35/50 Okies we are coming for you with unrelenting positivity

Posted by CupBeEmpty@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 62 comments

This is our newest unrelenting positivity post.

The state in question is the great state of Oklahoma.

To all our foreign friends give a shout ask questions send praise. To our Americans do the same.

Ask questions, share stories, make jokes. Just remember not to be a jerk.

Recall the famous phrase my grandma invented “if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything that isn’t redemptively funny.”

Stay tuned for 36/50 after this one.

The states are in random order based on my whim at the moment. Today’s whim is remembering I slept on the ground at a truck stop in your state while a thunderstorm rolled through. I wasn’t disappointed.

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makestuff24-7@reddit

As a native Oklahoman, I find it difficult to say nice things about Oklahoma. But the cost of living is low, it rarely snows, and when you find a wild prairie operating untouched and with its full cast of animals and plants, it is truly breathtaking to behold.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

How are the tornadoes? I grew up in tornado alley but always heard Oklahoma was worse.

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makestuff24-7@reddit

I've never been hit by one. They happen frequently, yes, but huge swaths of the state are just open land. So... they're not usually a problem lol.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

Interesting. During life lifetime, one killed 25 people in my hometown and wiped out the downtown of a smalltown nearby.

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Ahpla@reddit

What part of OK? I live here as well and we get snow every winter in the NE.

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makestuff24-7@reddit

SW! Comanche County.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

Without Okies and the Dust Bowl Migration, Bakersfield, CA would be a lot different. Thanks for helping populate this fair town.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

This is an unrelentingly positivity post so I will not describe my experience with Bakersfield.

I will praise the Okies. They go everywhere.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

You can DM me. I'm already in there. There's good and bad everywhere, and though we have definitely had our share of bag things here in Bako, there's even more good.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

DMing someone from Bakersfield just seems working.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

We've already had an exchange, so you should be feeling especially bad right now.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

I feel especially bad every day.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

Then that's just par for the course. I'm honestly curious about your Bako experience.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

It’s not really a great story. I just passed through and got nearly mugged. We were headed from LA to OR.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

I don't know about beautiful, but I find best in it just the same. Sorry you ran into a shithead. Many of the people here are kind people who will pull over if they see you stranded and go out of their way to help you. We still have our bad element, though. If you look at some of my recent posts, I have been taking pics in areas that people often label as bad neighborhoods as they drive past on the main roads.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

I try very hard not to judge US places on their worst shitheads. So I don’t judge Bakersfield even though I had a bad time there.

I would say beautiful, not the classical beautiful most folks think of but beautiful.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

Well, if you ever come through again and want to try picked tongue, Basque food, or just grab a good chicken fried steak, give a yell. We also have some other good stuff, but I'm not listing everything.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

No idea if I’ll get out that way again. Those trips sort of died with my divorce from my west coast family.

I lived with a basque guy for a bit. He cooked delicious food but got oil on fucking every cooking surface.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

I try to use splatter shields for my wife's sanity, but when I cook I'm running 3 or 4 burners at a time and often the oven, too, and they just get in the way.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

I feel you. I love cooking with my kid but every time we do it I just look at my oven and stovetop and weep afterwards.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

My wife always complains, "Why don't you just clean as you go? I can do it!" She cooks one item from a box and maybe some Texas toast. I'm cooking real food from scratch and trying to time it all to finish at the same time. I do try to not leave a mess afterwards, though.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

I have an agreement with my daughter. She can cook water she wants and I’ll eat it, but we have to clean up afterwards.

Scrubbing an oily burnt on pan after a good meal fills me with joy.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

If you put some water in there and put it back on the burner, it is much easier to clean the burnt on bits.

I'm all for parents sharing experiences with their kids. Good on you for that and for letting her take control.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

Heh, she has tossed me out of the kitchen when I’m trying to help. If she’s making dinner she’s the captain and I’m just a spectator.

My son is jealous. I’m teaching him knife skills and I think he will be great in the kitchen. I just have to teach him spices aren’t yucky. He’s 7 so we have time.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

I hope you teach your son (daughter, too, if she likes cooking) the value of a sharp knife and how to sharpen and maintain that edge.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

You’re making me laugh. My ex wife was on the phone with my kids and said “sometimes you have to send your knives out to a professional.”

I looked at my daughter and shared a moment. I shook my head no. She locked eyes with me and shook her head.

She knows you can sharpen knives in the home. She also knows she is just about the only person I trust with my knives.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

I grew up fixing mowers and my grandpa taught me how to sharpen reel mowers, knives, scissors, hedge trimmers and do much more. I'm glad your daughter knows that she doesn't have to rely on others for everything.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

Good grandad.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

Didn't find anybody that disliked him.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

If he was around sharpening all my random shit I wouldn’t have disliked him at all. If he has taught me how to sharpen all my random shit I’d put praise on his name

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

He's the one that started our shop, and it was my dad that sold our name out of the family. It's because of my grandpa that I'm also pretty frugal.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

Well then praise on all those guys. I do love folks that proudly went my family name.

