Story by Jon Stalnaker AKA The Studebaker Dude
Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote another story about how much I love the snow in Oklahoma. I enjoy these stories because they give me a chance to let all my California friends who worry about me moving to Oklahoma know just how nice it really is here. Many Californians (me included, about five and a half years ago) think that moving to Oklahoma is insanity, and sooner or later, we will be swept up by a tornado.
The reality of that, and how I decided to live with such threats, is that tornadoes are real and should be taken seriously, but the chances of being swept up in a tornado are no more dangerous than being swallowed up in an earthquake or burned to death in a California wildfire. While we were looking for the perfect home in Oklahoma, it dawned on me that if tornadoes were as bad as most Californians think, there would be no historic old buildings anywhere in the state. And we all know better than that.
Nevertheless, I get a lot of ribbing from some of my friends on Facebook, but it’s all good-natured, and I am guilty of tossing it right back to them. For example, my old friend Lou (and I use the word old with much respect) likes to rib me about the snow.
Our big snowstorm at the end of January gave me lots of opportunities to post pictures of our winter wonderland. And I expected comments from Lou, and he never lets me down. He made the comment, “Yes, beautiful now…but a sloppy mess later…” to which I replied, “I’m at the top of the hill, it all runs downhill. I have a snow shovel, but I don’t use it much.” I let it go at that, but I had another chance to rub it in this week.
We noticed a bunch of trucks and other road maintenance equipment moving up and back in front of the house, and I went outside to check out what was going on. To my joy and surprise, I went out and talked to one of the crew. Sure enough, they were there to repave our entire street. We have been dealing with a pothole-covered street since we moved here. I had to call the city a couple of times because they became dangerous to vehicles that went through them.
To the city’s defense, they did come out and patch them up both times. But it didn’t fix the problem, just put a band-aid on it. They redeemed themselves last week by getting it fixed the right way, and now my street does not have to wear a frosting of snow to look beautiful. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you…
I posted some pictures of their hard work on Facebook, and sure enough, I got a question from Lou: “Where did the snow go?” Those of us who live in Oklahoma understand that the snow doesn’t hang around that long. That is actually one of the things I like about the weather here—all that snow blanketed everything just a couple of weeks ago, and now we are enjoying temperatures in the 60s to 80s.
I didn’t think twice about it, then I remembered Lou’s comment about the snow being messy. I couldn’t let Lou’s comment go unanswered, so I responded to his comment with “it melted. Where’s the mess?” My sister also made a similar comment, to which I responded, “This is Oklahoma, snow doesn’t last much more than a week in these here parts.”
I’m trying to be a good ambassador for Oklahoma to my California friends who just don’t know or understand why I like the weather here. It helps that I am retired and don’t have to go outside to work. California weather is wonderful, especially in the Central Valley, where I lived most of the time.
Maybe that’s why I am so attracted to the four seasons we have here. Sun and rain were all I knew, and I dreamed about the other seasons, especially the snow. With the exception of my family, friends, and the ocean, I don’t miss California that much. I’m an Okie now and dang proud of it.
