at this game, but some of you have a lot of blogger contacts. Spread the word! Devalue that tapeworm!

Here are the phone numbers for the White House:
Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414

And here's how to email the President: president@whitehouse.gov

More Concern Over House Rules

2005-02-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

As I was waiting for dinner I flipped through the February 2nd edition of the Gazette and read Pam Fleischaker's commentary about some new House rules. It appears that "dollar for dollar" isn't the only thing I should be concerned about. I hope these new rules serve the people well, but I have my doubts.

Another Good Idea from California

2005-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

I lived in San Diego for two years before moving back here to OKC, and the best idea I encountered from California state government, even better than the restaurant placards, was their voter guides. Here's the on-line version of their main November 2004 guide. Everyone gets a copy of this in the mail, plus supplemental ones as needed. The propositions are explained in normal language, as are the meaning of a yes or no vote. Then a proponent and an opponent of each measure make statements outlining their points of view. Each candidate running for office also submits a statement.

Every election day here I am scrambling around on the League of Women Voters site or rummaging through the newspaper trying to make sense of the issues I will be voting on. California made it so much easier to be an informed citizen, to feel like an informed voter. Oklahoma should do the same. If we don't want to spend the money to send out paper guides, at least we should make the on-line version available. People without computers would have access to this through the public libraries, so no one would be left out. An informed electorate is one of the best investments we can make in our society.

Bring on the Restaurant Ratings!

2005-02-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

California has a ridiculous number of regulations, but sometimes they manage to get it right and are worth copying. Anybody read the article in the Oklahoman about the restaurant health code violations? All the talk of roaches, ants, rats, and sewage is enough to kill any appetite. One thing California has going for it are the restaurant health rating placards, required to be posted at the entrance to every eating establishment, at least in most of the cities. If the restaurant didn't get an "A," don't go there! The last time I was in LA visiting friends, we drove on past our intended lunch site when, from the street, we spotted the "B" placard on the door. (I did take my health into my own hands at the LA County Museum of Art's "C"-rated cafe, and I lived to tell the tale.) I know it would cost some money to implement, but I say, bring on the placards! Otherwise I may just have to learn to cook.

Simplistic New House Rule

2005-02-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a segment of the new "Open House" plan from Speaker Hiett:

The new rules, said Hiett, make the legislature more fiscally responsible and accountable to the public by adopting rules that require legislators to disclose and explain the fiscal impact of their bills.
● What’s the price tag? Requiring each bill and amendment that is considered to have fiscal or actuarial impact statement.
● Dollar for dollar: Requiring that when any legislator adds spending to an appropriation bill that he or she cut an equal amount.

The first part is great. I'm all in favor of disclosure of financial impact prior to legislators enacting a law. But what about the second? Dollar for dollar? This reminds me of my high school days when our Model UN voted to disarm the whole world. Sounds great, but aren't we more sophisticated than to look for a simple cure-all? Oklahoma already has a constitutionally mandated balanced budget requirement. Our citizens already have to approve any tax hikes. Do we really want add another layer of meddling to our legislators' bills?

Why is it that all government spending is seen as evil? This is our government, for our people. If a community group decided they needed a new fire truck or a new school, shouldn't they be able to decide, as a group, to spend the necessary money? Our state government represents us, our state community, and ought to be able to do what it was formed to do. We elected our officials. They represent us. If they screw up and spend in ways we don't like, then we vote them out of office. They are held accountable by our votes. Why can't we let them act like sophisticated grown ups?

When we view our government as a monolithic evil entity rather than as a group of citizens chosen by the rest of us to serve our community, then we act from the same point of view as Tim McVeigh. In our state, in particular, we should all understand that our government is of our people, by our people, and for our people.

Drop the Reward for Bin Laden!

2005-02-07T06:50:00.000-08:00

In case any of the handful of readers of this blog don't also read my other blog, I just wanted to take this opportunity to link to my post about Thomas Friedman's NYT op-ed. Oklahomans should take the lead in re-casting Bin Laden as the slimy little worm he is. Anyone out there have connections to the Bush administration? Pass Friedman's comments on!

