Category Archives: Our World Tuesday

Our World – Double Sided Art

The Philbrook Museum of Art’s gardens has a number of sculptures that really add to the experience. of the gardens. Some of the sculptures are moved every now and then including the one above named “Negative Tree” by Menashe Kadishman. On the sunny side I couldn’t really make anything work.

When I got over to the dark side, so to speak (lots of people think I’m already there) I found a better fit. A positive tree paired with a negative tree.

Doing my research for this post I found out that the sculptor died last week. See the link under “Related Articles” below for more information.

Have you done any pairings lately?

Linking with Our World Tuesday

Earlier Negative Tree posts Here and Here

Israeli Sculptor Menashe Kadishman Dies at 82

The Gardens of Philbrook Museum

Saturday I dropped the kid off at his comedy improv class and I headed over to the Philbrook Museum of Art to wander the grounds. My MIL Nana bought the family a season pass and I love it because I feel that I can just pop in and spend an hour without thinking that I have to get my money’s worth.

This is the Tempietto at Philbrook. It and the Praying Hands at Oral Roberts University are the most photographed scenes in Tulsa. I’ve taken my share of them. It is just so beautiful I never get tired of it. The guy in the pic had an easel and was painting. There were several other people out and about drawing and sketching the gardens on Saturday.

And this is from the base of the Tempietto looking back to the house, Villa Philbrook it is called. I never tire of this scene either.

And this was on the east side of the grounds. There were purple tulips (I think they are tulips) and they were just beautiful.

The gardens at Philbrook Museum of Art are a great way to spend an hour or two when the weather is good. Do you have a go to place that you never get tired of going to?

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Our World – The Jim Thorpe Home in Yale, Oklahoma

Note, despite the sign, the hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10 to 5.

I love serendipity and it happened to me this past weekend. Saturday I went to Stillwater, Oklahoma for a trail race and went via back roads from Tulsa instead of my more usual route on the turnpike. On the way out, going through the small oilfield town of Yale I saw a sign that pointed out the Jim Thorpe Home. So coming back after the race I stopped and checked it out.

A volunteer greeted me and invited me to sign the register where I noticed that I was the first visitor that day. She gave me a tour of the small home and its contents. It was really fascinating. Thorpe was not born in Yale, he and his wife, Iva, purchased the house in 1917 and left in 1923. The house has many of the original furnishings and is painted the original colors and duplicated the wallpapers used. The volunteer told me that it was originally a mail order house from Montgomery Wards. The house also contains many photographs and memorabilia of Thorpe’s.

What really piqued my interest were the stories about Thorpe. She described how in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Thorpe on the Gold Medals in both the Pentathlon a and Decathlon by competing in fifteen events in just three days. He went on to play professional baseball and football and act in movies. Many consider him the greatest athlete of the twentieth century. The end of his sporting career coincided with the beginning of the Great Depression and he struggled to make a living and died in near poverty in 1953. His death set off a chain of events that is still playing out today.

[Jim Thorpe, New York NL, at Polo Grounds, NY (baseball)] (LOC)

Library of Congress Photo – No restrictions on use, courtesy of Flickr

You see Thorpe was married to his third wife, Patricia, and she wanted the State of Oklahoma to build a memorial to house her husband’s remains. The State refused and she sold his body to the towns of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. The story goes that Mrs. Thorpe showed up midway through the Oklahoma funeral services with a hearse and a court order to take possession of the body. You couldn’t make this stuff up, nobody would believe it. As part of the contract of sale the towns and to merge and rename themselves Jim Thorpe. The towns hoped to cash in by making Thorpe’s grave a tourist attraction.

