Cowboy Boots, Tasseled Loafers, or Both?

A normal morning for me when I am at home and not in session is usually starting the coffee at 5:30 a.m. Most mornings, I try to catch up on news, e-mails and of course, we cannot forget the ever important Facebook. This morning was no different as the coffee was brewing. Before I walked out to get the paper, I picked up the July 20th Journal Record and read an article by Brian Brus. The headline was: “Williams: Oklahoma City Has Image Problems”. The “Williams” the article refers to is Roy Williams, the President and CEO of the greater OKC Chamber. Williams told City Council members Tuesday that 16 percent of respondents from a national survey said that they thought OKC had a “hick personality”. I take some exception to that. It obviously raises some questions not only about OKC, but about our state as a whole. It makes me wonder “who we are”. Of course, to us “real hicks” OKC does not look or feel like a hick town at all. You do not have to spend much time downtown or in 5 o’clock traffic or tooling around in Bricktown to think that maybe OKC is a lot more like any other metro area than what people realize. There is a great deal of sophistication and cultural diversity just in that area alone. You do not have to travel very far up I-44 until you hit Tulsa where there is another very culturally literate urban area known for its Art-Deco architecture. There is plenty of pavement and tall buildings and a disproportionate ratio of tasseled loafers vs. cowboy boots. Even down my way in the Lawton area, we may have more cultural diversity than anywhere in the state thanks to the melting pot that we call Fort Sill. In fact, our military presence statewide provides a dynamic cultural mix that many states would love to have.

I think what many people judge Oklahoma on is The Grapes of Wrath. That is unfortunate because in reality, our state is a pretty cosmopolitan spot in the world. I really think that in order to know Oklahoma, you have to look beyond the Dust Bowl days and actually see it to believe it. I think a big challenge for our state is “how do we hang on to our very agrarian past and embrace who we have become over the last 100 years! Let’s face it, one of the historical icons of our state was Will Rogers, a cowboy. We are the center of the universe for the horse show industry. The western lifestyle is a big part of Oklahoma’s mission statement.

I, for one, coming from the boots side of the ledger, think that our western history is not something we should hide from but rather embrace as we attempt to promote our state to the world and convince people that this is a good place to be. After all, the “boots” crowd pumps a great deal of money into our state’s economy, not only in the rural areas but in urban areas as well. Seldom does a weekend go by when the OKC fairgrounds is not covered up with horse trailers. We host the World Quarter Horse Show in November. I would venture to say that a great many OKC merchants would feel a huge hole in November if that show were not held here. In fact, horses are flown into OKC from all over the world for that prestigious event. That is just one major event. There are many others like the Oklahoma Youth Expo, the world’s largest junior livestock show. And the list could go on and on…

If you take a quick look into Oklahoma’s energy business, we are one of the top producers of natural gas in the world. Chesapeake Energy has developed into a sprawling campus in OKC that employs hundreds if not thousands of people. The architecture is certainly not traditional “Okie”. I have to believe that Aubrey McClendon’s vision for that campus has to do, at least in part, with his exposure to Minnesota where the Kerr family has hung out for several generations. You cannot drive by downtown OKC without noticing the Devon Energy building which is under construction now. It will forever change the skyline of our capitol city. It is certainly not the skyline I remember as a boy in the 60s. I am old enough to remember when the tallest building there was the First National Bank building, the one with the sloping roof and the needle.

So, our state is more of a blend and I think we need to embrace that. Many more years ago than I probably want to admit, our license plates in Oklahoma said: Oklahoma is OK. By today’s creative marketing standards, some probably thought that sounded just a little bit “hick”. It was a very simple, direct statement and I think today it is still very true. There is no need to apologize for who we are as a state or where we have been either. I am in no way trying to criticize Mr. Williams as he does his best to try to promote OKC but I think our state and our history have a perfect blend of boots and tasseled loafers. I believe who we are is pretty much just how I would like us. As for that 16 percent that call us hicks, I would gladly show them a map of the United States and point them to a great number of cities where they could live and wish em’ luck. I would just as soon focus on the 84 percent who think Oklahoma is OK, whatever kind of footwear they have on!

If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call
1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” ~Abraham Lincoln