I spent some time last week with my cousin Jim in Tulsa, as I was passing through. The rare luxury of being able to spend actual time there with him meant that I got the twenty-five cent tour of the city. This photo is the Boston Avenue Methodist Church, a major landmark downtown. I snagged this shot as we were stopped at a light.
We used his way-cool Volvo convertible, seen here doing its Transformers impression:
and cruised the town accompanied by a running commentary from him on a large variety of historical and current events. He pointed out the plaza where, later this summer, they are going to open a time capsule that supposedly has a brand new 1957 Plymouth in it.
Whenever I get too big a head or think myself the smartest guy around, I always try and remember that Jim has me outclassed in almost every way. He’s a medical doctor, and has a PhD. in Chemistry from MIT. Despite all his education, he’s the nicest, most down-to-earth guy you’d care to meet.
Anyway, to get back to the meat of the story, we toured the new construction for the State University as well as various parts of town with all sorts of history behind them, complete with a tour down along the river where the Native American tribes are building new casinos and shopping centers, as well as a campus tour of Oral Roberts University and a complete history of the place, in some depth. Jim loves Tulsa, and has a great deal of respect for its history, and it shows.
I particularly was intrigued by this wonderful statue/sculpture of praying hands- it’s 60 feet tall and the world’s largest bronze structure:
as well as the Cityplex, once the ORU medical school/hospital. Very futuristic looking; indeed the architectural style is called Futurism.
All in all, it was great fun. Every time I see Jim, I learn something new. Spending this much time with him was refreshing. It’s too bad we don’t get to see each other more often.