Oklahoma

I'm in Oklahoma. For a wedding of a good friend.

Norman, specifically.

And, usually, I'm pretty endeared to college towns. Auburn, Tuscaloosa, Oxford, Starkville, Athens, Baton Rouge, Fayetteville...all pretty nice towns where the college is usually larger than the town and very charming.

But there are some that haven't been so endearing: Hattiesburg. Tallahassee. Gainesville. Waco. Although Tallahassee shouldn't count, because major cities like Dallas or Austin or Nashville can't really be included in such a list. Even Birmingham's UAB campus is attractive despite the urban setting.

And, now I can add Norman to my list of "not so endearing." Not pretty to look at, traffic was terrible (and it wasn't Gameday, for which I make exceptions for both aestetics as well as crowds--and in fact, that might enhance Norman) and it really didn't have much charm.

Tracy and I did venture into Oklahoma City's downtown "Brickyard" area which was actually very nice. We had a pleasant evening walking along the canal (there's no way you can keep canal water clean, I don't think) and eating at a nice Italian place...and I'm thinking about going to the memorial to the bombing victims in OKC this afternoon before the wedding.

Maybe something will jump out at me later today...but with all due apologies to Oklahoma's Chambers of Commerce, your state ain't doin' it for me.