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George W's Blog

  • Clodhopper

    Money doesn't grow on trees, but every once in a while old shoes do...

    Along the Muskogee Turnpike near coweta, there's an odd looking tree.  It's limbs are sagging and burdened with dangling pairs of old shoes.

    It's a shoe tree.  Believe it or not these things exist all across the country...they're like Christmas trees with ornaments made of clumsey clodhoppers.

    Sounds like a great plan for Memorial Day weekend, huh - Jump in storm chaser 2 with our 2News producer and head up to the shoe tree?  Yep.  But keep in mind, Phil's throwing arm was injured and bandaged after a football mishap with a coworker.  He would be unsuccessful at shoe throwing on this day.  (Big Surprise)

    We took the trip, and walked right up to the tree for a close look.  Along with the hanging sneakers are high heels, cowboy boots & fluffy kitten slippers.  I kind of regret picking up that old kitten slipper, because now there's a strange itch on my hand...

    Attachment: Shoe2.jpg (73196 bytes)

    I don't know where this idea came from...but I have heard that urban youth groups would sometimes "mark their territory" by tossing pairs of shoes on the highline wires.  Maybe the hipsters from Coweta are tagging their turf...or just looking for something to do with those old LAGears that have just recently gone out of fashion.

    The word on the street is that there's another such tree in Stroud...but I haven't confirmed that yet...stay tuned.

  • 'Atta Boy, Peanut!

    We all go a little nuts every once in a while. But hey, we're human. And this was the only excuse I needed when I decided to head down to Durant, Oklahoma.

    Named after Frenchman Pierre Durant and housing 13,549 Durantites, this is the proud home of Southeast Oklahoma State University. There's industry, a bustling little downtown, and if you go north off of the main drag...you'll run into the "world's largest peanut". In a nutshell, it makes for a great photo op.

    Attachment: Peanut.tiff (551302 bytes)

    I'm the fellow on the right looking like I was up until 3AM that morning monitoring thunderstorms. Jason Grubbs, Reporter Extraordinaire is the fellow on the left looking like a million bucks.

    Now before you call in sick to work and rush down to the Durant Metropolitan Area, here's a few things you should know.

    1. The peanut isn't real, it's more like a statue-peanut built as a homage to the local peanut industry.

    2. The peanut sits on a pedestal outside of the City Hall.

    3. There seems to be some contention for this "Big Peanut" Title. Here are some other towns with notable nuts.

    A. Ashburn, Georgia also claims to have the world's largest peanut. One website even accuses Durant's peanut of "lying" about being the biggest peanut status.

    B. Dothan, Alabama boasts a giant gold peanut as a "symbol of local pride."

    C. In the town of Pelion, South Carolina, a mysterious large peanut sits on display along the road and apparently, needs a paint job.

    If you feel like coming out of your shell to visit, Durant's a place to stop for a peanut butter sandwich if you're driving down to Dallas.

  • Bowling For Nowata.

    I had some spare time Saturday, so Producer Phil Berman & I pinned down some time to head up to Nowata.  Our plan was to visit Chris Barbee.

    Chris has a fantastic collection of, well, art.  Over 500 pieces on display, 24 hours a day.  And his hobby is on a roll.  It's Bowling Ball Yard Art.

    In Chris' Front yard sit a bowling ball fence near bowling ball lollipops...a bowling pin windchime across from a just-about-finished bowling ball alphabet (he just needs w x y & z).  And although these are a work in progress, Chris doesn't take monetary donations to keep up his work.

    "I will take old bowling balls as donations, just don't send them C.O.D.," Chris noted, "I'm retired with a fixed income." 

    Attachment: Bowling1.JPG (68698 bytes)

    My favorite display was the NEWTON'S CRADLE.  "What on earth's that?" you may ask.  It's the toy that psychatrists often set upon their desks (not that I'd know that for any particular reason).  Balls hang from a support and rest in a line.  Your job is to raise one of the end balls, then release.  A modestly efficient conservation of energy balance is maintained as the premiere ball falls, crashing into the other balls, and the final ball in the line flies upward.  The cycle repeats itself.  Alright, I'm ramblinging...and we all know that can get us into trouble.

    Keep warm on this oh-so-cold winter night!  And donate Chris some of you (or your hubby's) old bowling balls!

    -GeorgeW

  • Foyil's Skyscraper

    Attachment: totem.JPG (169012 bytes)

    One of these two things is 90 feet tall and weighs 134 tons.  Can you guess which one?

    On the drive to see the "World's Largest Totem Pole", I stumbled upon a roadside pedestrian, Meteorologist George Flickinger.  He was in his bike-riding gear on a Route 66 bike ride.  We threw his bike in Storm Chaser 2 and high tailed it to Totem Pole Park.

    Totem Pole Park was an idea dreamed up by a gentleman named Ed Galloway.  He wasn't a native Oklahoma resident, but from Springfield, MO.  After earning an eighth grade education and serving in the Spanish American War, he started wood carving. 

    Mr. Galloway moved to Oklahoma and taught wood working to young boys.  The boys helped gather many of the rocks that would later be used to construct the totem pole.  The totem pole itself, would be Ed Galloway's monument to the American Indian.

    Ed spent 11 years constructing the the Totem Pole, working with one bucket of concrete at a time to cover the 90 foot tall tower.  Big work, for a 5' 7 1/2" tall man.

    In the neighboring gift shop, Wanda shared stories. 

    "We found an owl sitting in there one day, just sitting in there like this..."  She sort of crossed her arms and tilted her head.  "The two girls in there were scared, doesn't that just sound like a bunch of girls?"

    The trip to Totem Pole Park is a neat little -, or should I say, "big" day trip.  I'll give it a 10 on my world's largest Totem Pole list.  Keep in mind, however, McKinleyville in CA and Abingdon in IL also claim their large Totem Poles are the tallest.

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