Gardens and Garden Stores

2005-02-04T16:47:00.000-08:00

My favorite local garden store is TLC. They have a huge selection of plants and supplies. I've been back in Oklahoma, though, for almost five years and I'm still looking for a place I love as much as Gilberg's Perennial Farms near St. Louis. And I'm still looking for a garden I love as much as the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Myriad Botanical Gardens are great and every bit as good as any single area within the Missouri Botanical Garden, but in size are equivalent to only a fraction of the total size of that great place.

I would love for OKC to be home of an internationally famous Children's Garden, on the scale of the Missouri Botanical Garden. That would be quite a tourist draw, and great for our kids and families as well. This is not a weird idea; there are lots of children's gardens around the country. All we need is a whole lot of money. The Myriad Gardens are going to create a children's garden, but it can't be very big given the location they are working with. How about if some blighted area (and we have so many to choose from) is taken over to make room for a world class garden? How about clearing away some abandoned strip malls? I can think of two already, on 36th NE, close to the Zoo.

Meanwhile, there is hope for more gardens from Tulsa, future home of the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden. Can't wait to see the plans. If anyone has a good link, let me know! And the Philbrook Gardens are open again after $7 million in renovations. Perhaps it's time for a road trip!

Oh What a Beautiful Day...

2005-02-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

Wow! Almost 60 degrees here, and it's the beginning of February! Today I lay out on our hammock for a while and soaked up some afternoon sun. This has gotten my gardening juices flowing. I know that LilRed is not a big fan of Wal-Mart, but I have to admit that one of the things I look forward to every year is the reappearance of gardening supplies in their parking lots in the late winter. I get annoyed when the Christmas stuff comes out before Halloween, but I am happy to forgive them for putting out mulch and pavers before the snow melts.

Cox Center

2005-01-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

We went out to dinner and a movie in Bricktown last night and were wondering what the event was at the Cox Center (turned out it was the Speaker's Ball). It occurred to me that, in most cities I've been to, when you drive by the event center you know what the event is. I know there is talk of a news ticker for downtown, but how about a ticker or video board or something to tell what the events are at the Cox Center and the Ford Center? (And don't you wish you could just call them the Myriad and the Arena?) There are some really great events coming to Oklahoma City these days, and it's good for our population as well as for visitors to know who's here. It would encourage people to find out what else is coming to town. It would also help with the image and self-image issues. Besides, who doesn't want to know why people are clogging up the streets and diverting traffic?

Roadside Oklahoma

2005-01-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

Take a look at this cool website for interesting attractions in Oklahoma. They come right out and grab you with Ada's Frog Rock (who knew?) and take you from there. It's a veritable gold mine of kitsch.

As an aside, I was surfing around for that last picture and came across this other really neat website, for all you roadside stuff lovers out there.

Jekyll and Hyde

2005-01-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

I have tried to keep this site clear of leftward-leaning vitriol and non-Oklahoma musings, while confining those thoughts to my other blog, the Blue Dot Blog. A sneak preview of Hotel Rwanda and yesterday's inauguration of President Bush got the Blue Dot juices flowing again and so I have been posting there instead of here. Since I love Oklahoma and also know that Oklahoma is a very very red state, I had thought that I should keep my opposition to President Bush under wraps on this site. On giving it further thought, though, I feel that in the spirit of full disclosure and in order to show that people who love Oklahoma can also wish Kerry had won, I have chosen to explicitly reveal both sides of my blogging identity. I have now linked this site to Blue Dot. Of course my 3 readers already knew about my Jekyll and Hyde blogs, but just in case there is anyone else out there...

Save Us!

2005-01-18T04:24:00.000-08:00

Will someone who has some power please save us from embarrassment? Downtown Guy, you seem connected...
Anyone who has seen photos of the Land Run knows that it looked like this. And as part of the push to make Oklahoma City a destination city, we are installing a Land Run Monument, which should be spectacular. Only problem I've seen: in the photos of the model (which I can't find online), the figures are riding in a line, not side by side, but in front and in back of each other. How does that look like the Land Run? Please tell me I'm wrong, or that we can find a way to turn the figures 90 degrees.

