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Old 12-02-2012, 10:59 AM
 
Location: Deep Dirty South
5,190 posts, read 5,311,939 times
Reputation: 3863

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...after seven years away. I've lived in Oklahoma on and off my whole life but always leave and come back it seems. Though most of my life has been spent here, I've never been in Oklahoma more than 3 or 4 consecutive years in a row.

This last stretch out of state my family and I lived in Virginia, then New York state, then Portland, Oregon.

I was not happy about leaving Oregon. I really enjoyed the weather there and I most especially loved the proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Parts of the Oregon coast are among the most beautiful places I've seen in my travels around the planet.

But I have made peace with being back in Oklahoma. I am glad we did it when we didn't have to deal with the oppressive Summer heat and humidity.

We came back because all of our friends and family are here. My parents and my wife's mother are getting up there in age and have some health issues that made us decide we need to be closer.

On the trip back, once we got outside of Denver and the topography flattened out, I started to feel "at home."

Among the things I have discovered I missed about Oklahoma: the people are so friendly and salt-of-the-earth. Already I've been called "hon", "honey", "sweetie", "sugar" and "darlin'" from ladies at various stores and restaurants. I never thought much about that before, but it's endearing. For the most part, the people are just so open, kind and unpretentious. That is worth so much.

Also, the sunsets. I've never lived anywhere else that had such majestic, beautiful sunsets. Nearly every night. They are like a gift. The sky so expansive you can see the colors--orange, pink, purple, gray, pale blue--receding for miles in a breathtaking display. The cloud formations can be just unlike any you'll find anywhere else.

Because of the wide-openness of the sky, when you get out into the country, there's no place better to do some stargazing.

There are things I will miss about other parts of the country in which I've lived, and I'm sure I'll be doing some cussing when the Summer rolls around, but it's good to be home.

We have no plans to relocate again. If we do, it will be many years from now. I'm too old not to be more settled than I have been. I don't want to live like a wandering Gypsy anymore. I've been places, experienced a lot of diversity, seen and done many things, but I've come to terms with the fact that this is where I'm suposed to be for the forseeable future.

I'd love us to share some stories--anyone else who has moved away and then come back. Would anyone care to speak about why they left and what drew them back? Whether it has been a happy decision?

Take care, all. Good to be back.
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Old 12-02-2012, 11:05 AM
 
Location: Deep Dirty South
5,190 posts, read 5,311,939 times
Reputation: 3863
Oh--another thing I missed: the storms. Now, I'm not meaning tornado activity or ice storms, but the amazing, electric thunderstorms and rain. On either coast, we'd get a lot of rain, but we didn't get the big booming thunder and lightning displays you get here.

When I was going to college in Chickasha back in the late 80s, my friends and I would go up onto the roof of an old gymnasium on campus to watch storms roll in. You could hear and feel the rolling thunder from a few miles out, and see the lightning bursting behind the clouds which would get darker and more ominous and they gathered and grew on approach.

We'd wait until the storm was just about overhead of us and you could start to feel the mist of rain coming, then we'd split for shelter.

Man, I loved that.
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Old 12-02-2012, 07:32 PM
 
Location: Tulsa, OK
2,572 posts, read 4,232,026 times
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I do a lot of work up in the North East, mostly in PA and WV. I used to always think I would like to live in a hilly area, but after a few weeks I started getting claustrophobic. I started missing the wide open spaces. Here in Oklahoma you can see the weather moving in hours before it hits. In WV its on you before you know it. You can't see any farther than a quarter of mile because of hills and trees. And I really missed the big blue skys we have here.

Being born and raised here in Oklahoma its just in my DNA to say "Yes Ma'am" or "No Ma'am" If you really want to p iss off a woman in NY or PA call them that. I can't tell you how many times they would ask me not to call them that. They would say "Please, I'm not that old"

Last edited by okie1962; 12-02-2012 at 07:43 PM..
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Old 12-03-2012, 09:55 AM
 
Location: Pawnee Nation
7,525 posts, read 16,921,499 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by okie1962 View Post
Being born and raised here in Oklahoma its just in my DNA to say "Yes Ma'am" or "No Ma'am" If you really want to p iss off a woman in NY or PA call them that. I can't tell you how many times they would ask me not to call them that. They would say "Please, I'm not that old"
I recall when Garth Brooks was first interviewed by Katie Couric he would respond with a "Yes ma'am" and her response was exactly that..........funny how manners don't always translate, culturally.
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Old 12-05-2012, 07:04 PM
 
Location: Where deer are milk cows and hoot owls are chickens and near where Big Foot is occasionally seen.
105 posts, read 395,952 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffis View Post
...I'd love us to share some stories--anyone else who has moved away and then come back. Would anyone care to speak about why they left and what drew them back? Whether it has been a happy decision?

Take care, all. Good to be back.
When I was a kid we moved to the west coast, Humbolt County, Piercy Camp on the Eel River to be exact. After 3 years of the Redwoods, golden fields of poppies, rain and more rain, the Pacific ocean with Starfish and Urchin filled tidal pools, we moved back to SE Oklahoma. I clearly remember passing by a big cattle feed lot in the panhandle of Oklahoma. The air smelled thick with the smell of cow manure and urine mud. The only thing better to me than that smell at that time of my life was crawling out of the second story window of my grandparents old house and up on the roof. I watched many coming storms and listened to the booming thunder that would echo between the pine and oak covered mountains for what seemed like forever. No matter where I have lived these are some of the things that make Oklahoma home to me.
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Old 12-06-2012, 02:39 PM
 
