Leavin’ Oklahoma
Almost ten years ago–my how time flies–David Ball, explaining why it took him so long to become an overnight country music sensation, said “You know… it takes forever to get out of Texas, and then when you do, you’re in Oklahoma.” Having gone to my officer basic training at Fort Sill, I knew exactly what he meant. Indeed, I once observed that every country song about Oklahoma was about leaving Oklahoma.
What brought this to mind was the announcement by Cam Edwards that he’s leaving his talk radio gig in Oklahoma for “the opportunity of a lifetime” in my neck of the woods. Getting to leave Oklahoma is certainly an opportunity only a fool could pass on.
I can’t say exactly what I’ll be doing at this point, except to tell you that you’ll still be able to get your fill of me, only this time on a much greater scale. I’m going to work for a public relations and communications firm in a broadcast capacity.
There is a rumor that he’s going to take Howard Stern’s show on Clear Channel–but with less nudity–but it’s unconfirmed.
I graduated from high school in Tulsa 14 years ago. At last check 65% of my graduating class does not live in Oklahoma.
Two jokes from growing up down there:
Q. How can you tell a smart Okie from a dumb Okie?
A. Their out-of-state license plate.
Q. What are the three best things to come out of Oklahoma?
A. I-35, I-40, and I-44.
Why doesn’t Texas fall off into the Gulf of Mexico?
Because Oklahoma sucks.
Good ol’ David Ball. I thought of him as a one-hit wonder for a long time, then he got another hit with “Riding with Private Malone.”
He has nowhere near the success he deserves.
No Okie jokes, please!
Actually, I love Oklahoma and it’s a great place to raise a family. This was a really tough decision, but ultimately it came down to “I’d be a damnfool to pass this up.”
I believe that North of the Red River, the joke goes:
“Why is Oklahoma so windy? Because Kansas sucks and Texas blows.”
That’s more like it. If you want to see Okie alums arguing, visit http://www.614.tyeapd.com (we’re ramping up since we switched from Blogger, so have patience).
—