Top 5 Local Cures for the Wintertime Blues

2005-01-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

It's January, and according to the National Mental Health Association, prime time for misery for sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Here is my list of the top five local locales to give spirits a lift if you don't want to sit around in front of a bank of fluorescent lights:
#5. The Center For Healthy Living
This excellent gym has plenty of windows, plenty of lighting, a nice pool, lots of exercise equipment, and, most importantly, a dry sauna. Crank up the heat and it feels just like getting into your car in July.
#4. The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
Yes, it's true. It's an indoor venue, with no dazzling lights, but the dinosaur collection is dazzling enough to do the trick. Take a look at the 300-million-year-old fossils collected right here in Oklahoma and get a little perspective on life.
#3. Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Just stand in front of the Chihuli sculpture in the entryway---like basking in a week's worth of sunlight.
#2. The Myriad Botanical Garden's Crystal Bridge
Tropical paradise complete with 35-foot waterfall and hide-and-seek lizards. Take a book and stay for a while.
and (...drumroll...)
#1. The Oklahoma City Zoo
I know, I know. It's cold outside! But sunlight is sunlight, and it's really fun and kind of surprising to be noticed by the animals. It even feels like you are providing them with an interesting diversion, rather than just being another blip in the summertime's annoying human sea.

Interesting Idea from Dowtown Guy

2005-01-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody. Take a look at the post from Dowtown Guy about Des Moines and their downtown school. Sounds like a winner.

Another Stinky Issue

2005-01-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

I seem to have pedestrians and their travails on the brain lately, and so was reminded of a pet (eh hem) peeve of mine: people not scooping their dog's poop. I'm not talking about from their own yards; I'm talking public places. Wouldn't we be appalled to let our children run around in parks littered with human feces? Why don't we view dog poop the same way? It's not that much different, after all, and is far more likely to harbor parasites. In many communities, including the ever-popular Boulder, CO, they enforce fines requiring clean-up, and they have poop scoop stations at their public parks. We ought to do that, too. Come on, Oklahoma City! Cut out the crap!

It's Embarrassing!

2005-01-11T08:29:00.001-08:00

It's embarrassing when OKC's downtown hotels have warning signs posted to alert their patrons that Oklahoma drivers don't stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. What's our problem, anyway? It isn't just downtown that has this issue, either. I was just driving on a relatively busy street and was signaling a turn to the right. A woman with shopping bags was crossing the street in the crosswalk and had the right of way. As I waited for her, the cars behind me honked at me. (The nerve!) Aren't we supposed to be one of those polite, considerate, law-abiding states? Shouldn't we (and the police) demand that we respect pedestrians here? If we don't do it for our own citizens, then remember this: most tourists walk. If we want to grow a tourist industry here, we need to learn not to run down the objects of our interest.

Anyone Up for Another Centennial Project?

2005-01-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays I have heard some amazing family stories, and I'll bet I'm not alone. In this new age of digital filmmaking, with our remarkably good quality digital videos without much expense, we are at the perfect moment in time to capture the stories of Oklahomans on film. Wouldn't it be cool to have a library of personal histories as part of the new Oklahoma History Center? There are many fascinating details of day to day life as well as recollections of major moments in time that will be lost forever if we don't make a concerted effort to record the memories of our older generation. As an example of a perfect candidate for a digital video interview, one of the docents at the 45th Infantry Division Museum was there for the liberation of Dachau and tells very vivid details about it. As another example, I just heard about a realtor in Norman who was the first realtor to sell a home in Norman to a black family, and who was harassed for doing it. And on a more personal level, my dad was in grade school during World War II and remembers collecting tinfoil to raise money for a bomb, and then he and all of his fellow first-graders signed the bomb before it got sent off to be dropped on Germany. He also remembers being in a sensory deprivation experiment at OU Medical Center that turned out (I found out incidentally through research in college) to be part of the CIA-sponsored mind-control experiments of the 1950s and 1960s. These stories are part of our collective history, and in many ways are more interesting than the stuff typically found in history books. What a terrific opportunity for both aspiring historians and budding documentary film makers.

