Oklahoma has provided two of the most off the chart crazy Netflix shows currently being viewed. Tiger King and The Innocent Man. Wynnewood and Ada, OK are only 39 miles apart and are the two locations for these two non fiction shows. I finally broke down and watched Tiger King the last two days. Although I don’t currently live in Oklahoma, I was born and raised in the state of Oklahoma. I am dying laughing watching this show. Yes, these people are real.
Oklahoma is a difficult state and/or state of mind to explain. Oklahoma became a state in 1907. It was originally deeded to the 5 Civilized Tribes as a part of the end of The Trail of Tears. The US Government then decided to resettle the 5 Civilized Tribes and settle the state in land runs. People literally lined up at the state lines, raced to stake off their square mile of land and register the land in their name. If they lived on the land and showed improvements on the land for a year, it was theirs for free or next to free. People literally shot and killed each other in the land runs over the land. My family still owns farmland settled by my great-great grandparents in the land runs. The farms and roads in Oklahoma are still laid out in square mile grids. Northwest Oklahoma only sells farmland in quarter, half or square miles. Occasionally, you will see a smaller area of land where there was an older house and a smaller acreage which was split off for part of the family members who homesteaded the property and later sold. The northeastern part of the state has different terrain and is laid out around the Arkansas River and lakes. The southeastern part of the state has the Talihina Mountains. The runs began in 1889 and lasted through 1907. The Boomers and the Sooners were the people in the land run. OU, the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK calls themselves the Sooners from the Sooner State because of the land runs. Elizabeth Warren was born and raised in Oklahoma. When Elizabeth Warren was saying she had Native American blood, being from OK, there was little to no chance that she didn’t have at least a little bit. Most of us do. Oklahoma is a young state. People in Oklahoma still retain the Sooner mindset. You won’t ever take away their guns and their spirit of survival or their individualism. The State of Oklahoma did retain areas of land for the Native American Tribes who still live on their land. Their culture and laws supersede other laws when on their land. Most people in Oklahoma are pretty peaceful, religious, hard working people. Some are still outlaws and always will be outlaws. If cornered, most people in Oklahoma will stand and fight for what they believe instead of running. They aren’t big on government. They aren’t big on being told what to do.
Oklahoma survived Timothy McVey who was born in Lockport, New York. In 1995, he blew up the federal building in downtown OKC killing 168 people. I was living in OKC at the time. I remember the building I was in shaking and wondering what the heck just happened. We all knew instantly it was something terrible.
Oklahoma survived an EF5 tornado in Moore, OK in May of 2013. Winds exceeded 210MPH, 24 people were killed, and 212 were injured. That tornado stayed on the ground for 37 minutes and 17 miles of heavily populated area. It razed the ground. You could not even tell where buildings had been before the tornado passed. They were just gone.
During times of crises, there wasn’t looting. People draw together in support of one another in defense of an outside or unknown threat. It’s the sooner spirit. That same sooner spirit will get Oklahoma through Rona.
Middle of the Muddy Road 