770 posts, read 1,125,692 times
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I have to say, the people in Ok are the dumbest people in the US. Really. And what makes it exceptionally gaulling is that they are proud of being ignorant! I lived in the Enid/Alva area and although were some of the locals were relatively intelligent people, they were the exception rather than the norm. Not to malign religion, but the Baptists in particular were very backwards and non critical thinkers. On places not to live, OK will be close to the top. I don't understand why a native Oklahoman who has lived elsewhere would choose to return to such a rustic pitstop.
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Old 12-06-2012, 06:13 PM
 
Location: Tulsa, OK
2,572 posts, read 4,232,026 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Webster Ave Guy View Post
I have to say, the people in Ok are the dumbest people in the US. Really. And what makes it exceptionally gaulling is that they are proud of being ignorant! I lived in the Enid/Alva area and although were some of the locals were relatively intelligent people, they were the exception rather than the norm. Not to malign religion, but the Baptists in particular were very backwards and non critical thinkers. On places not to live, OK will be close to the top. I don't understand why a native Oklahoman who has lived elsewhere would choose to return to such a rustic pitstop.
Webster I understand a lot of your frustration about Oklahoma. I also think the religious fundamentalist are holding Oklahoma back. Believe it or not but they are not the majority here in Oklahoma but they vote, and they vote as if their life depends on it. Their views and the people they vote into office often are reflected into our laws.

But I notice in your profile you are from The Bronxs. There's not a lot of places in the country that are like The Bronxs. I can see where you would be unhappy here, just like I would be totally miserable if I had to live in the Bronx.
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Old 12-07-2012, 07:31 AM
 
770 posts, read 1,125,692 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by okie1962 View Post
Webster I understand a lot of your frustration about Oklahoma. I also think the religious fundamentalist are holding Oklahoma back. Believe it or not but they are not the majority here in Oklahoma but they vote, and they vote as if their life depends on it. Their views and the people they vote into office often are reflected into our laws.

But I notice in your profile you are from The Bronxs. There's not a lot of places in the country that are like The Bronxs. I can see where you would be unhappy here, just like I would be totally miserable if I had to live in the Bronx.
************************************************** *********************

Yes, different strokes for different folks I suppose. Anyway, good luck and good tidings for the holidays.
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Old 12-07-2012, 09:41 AM
 
Location: Deep Dirty South
5,190 posts, read 5,311,939 times
Reputation: 3863
The longer I am here, the better I feel. If anyone were to read through my posts on this forum, you'd find that in the past I have said a lot of negative things about Oklahoma. Some of them are valid, but a lot of the negativity stemmed from my having spent so much time here and from a desire to experience new places and things.

The truth is, there is a lot to love about Oklahoma.

The major things I dis-like about the state are:

1. The weather (particularly the Summer heat and humidity.)

2. The politics (and I'd include the more fundamentalist religious aspects of the citizenry as well.)

However, we have A/C so I don't think the heat will kill me (just make me unpleasant to be around) and as for the politics, I just mind my own business. I'm pretty apolitical.

I'm also irreligious. But I feel people should believe and practice whatever spiritual rituals and customs that fulfill them. I am not a hardcore atheist or someone who gets upset at the sight of a church or the mention of a deity. When a person says "God bless you" to me, I just think "Well that's nice...what a nice sentiment...it was kind of that person to wish me blessings."

I am glad that people who feel the need for the kind of comfort and fellowship that church can offer have access to that sort of thing. I am all for people seeking that kind of solace and togetherness in a world that is often too dark to bear.

I just get dismayed when people want to dictate how others should live and the choices they can make by relying upon their religious beliefs to endorse bigotry and discrimination and Big Government (with regards to issues such as teaching creationism in science classes, opposing same sex marriage and interfering with the personal reproductive and health care choices of women, for example.)

But while I think there is a stereotype of the "Okie" as a hick, a bumpkin or a buffoon, I can tell you from my travels and from having lived in every corner of this nation that there is NO PLACE where you won't find some hicks, bumpkins and buffoons. I don't care if you are in Manhattan or Chicago or San Francisco--there are rigid, closed-minded and shallow people everywhere.

Fortunately, Oklahoma is again just like anywhere else by also having a great deal of intelligent, considerate compassionate and forward-thinking inhabitants as well. There are some fine institutions of higher learning in the state, some of the greatest Americans in history have hailed from these parts, and I never had any trouble having a wide circle of Oklahoma friends who were ineresting and bright and fun to be around.

One other aspect of Oklahoma living that has really struck me is that even though large swaths of the state aren't terribly scenic, there really is a great deal of beauty and diversity to the landscape here...from the Ouachitas to the Wichitas to the plains to the Black Mesa, there is an awful lot on offer here. I do wish the heat weren't so terrible for so much of the year. It would make being outdoors a whole lot nicer a whole lot longer through the seasons, but hey--no place is perfect.

As I said earlier...it's good to be home. And it truly does feel like home. I miss the big mountains and the coast of Oregon, but even aside from family obligations, I feel that this is the place to be for myself and my family. It feels...right.

I appreciate all this discussion and would love it to continue...
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Old 12-07-2012, 03:10 PM
 
Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
30,976 posts, read 21,501,161 times
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Oklahoma has too much bad governing. Oklahoma legislators, who pass laws that turn out to be ruled unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court, are guilty of practicing irresponsible governing. Trying to defend unconstitutional laws cost taxpayers money. In response, voters should be responsible enough to see that is wrong and vote such legislators out of office. I sure hope Republicans at the State Capitol don't waste time and money passing yet more unconstitutional bills next year. Voters need to remember government is only as good as the people they allow to hold office.

While there may be more important issues to settle next year, I sure hope state legislators can agree on how to get funding to fix the many millions needed to repair the state capitol building - either use the state's rainy day fund or borrow money through a bond.
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