Volksmarching

2005-01-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

My previous post about the state of Oklahoma's health (or lack thereof) reminded me about another way for Oklahomans to become more active. A volksmarch is a 10 km organized non-competitive walk, typically with refreshment breaks in the middle and awards for completion at the end. A friend of mine in San Antonio has been on many volksmarches throughout Texas, and she and her husband have taken their son, from the time he was an infant, as well as the family dog, along for the walk. They have found it to be a wonderful family activity that takes them to many interesting places, from historic districts to state parks. I am clearly out of the loop but I hadn't heard of any volksmarching clubs in Oklahoma. Thanks to the Internet, I found them! Oklahoma has several walking clubs. It's still early January. Not to late to resolve to drop those donuts and start walking!

Very Cool Oklahoma Blog, With Photos!

2005-01-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen it before, check out Luke's Oklahoman blog. Lots of beautiful photos, including a much better pic of the Bricktown canal than I was able to find on Google images, thank you very much.

Fat to Fit in Oklahoma

2005-01-07T06:37:00.000-08:00

Did you read in today's Oklahoman the story about Oklahoma City and Tulsa being listed as two of the fattest cities in the US by Men's Fitness magazine? And Oklahoma City having twice as many donut shops per capita as the national average? The good news is that Oklahoma City went from 14th fattest last year to 21st fattest, and Tulsa from 19th fattest to 22nd fattest. The United Health Foundation also reports that Oklahoma is one of the four states with the biggest improvements in our population's health from 2003 to 2004. Central Oklahoma Turning Point is one of the organizations that is working to make a difference, and their website is worth a review. We Oklahomans have a long way to go but we have reason for optimism, too. The newly enacted tobacco tax , if previous studies are correct, will decrease teen smoking. The new river venues here in OKC and even the sidewalks of Bricktown encourage people in Oklahoma City to get out and walk. The tobacco tax money should help us bring healthcare to more of the uninsured, and will provide funds for a cancer center and trauma care. Things are looking up!

Poor Jason White

2005-01-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

Having barely watched last night's game and being totally unable to read or watch or hear any recap (can't take it), I am surmising that Jason White had a really subpar performance. I had been pleased for him that this so far had been his year of redemption after last season's awful ending. My guess is that he stayed on this year at least in part because he needed to improve his reputation in order to get to play in the NFL. I worry that he just knocked himself way down again in terms of the NFL draft. I hope he's not knocked himself out of it. What do those of you who actually watched the game think? Anyone (among Sooner fans, that is) actually manage to sit through the whole thing? To those of you who did, I salute you!

After this, I swear I will not post about OU football again. I will do my best, at least.

For me OU football may be like alcohol to an alcoholic. It gives me pleasure, it gives me great pain. I can't control my obsession, therefore I must give it up, one day at a time.

Boomer Sooner!

I've Got the Halftime Blues

2005-01-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

I've got to face it. I'm a fair weather fan. OU is behind 38-10 in the Orange Bowl and I am feeling downright surly. I'm not sure I'm even any kind of fan, as in the last few years I have pretty well decided that OU football is hazardous to my mental health. Unless OU wins by a blow-out I'm not happy. Why do I care so much? Why does it matter? I didn't even go to school there other than one summer physics course! Of course, my grandfather taught math at OU and was a football game ticket-taker for over 50 years, and my parents were both in the Pride marching band during the Bud Wilkinson era, and I grew up going to OU games from the time I was so little that I had to hop onto the bench and stand on tiptoes whenever the crowd would rise. I was raised to care, I guess. But why should this be ruining my evening? Why does OU's football performance have any bearing on my mood? This is ridiculous!

Ruffled Feathers

2004-12-31T20:22:00.000-08:00

In two of her recent posts, Lip Schtick, with her southside loyalty, makes clear that ugliness can be found all over our fair city and points out some kitschy landmarks on her former home turf. She makes good points. Please read her posts and my rather long-winded comment.

