OKC - OK-ish!

With a cold, I had a couple of days to enjoy Brandy's spacious house in the suburbs at Twin Lakes, complete with deck, hot tub, lake views and the biggest TV i've seen.



Despite a temperature, I walked 20 minutes to an Antiques Centre and Thrift Shop and bought 2 more Daher Tins for my collection. I soon realised it was best to hide my Raybans and Apple Watch as by crossing Route 66 I had entered into 'The 'Hood' (as a colleague of Chris's later told him).

The next day I took a bus to the nearby Mall - extremely quiet and expensive - which confirmed what I was told about the 'socio-economic' status of bus use; i.e. anyone who can't afford a vehicle, an Uber or wont pay for one like me! It was a one-time, slightly edgy experience, but I did have a nice chat with a young black man who had swapped drugs for God, had a fantastic 'jive-talk' (in addition to psychosis) and gave me some good advice about life! Under Oklahoma's 'permitless carry' laws anyone over the age of 21 can have a loaded gun in public without a licence so it was good to see these signs at the Mall entrance..

After gorgeous California, Oklahoma City (OKC) was a bit of a shock - and not just the weather - and was probably more representative of the US. There were just anonymous, wide highways with lanes of traffic and few pavements, fewer human interactions, less positivity and more poverty.

We ate a couple of times at nearby Charleston's Restaurant which served great steaks (for Chris), chicken for me (Fried & Piccata) and homemade Key Lime Pie. The second time we met a lovely waitress and nursing student called Kendal - yes, we showed her 'twin-town' on Google Maps  - and she told us about life in OKC, her dislike of Trump, confirmation of the general split of urban Democrats and rural Republicans, and stressed that she would not say it out loud!

Comments

  1. Joan13 November 2024 at 17:36

    Very. Interesting x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ange17 November 2024 at 12:06

    Sounds an interesting bus ride x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gap Year Gatecrash18 November 2024 at 08:47

    Welcome to real America. California and Florida, and mainly the coastal cities, are exceptions to the general rule. OK is the rule and even though I've never been to this state, sounds indicative of the rest of the USA we visited. It's an eye opener - as all we (Brits) really see on TV is NY and LA. Middle America is vastly different as you've discovered. I actually like it better than the mega cities - which are in the main anonymous and slightly false. Some of the best places we visited where the places where the music stopped (literally) and everyone turned around to look at 3 unlikely Brits stepping into a bar or restaurant. The bus doesn't sound dissimilar to the LA metro - which was edgy to say the least.

    ReplyDelete

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