Library of Congress Photo – No restrictions on use, courtesy of Flickr

Thorpe’s family has been fighting for the body ever since. The latest move was in 2014 when a Federal Appeals court reversed an earlier Federal District Court decision ordering his body returned. Reportedly the family is now considering an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

Library of Congress Photo – No restrictions on use, courtesy of Flickr – 1912 United States Olympic Team

I’m kind of pulling for the family. Doing the research for this post one sees that Thorpe although a great athlete encountered great tragedies and reversals in his life. His twin brother died when he was nine. Thorpe’s first son Jim Thorpe, Jr died at three years of age. In that very house in Yale. His Olympic Medals were taken away from him unjustly (they were later returned, long after his death.)

Library of Congress Photo – No restrictions on use, courtesy of Flickr

In the meantime, if you are traveling through north central Oklahoma you can tour Thorpe’s home for free.

In an October 2015 update, the Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by the Thorpe family to move Jim’s body back to Oklahoma.

Linking with Our World Tuesday

Tulsa’s Redbud Valley Nature Preserve

We recently ventured out to Tulsa Redbud Nature Preserve for a family outing recently. The preserve is in east Tulsa and you drive past trucking yard and pipe coating mills to get to it and it is worth the drive. It is a fairly small preserve but important and was acquired by the Nature Conservancy before it was transferred to the City of Tulsa because it has plant and animal species found nowhere else in northeastern Oklahoma. Since the emphasis is on preservation and not recreation they have restricted hours and allow only foot traffic. Leave your bicycles and horses home. Check the link above for the hours. They are generally open from eight to five and are currently closed on Monday and Tuesday.

They have about 2.5 miles of hiking trails. Much of it is along a cliff face that contains caves and springs and requires some care while hiking. It is fun but watch your step.

This is our family portrait. My fancy schmancy wrap around camera tripod was missing a part so we did the old wedge the camera in a tree any which way we can trick.

Here you go, bark bokeh.

Two and a half miles doesn’t sound like much but it took us a while and we enjoyed it.

And of course with Garmin you can follow along on our hike.

Linking with Our World Tuesday

Our World Tuesday – Tulsa Garden Center

The Tulsa Garden Center is housed in the former David Travis Mansion on Peoria Avenue.

It was built in the early 1920’s by David Travis (formerly Rabinowitz) an early day Tulsa Oilman and immigrant from Russian who in true wildcatter fashion didn’t get live in for very long and lost it because of an oil price crash (I have to say that he wasn’t a wildcatter but he was in the oilfield supply business). It had various owners, finally ending up with another oilman who sold it to the City of Tulsa.

It’s a busy place as it hosts thirty gardening groups plus countless weddings and fundraisers during the year. My wife during her Master Gardener phase worked in the library and then later taught children during weekend programs. I have been all through the mansion while helping her carry stuff here and there including the attic servants quarters where the children’s supplies were kept. Supposedly there is a ghost present and if I were ghost I would haunt this place as it is absolutely beautiful.

Mr. Travis was Jewish and the first Jewish services in Tulsa were held in the basement. Also in the basement is the mikvah in the basement right next the ballroom. If you catch a staff member or volunteer with a key in the right mood they might show you the mikvah and the attic where the female servants slept.

This is the back side of the Conservatory of the Garden Center. The front of the building gets all the attention but I find it rather bland. I much prefer the rear. Mainly because of the red tile roof of the building attached to it.

Four years ago in that same corner, Heather and I built a Children’s Garden for the Garden Center. It doesn’t look like much but it was a lot of work. They didn’t have a place for the kids to work with soil and Heather didn’t think that it didn’t make too much sense teaching kids about gardening if they didn’t have a place of their own to plant and tend plants.

It took off and grew though!! Heather left the program and moved on to other things and so did the Garden Center and all that she put in got taken out. Which, if you know anything about gardening, is the way things go.

The Tulsa Garden Center is a great organization and a great place check it out.

Linking with Our World Tuesday

Previous Posts on Tulsa Garden Center: here, here, and here.