More on the Decaying Donut

2004-12-31T05:43:00.000-08:00

My thanks go out to Dustbury for weighing in on the issue of blight in OKC. He writes,
I am becoming persuaded that the kiss of death for any neighborhood comes at the exact moment when the studies and the surveys and the recommendations start coming out and the focus shifts from "How can we make this area better?" to "How can we get these people out of here?" I, for my part, am loath to tear up an area of affordable housing just because it's not pretty. The city can wave whatever magic wands are at its disposal, but change comes from the bottom up, one street, sometimes one building at a time.

I'm with you on that, Dustbury, for the most part. The only people I want to get out of anywhere are the homeless (I saw two sleeping on the street in downtown OKC yesterday) and I would like to get them into shelters or housing. (As an aside, check out the post from Mainstream Baptist on the criminalization of homelessness. A whole different realm for discussion.) I think that different ethnicities are helpful to our city and are an attraction for people who are considering moving here, particularly if our diversity is acknowledged and celebrated.

I don't want to tear up affordable housing because it's not pretty. But trash begets trash, and there is nothing that says that an economically disadvantaged neighborhood has to be indistinguishable from the city dump.

What I am particularly interested in is changing the landscape from one of abandoned, potholed parking lots and empty strip malls to one of parks, greenbelts, and thriving businesses. How do we do that? Couldn't our city buy some of the wasteland and plow it under to make nice parks? Can't we find a way to penalize the Wal-Marts of the world when they build their new "supercenter" and abandon the box that was their old store?

Southside Blight

2004-12-30T14:57:00.000-08:00

I just drove home from visiting a friend who lives in South OKC. Having grown up in East Norman, I can appreciate living on the non-snobby side of town, but lack of snobbery can only go so far. We have a serious blight problem in many areas of OKC, but Southside is in particular trouble. I felt like I was driving through an encyclopedia entry on the Modern Great Depression. So many empty strip malls! Bargain stores, check cashing centers, "cheap cigarette" stores, broken up by a few chain drug stores and clusters of chain restaurants on I-240.

Bricktown is great. Oklahoma City is coming into its own. But what can we do to help our decaying, sprawling city? Why is it that there is so much new building on the periphery with the very large center of the city languishing? Can't there be tax incentives for restoration of the decay, and additional fees for the additional infrastructure needed for peripheral growth? (Such as new police and fire stations, new schools, new roads, new traffic lights, new water lines, new power lines.) I like growth and I like new growth, but there ought to be a way to encourage revitalization of our city's para-center. Otherwise we will have Bricktown surrounded by a donut of decay, that in turn will be surrounded by suburbs that will eventually merge with the dead donut, until we run out of periphery to develop.

Are developers in the way of this? And on the subject of developers, why do they clear-cut all the trees (as if we had that many to begin with!)? Don't they know people prefer neighborhoods with parks and green spaces? People in places like Boulder, Colorado know this. Why don't we? Is the rumor true that we had a city planner who advocated green spaces and controlling sprawl a few years ago, and that this person was run off by developers who control the Chamber of Commerce? Nasty rumor or truth?

Where's our Whale Rider?

2004-12-29T07:42:00.000-08:00

It's time that Oklahomans stopped comparing ourselves to Hollywood or Texas anywhere else in the US when it comes to making movies. How about looking to the Kiwis? New Zealand's population is 3.9 million, a mere 500,000 more than Oklahoma's. And Oklahoma's Gross State Product is $93.8 billion, more than New Zealand's $83.4 billion Gross Domestic Product. So why don't we have an Academy Award-winning movie from Oklahoma? Whale Rider is a world-class movie, and we can make one too. If we need more ammunition, all we need to do is think of Afghanistan. They have a totally devastated country and yet were able to make the acclaimed film Osama. It's time Oklahomans thought of themselves as actors on the world stage. Literally.

Oklahoma Kitsch

2004-12-29T06:27:00.000-08:00

Red Dirt and Lip Schtick have weighed in (with comments from Chase and Dustbury) on their favorite Oklahoma Kitsch, and I thought I would throw a few more into the mix. Already mentioned was the Gold Dome, but how can you leave out The Egg Church (aka The Boob Church, aka First Christian Church of Oklahoma City)?

