Episode IX: Giving Thanks

Kansas City, MO

For those of you who like Adam Norris Trivia, you may be interested to know that this is the second consecutive Thanksgiving that I have spent in the Midwest. This time, however, I did celebrate with family, albeit extended family. Very extended...

It was actually a very nice day, spent with second cousins, and the cousins of my second cousins. You may notice a number of familiar faces, including Mr. Boom Bennett. One of the nicest parts was homemade donuts, which held the guests over until mealtime (although it is hard to beat Aunt Sheila's dip).

Oklahoma! City

After the football games were over, Emery Wright and I were planning a road-trip to Oklahoma City (OKC) and Tulsa, but at the last minute he cancelled, then I cancelled, then I re-signed; so I began my solo trip at around 9 pm Thanksgiving day.

At around 2 am I reached my first major destination: the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which commemorates the 1995 OKC bombing. Now I rarely use the words "stunning" or "incredible" to describe things, but indeed I found the monument to be both stunning and incredible.

It is built on the site where the building once stood. The area where the building collapsed is now the "Field of Empty Chairs", each chair corresponding to a worker in the building who died that day. On the other side is a giant elm tree, which survived the blast and the burning cars all around it. In the middle is a very large, shallow reflecting pool. It is bounded by a gate on the east, bearing the time 9:01, and an identical gate on the west, bearing the time 9:03. The building collapsed at 9:02.

The memorial looks magnificent both night and day, but it looks much more stunning at night. Also, an entire museum dedicated to the bombing, right next door, is the most emotionally powerful museum I have ever been to.

The rest of the day, though enjoyable, was somewhat of an anticlimax. I went to the state capitol, which was nice, I walked around town, and I spent about an hour searching for my cell phone (I found it in the middle of an intersection, completely unharmed- guess I left it on the top of the truck).

As evening approached, I went to Myriad Botanical Gardens, which are some very nice formal gardens in the middle of downtown. It featured the Crystal Bridge, which was a giant glass tube filled with a fully functioning rain forest, full of exotic species, waterfalls and butterflies. When the sky turned dark, nearly every plant in the whole place- including the ferns and palms- lit up with Christmas lights.

Finally, downtown OKC: a very nice place, with skyways connecting many of the large business buildings, and the dining/shopping area accessible by car, foot, horse-drawn-carriage, or water taxi, taking advantage of the artificial canals that go through the heart of downtown (photo above).

Tulsa

The following day I spent in Tulsa, beginning with Oral Roberts University, a private university founded by evangelist Oral Roberts. The campus is very nice, and boasts numerous interesting (and expensive) buildings, including a prayer tower, which houses telephone operators willing to pray with/for you, 24 hours a day. This is also the site (according to the plaque) of the largest bronze statue in the world. Whether or not that still holds true, I can confidently assert that it is the largest pair of bronze praying hands I have ever seen.

The other main attraction of the day was the Philbrook Museum. It had some very nice artwork, but my favorite part was the fabulous building (built for an insanely rich family) and exquisite gardens surrounding it, including a fountain that begins on the balcony and ends at the pond seen below.


And a Few Days Later...

Back in Lawrence, I gave thanks for our first snow of the season! I was surprised, I seemed to be one of the few that was really excited about it. I was excited until I heard the announcement that a special guest scientist/author/celebrity had to cancel his lecture due to "inclement weather".

Nevertheless, I enjoyed my first Kansas snow. This was also the first time my truck has been snowed on (at least while in my possession). Finally, it was also the first time that I forgot to roll up my window during a snow storm, and consequently, when I got in to drive a few days later, it was the first time that I ever saw the entire driver's side of the floor covered with a thick layer of solid ice.