Tulsa

I have just returned from a quick turn-around trip to Tulsa to see a friend I met at the Atlanta Fish show back in 2000, who I have not seen in at least 5 years. I am beginning to believe that Tulsa is a city into which you cannot ever set foot in twice. Am of course referencing the Heroclitus notion of never stepping into the same river twice. I have been to (not counting the times I drove through) Tulsa several times and I have never seen the same Tulsa on any two trips. On one I saw old regal ladies (referring to houses here..) which were well maintained, manicured parks and an almost metropolitan feel. This last time, I saw a run down town barely holding its own, if not in outright decay. And these two are merely the two clearest extremes, not the only examples.

Never before have I seen such a different city with each visit Still, I have to admit that Tulsa never fails to be interesting despite being in Oklahoma.

While in Tulsa I had the pleasure of meeting another of the very few artists whose work instantly inspires and evokes hope. He is thus far "undiscovered" but I predict that this will not remain the case for long given the nature of his abstracts and color choices. Much of the work I truly enjoyed was layered abstracts with allusions which would fit well in progressive collections, or on progressive albums. Not sure what the artist (whose name I will give later) would think of this reference, though he too saw the connection to the artwork on one of the old Asimov book covers and one of his own pieces (though this was not the inspiration).

The rest of the short trip was spent in hopefully mild banter with a rabid leftist who briefly sang a union song, only to be reminded that it is solely because of unions that GM may cease to exist... :)

The time spent with my friend I went to visit went well. It is very good in this time of change to be reminded that some aspects of my life are stable even in troubled waters, or upon challenging paths. This particular friend shares a passion for the music of Fish and Marillion, a true rarity it seems. This music has helped us both in important times and we have been fortunate enough to share two concert experiences, though the last in two separate locations.

One of the more unexpected elements of this trip was the presence of what I can only call smog or haze all across southern Kansas and north central Oklahoma. Never was I without the grey haze that one expects to see in population centers, but not out on the desolate prairie. I am not sure what to make of this, other than to be saddened by the loss of perhaps the only redeeming quality of this flatland: the open clear skies with endless horizons..