Dierks Forest #207 Locomotive at Tulsa’s Expo Square

On the corner of Tulsa’s fairgrounds sits an old Baldwin steam locomotive. The Dierks Forest #207. It was built in 1917 and was used by a lumber company, Dierks Forest, for hauling lumber in southeast Oklahoma and southwest Arkansas and was moved to Tulsa’s fairgrounds in 1963.

One source I found claimed some sort of supernatural presence. I don’t know about that but when I see industrial machines like this I just imagine all the work that went into it, from the engineers who designed it to the men who built it and then followed by the people who operated and maintained the engine through its life.

It sure makes for a nice display is what I think.

Linking with Our World Tuesday

2015 Tulsa Boat Show

Saturday, I dropped the kid off at his Improv class and headed over to the Tulsa Boat Show. Logan and his mother hate the boat show so if I want to go I have to go when I can.

And I found some boats. I loved this tri hull pontoon boat. Pontoon boats make for a lot of room and a smooth ride. They are not too sexy though.

The dealers had their big boats there also. Yes, there are lots of these, and bigger, on Oklahoma lakes. I think the boats are bigger than the lakes just between you and me.

Once I have paid the fee to get in, I have never bought anything at the boat show. Nothing, not even food (it is kind of like fair food.) Still it is fun seeing what is for sale. I would like some property where I could tool around in a four wheeler like the above.

They had an amphibious car, or maybe it is an amphibious boat. A car that get in water.

It has a most manly instrument panel don’t you think.

A Dobbertin Hydrocar.

Here is a video from four or five years ago. Yes, it can go pretty good but never gets up on plane. It just plows through the water.

And they had some Indian Motorcycles. I’ll take red please. They are beautiful.

They also had some funky powered assist bicycles. They can go up to 25 miles per hear I heard a salesman tellsomebody.

Weapons are extra.

I’m a sucker for old woonden power boats. They are just so cool. This is an Aristo Craft, 1956 model. $16,000 bucks and it is yours.

I think that would is beautiful.

there are lots of trailers at the show also. They get fancier ever year. This one has a rear deck. You have to provide your own kids though. Maybe next year they will have them with kids. Stay tuned.

This is more my speed. I love the color.

Many trailers and RV’s now have outside kitchens, stereos, televisions. I think that would be nice.

What about you? Have you been to a boat show lately?

Linking with Our World Tuesday

Another Sunny Day, Another Walk Downtown

The sun came out Yeah!! And it warmed up!!! Double Yeah. So I took my brand new camera. I’m sure you have never heard of it. It is a SJCam SJ4000. Basically it is a GoPro clone. It kind of has a fisheye lens with infinite focus. I’m still experimenting with it. The above is our new Marriott Courtyard hotel in downtown. They took the old Atlas building and redid it. I like repurposing old buildings.

And then I tucked into the Bank of Oklahoma. I love the beautiful art deco interior. You can tell the new camera has a little work to do on the white balance.

And then a little further away. A clunky expensive Kiwanis financed memorial to themselves. Sorry Kiwanis guys and gals. I don’t like this. Sorry.

And then on down to the BOK Center. Garth Brooks did seven shows or so the last week. He sold 105,000 tickets in just a few hours. We got to see a show. We’ve seen lots of good concerts in the facilitty.

And then over to the old YMCA. The camera has a 170 deg of view. I belonged to the Y for about a week 23 years ago. Too weird. Take my word for it.

And this is where I work, the gas company. Don’t ask which window is my office cuz I don’t have a window. I have a beige box that I am grateful for. I am moving to a new beige box in a couple of weeks. It will have a magnetic wall. So much the better for hanging maps. In the gas pipeline industry we work with lots of maps. We call them “alignment sheets” just so you know. We use topographic maps a lot. We call them “quad sheets”. You gotta call things right the name if you don’t want to slink away in shame. I love the terminology in our industry and I love learning the terminology in other industries as well. For some reason I have become facebook followers for a bunch of US Navy Ships. The carrier USS Carl Vinson is my favorite. They are on station now in the middle east making life miserable for ISIS. Check them out. I love the “Sailor of the Day” feature. They let an ordinary seaman, most of whom look like they are 14, sit in the skippers chair. I’d like to sit in his chair one day. Except I wouldn’t do it. I’m not worthy. I don’t know how I got off on this tangent. Hey anybody out there want to sit in my chair?