And what about the U-Haul truck atop the tallest building in Bricktown?

Can't leave out the BC Clark jingle.

And my least favorite but most emblematic of past woes: the old license plates with their slogan "OKLAHOMA IS OK".

A Hero for the Holidays

2004-12-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a heartwarming story for the holidays: 18-year-old Josh Johnson rescued a woman and her 2-year-old son from the icy waters of the Arkansas River in Tulsa yesterday after the car the woman and child had been in crashed into the river and submerged.
The word "hero" is often overused. Not in this case.
Good tidings, everyone!

The Undiscovered Museum

2004-12-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

If anybody has family in town and wonders what to do over the holidays, consider taking them to the 45th Infantry Division Museum. This is one of the best museums in Oklahoma City and yet it gets very little funding and very little publicity. Among the museum's many interesting displays is a large collection of Hitler's personal belongings.

"Housed in the World War II gallery are artifacts owned by Adolf Hitler. These unique artifacts were taken from his apartment in Munich and his mountain retreat, The Eagle’s Nest, in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Perhaps the most unique item was taken from Hitler’s Berlin Bunker. Lt. Colonel Horace Calvert of Oklahoma City took the mirror from the bedroom of the Berlin Bunker. Visitors can gaze into the mirror once belonging to the leader of the Nazi Germany."

What this museum really needs is for some wealthy benefactor to give them the money to build a new museum that would do justice to their impressive collections. Any suggestions? Any takers?

Fuel Tax for Roads

2004-12-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

The nay-sayers are already telling us that Oklahomans will never vote to tax themselves, especially for something as unglamorous as roads and in a way that they will see every day at the gas station instead of hidden in fine print on a tax bill. But I hope that will change this time around. I was one of the signers of the Oklahomans for Safe Bridges and Roads initiative petition. I signed it out in front of the OKC Art Museum one day, along with quite a few other people, and none of us got paid a dollar to do it, either. The story in today's Oklahoman should be enough to mobilize Oklahomans to support the fuel tax initiative. They recall the death of Yvonna Osborne, from Irving, TX, who was driving on I-35 near Paoli and died when a chunk of a bridge fell and hit her car. How many Oklahomans haven't traveled that same road? If our nation can become hysterical about highway shooters, our state should be hysterical about falling concrete from bridges, which could kill any of us practically any day. It's time Oklahomans stepped up to the plate and paid the money to take care of our home. It's our job. Let's do it.

It's a S.N.A.P.!

2004-12-20T17:33:00.000-08:00

Okay everyone. It's the holiday season and perhaps your special someone needs a furry friend (of the dog or cat variety). Think about adopting a pet this year. The number of adoptable animals killed by the shelters here is horrifying. According to the writers of Dogpax.com (OKC dog rescue site), approximately 55% of dogs and puppies and 71% of cats and kittens entering shelters are killed. We can all reduce that number by remembering to SNAP
S) spay
N) neuter
A) adopt
P) provide (as in: a home, vet care, food, love, etc.)
Several large metropolitan areas have a no-kill policy at their shelters, and every adoptable animal finds a home. We have a long, long way to go before we will even begin to approach that here.

Will Rogers World Airport

2004-12-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

I just returned from the LA area via Denver. Anyone who has traveled on United knows that OKC doesn't seem to warrant full-sized jet service, even though the smaller planes are always packed. And so we arrived at Will Rogers and were taxiing to the terminal as the flight attendants gave their usual spiel. "Use caution when going down the stairs, and stay forward of the wings" etc., preparing us for the typical trek across the tarmac to the terminal. I think it is heartwarming and sweet that we in OKC have chosen to dignify ourselves, even if the airlines won't, by equipping our new airport with jetways that will attach even to smaller planes.

Welcome

2004-11-22T07:36:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Oklarama, where I promise to write a series of random thoughts, ideas, and news bulletins with Oklahoma as their common thread. I love this state. I revel in the good things about Oklahoma and am passionate about making this place even better. Welcome to all the other Oklahoma Partisans out there!