The Life Chronicler
Project

I arrived in Oklahoma City and started to get tired. I could not even concentrate on writing backlogged stories. I took the time to start planning for my Southern Journey in January. I have a few ideas I plan to implement, and like everything else, it requires upfront time.

However, I did make my first visit to a state sports hall of fame. I talked for several minutes with the President of the establishment, Mike James, and learned why Ferguson Jenkins, a Chicago Cubs pitcher and fellow Canadian, was in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Even more surprisingly, Nadia Comăneci, the Romanian gymnast, is an inductee. She was the first ever to receive a perfect 10 in an event. That occurred at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The scoreboard could not handle it, so it was posted as 1.00.

Mike also told me about Ted Stevens. After his Oklahoma-based coaching, Stevens went on to become one of the greatest basketball coaches in the history of The University of Kansas. Mike called Coach Stevens and tried to set up a meeting in Tulsa. Unfortunately, the coach was unable to meet with me.

In 1889, in an effort by the American government to settle the land further, the Oklahoma Land Run began on April 22 at high noon. A remarkable monument was constructed to commemorate the event. See the picture below.

One more city, St. Louis, and my 83-night western odyssey is over.