Here is our new plaza. I love it. It gets back to 70 deg in a few months I’ll be eating lunch out there in the shade. And yes, they do keep the able tops very clean.

Now I’ve left downtown and picked up the kid from school. Heather had the flu so I go the privilege of picking Logan up. He goes to a Christian school and they have chapel day on Thursday. So its like “Can we just go home so I can change!” You bet kid. He loves his sweats. I don’t blame him. He works hard. We moved him from a special needs school to his new school and it has been a huge adjustment for him. His Mom and I are really proud of him.

And we are home!!

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Shadows and Reflections

It was colder than you know what today and the windy was up but I bundled up and went on a walk today. The sky was clear and I was enjoying the sun. My employer has a new plaza in front of the building and I love it. It replaced a lot of odd 1980’s planters and design features with and open concept area with shade and seating areas with interesting shadows. See the light areas above? They are supposed to look like natural gas flames like on a stove or a gas light. Yeah, I know you gotta use your imagination. Since I work for a gas company I think that it is a nice touch. Too bad they don’t have some gas fireplaces out there.

I went to the north end of downtown. I like the reflections of our all glass city hall on the back of the performing arts center. It gave the the all beige concrete exterior a little “liquidy” look. Liquidy is a word in Oklahoma, just so you know.

This is our brand new state of the art drunk driver proof fountain at Bartlett Square. You know the Bartlett Square with the Circle Drive (or roundabout, my British readers may say). It is all so confusing to me. It must be confusing to drunk drivers also because our two previous conventional fountains got totalled by the drunks ramming into them at night. This new one has a low profile so they can drive right over it plus it has flashing lights. We cater to our drunks here in Oklahoma.

You can see how cold it is. At high noon there is still a lot of ice around the fountain.

Linking with Our World Tuesday

Simon Property Group Formally Announces New Outlet Mall on Tulsa’s Turkey Mountain

What many of us feared might happen has inched a little closer this week. Real estate giant Simon Property Group formally revealed plans to build a 400,000 square feet outlet mall on Tulsa’s Turkey Mountain. They have a few more hurdles to jump over but it looks like it is going to happen.

I cannot imagine a worse place for an outlet mall. Turkey Mountain is an urban wilderness used by thousands of Tulsans for hiking, biking, running, and just a generally getting away from it all.

It is huge, huge enough that by the time you get a half mile away from the parking lot you are pretty much on your own. It is hard to find solitude like that in a city.

The basic problem is that only about a third of the mountain (very very roughly speaking), the eastern third closest to the Arkansas River is public land. The next third to the west is owned by the George Kaiser Family Foundation who have announced that they are not selling their land for development. The western third is private property. It is unfenced and unposted and all sorts of people, including me use it like we do the rest of the mountain. We really cannot expect private landowners to provide us free public parks. The city or some other public entity needs to step up and buy the various properties. Where is the money to come from? I don’t know.

On the other hand Simon Property Group is expecting the city to step up and provide free enhanced road access and other infrastructure. I am totally against that. Why is that we are totally against welfare to poor people but trip all over ourselves to give money to companies worth billions of dollars?

So I’ve already emailed by brand new city councilor telling her my feelings on the issue and asking what her position is. If you are a Tulsa citizen then contact your councilor and let them know how you feel about this mall. In fact email Simon Property Group and politely let them know also.

The dirty little secret about shopping malls is that they are declining. Tulsa has several shopping malls that are in severe decline. Maybe Simon could rebuild an out mall in such a location and leave a wilderness alone.