7 days now. 7 days that song has been stuck in my head. 7.
Week 8 brought on a new state for me (something that is oddly enough, a bit of a rarity these days).
Oklahoma. Land of Wheat, Chic-Fila, Kristin Chenoweth and the OKC Thunder (formally known as the Seattle Sonics…but whatever. People apologized to me for “stealing the team” when they heard I was from Seattle. Huh.)
For some reason, I have always wanted to go to Oklahoma. People didn’t understand why. I didn’t understand why. Just out of curiosity I guess.
However, I must say, I really liked it there. You know how when you visit a flyover state, a lot of times this conversation comes up:
P1:“Oh, I went to__________________ last week.”
P2:“How was it?”
P1:“Well, it was pretty boring, not much to do, but the people were AMAZING. So friendly. Nicest people I’ve ever met.”
It’s usually an accurate statement, but in a way, it is almost like we use the “People were great” method to not only be a little bit nicer, but it also puts a positive spin on any less then par location.
Kind of like the “compliment/criticism sandwich”
Except, this time it was really true. I have never encountered a nicer group of upstanding citizens. There must be a nice vitamin being put into the water.
I met so many wonderful, random individuals. They were all so shocked that I was traveling alone (I tried not to tell them that it was a regular occurrence). They couldn’t believe I was living in California (apparently CA is considered a different planet). More often then not, they wanted to take a moment to pray for my safety (In the midst of God’s Country). I got invited to a Basketball game, frozen yogurt, to someone’s house. One lady, Friend D even asked me over to meet her single sons.
It’s a shame I was in such a time crunch.
As I drove from OKC to the University I was visiting, I realized that OK is actually quite beautiful. It’s incredibly flat. You can see for miles around, but the landscape, especially close to sunset is lovely.
I had dinner the first night at this place called “Pops” It’s apparently a well known establishment on Route 66. There were over 200 different kinds of sodas. Insane. There was even the country’s largest soda bottle. It was a whopping 60 feet tall.
(Gotta hook the tourists in somehow I guess….FYI Oklahoma: It totally worked).
While I spent most of my time in Stillwater, I did get the chance to stop at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial & Museum.
It was pretty amazing.
I was about 12 years old when the bombing happened and although I remember the news coverage and the stories on television, I don’t think I really understood what that moment meant.
The museum was so well done. It really helped me understand what the months and years after the bombing were like for OKC. They saved a lot of the rubble and items found within the rubble. Keys, shoes, glasses, purses. Things that even 17 years later have gone unclaimed. Things that were owned once by survivors and those killed in the attack.
Some of the most heartbreaking displays were the individual photos and belongings of the children that were killed. I don’t understand what kind of person can justify to himself that it is okay to purposely hurt innocent people.
Sick.
The outdoor memorial was beautiful. It was a park, with a reflection pool. To one side of the pool are 168 chairs for each of the people who died that day. There are tiny chairs for the children.
The place was so somber and peaceful. It is hard to believe that an event so tragic happened there.
The end of the week also brought me back to Texas. I got to visit one of my favorite Universities and that’s always a nice way to end a busy week.
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