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CaptainPunisher@reddit

Not I. I was supposed to take that business over, and my dad tried to pretend he didn't know, but he absolutely knew. So did the guys that bought it. It died within a year or two of the sale.

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No-Conversation1940@reddit

There's a lot of talk about which regional burger chain is the best - In n Out this, Whataburger that, Culver's, etc. Braum's clears them all. You just don't know it because Oklahoma keeps it to itself and its immediate neighbors.

Oklahoma also gave the world Turnpike Troubadours, the best country music band of the 21st century so far.

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IfTheHouseBurnsDown@reddit

Most kids in the state of Oklahoma will take at least one field trip to Braum’s during their elementary/intermediate years. The farm is in Tuttle, just SW of OKC. I grew up in Tulsa and we took a field trip there in 4th grade to see the cows, the whole process of milking them, taking care of them, etc. Those cows live like queens!

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byebybuy@reddit

I go to Oklahoma every year (family there) and get as many Braum's limeades as I can while I'm there. So good.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

Heh I am not a huge country fan but my family works in the industry. So I have heard the Turnpike Triubadors. Thanks Okies.

Braums I have only heard of in excited whispers.

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DadPuncher69@reddit

Salt Plains State Park is one of the coolest places I've ever been.

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LostExile7555@reddit

Everything in Oklahoma is OK. While nothing is excellent, neither is anything aweful.

Except for the Chili's on Meridian. That place is trash and my waiter Greg was a jackass.

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DubiousAdviceGiver@reddit

Amish Cheese House is really good. Also, my wife’s grandparents are super cool.

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G00dSh0tJans0n@reddit

Oklahoma was a pretty surprising state for me. I love driving across it east to west, going from rolling hills to the high plains.

Wichita Mountains National Wildlife refuge has a subtle, understated beauty. Quartz Mountain State park was very nice as well.

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Ambitious-Yak-9326@reddit

You can go see bison over by mount Scott and that’s neat

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MalloryArcher64@reddit

Born in California, lived in Arizona, Tennessee and now Kentucky. No idea about the middle of the country lol my question is, how is the rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas in real life? In movies and shows it seems to center on football, but I've never met anyone in real life who really spoke about it. Thank you!

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MangaMaven@reddit

People who are into football are legitimately invested in their rivalries with Texas. In every other area of life the Oklahoma-Texas "Rivalry" is mostly just being forced to hear Texans' unsolicited opinions on why Texas is better. Like you'll think you're just having a good conversation with an out-of-towner then - Ope! I guess we're gonna hear an impromptu rendition of Watch Mojo's Top 5 Reasons Texas Is Sooooo Good And You Should Feel Bad That You're Not Texas.

Try to explain to a Texan friend that it's actually kinda rude when Texans come into your home just to insult it and people from other places don't do that? Have fun watching your usually normal friend default to their cult programming and insist "but Texas IS just better, though."

I've tried asking Texans if they've ever had this experience at the hands of Oklahomans. The answers have basically been, "LOL. No? Why would Oklahomans try to say they're better when it's obvious that Texas is better?"

It's exhausting.

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Forsaken-Plankton-79@reddit

As someone who does not Sports, I can tell you that when there are TX/OK games where I live, my partner and I simply do not leave the house that day. I can often hear the games...and I do not live near the stadium. Also, a lot of people have like upside down horns stickers on their cars/license plates, which is a TX Sportsballs logo upside down and I guess that's insulting? It's...a lot. I'm sure it depends on where you live, but if you are in a town/city where it's a thing, it's a big thing.

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jakerooni@reddit

I always like how it was shaped like a pot with a handle. A panhandle, if you will.

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wcpm88@reddit

Tulsa and Stillwater have created so much good music over the years.

I think I’m going to put on some Leon Russell now.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

White beard country Jesus?

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GeneralOrgana1@reddit

I was pleasantly surprised by how great Oklahoma City was for a tourist! The bombing memorial and museum was really well-done. The Cowboy Museum was also a fun find.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

I have heard from multiple people that museum is worth a visit

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MotherOf4Jedi1Sith@reddit

The Oklahoma Onion Burger! 'Nuf said! ❤️

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

Enough said. Those wild Americans perfected the burger and that says a lot

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No_Entertainment_748@reddit

Braums. That is all

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Fred42096@reddit

Wichitas, Ouachitas, and Black Mesa :)

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CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)

Black Mesa? I think we know Aperture is better.

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ITrCool@reddit

- Oklahoma has the largest Native American population (estimated around 250,000) and multiple reservations
- the Oklahoma State Fair is actually pretty awesome and huge. Lasts around 11 days 🎡
- chicken fried steak is a staple of the state and is amazing 🍗
- Tulsa has a lot to offer as a city, including Philadelphia took museum art!! 🖼️
- Oklahoma is the birthplace of the shopping cart (trolley)🛒
- OK has the most man-made lakes (over 200)
- Beavers Bend State Park: gorgeous!! 🏕️

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