It's a "Fine" Time for Mask Mandates in Oklahoma

One of the memories I have from growing up as a child in the 1970’s is my mom reaching out with her right arm when taking a sharp right turn to make sure I didn’t move around too much in the car. The thing is, I might have had a seat belt on at the time. But it wasn’t a guarantee and it wasn’t the law in Oklahoma.

In 1987, the law did pass requiring seat belts to be worn by anyone operating a motor vehicle. And being a new driver in 1986, I had already started preparing myself for that inevitable change in the law.

It was nothing for me to adapt to wearing a seatbelt, but a large number of Oklahomans were irritated and resistant to the change. Despite all the “Click It or Ticket” and “I Never Unbuckled a Dead Man” campaigns by law enforcement agencies, Oklahomans showed a disdain for being told what to do - even if it meant making their lives much safer.

Fast forward to 2020 and the longest sustained pandemic since over a century ago, and Oklahomans still resist common sense mandates on their public health. Despite all the evidence that wearing masks and maintaining a social distance - along with washing one’s hands - can make a significant difference when it comes to fighting off COVID-19, Oklahomans in noticable numbers have taken a staunch stance that their independence is far more important than any life.

This position on putting theoretical freedoms ahead of every person’s lives is incredulous and embarrassing, to say the least. At a time when 16.5 million Americans have been infected while over 300,000 have them have died from exposure to COVID-19, it would seem to be a no-brainer to do simple things like wearing a mask and maintaining a six-foot distance from strangers when out in public. Not for some people, however.

Even today, not everyone respects the seatbelt law and they continue to thumb their nose at clicking in on themselves when they get in the car. And with a penalty of a meager $20, there is really nothing that has enough teeth in it to get people to do it.

However, lawmakers at least found the political courage to do something for the best of our state and nobody is out in large numbers suggesting we repeal the seat belt law. Because at this point, we generally realize just how ridiculous that would be.

But I believe it well past time for Oklahoma to show some leadership and not only mandate mask-wearing but also to attach some fines to anyone not wearing a mask in public places where one is required. It’s not difficult and if you’re not doing it nine months after all this started, Oklahomans deserve a fine of thousands of dollars if that is what is needed to get their attention.

I’ve been noticing a lot of people out there still acting like their interpretation of freedom is way more important than people’s lives and I am here to tell them a vast majority of us are reaching a boiling point with their childish behavior. Something needs to be done soon and I can assure you as a life-long Okie who has witnessed how people from the Sooner State act when being asked to make small sacrifices - and unlike Governor Kevin Stitt’s famous misstatement - they rarely do the right thing. It’s time to make them do it now.

Final Challenges Before Returning Home

Having grown up in Oklahoma City and lived in Oklahoma my entire life, I am more than familiar with the steak challenge at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo. However, I reached the ripe old age of 50 this year having never eaten there, much less participate in the challenge.

As I was planning my excursion through the Rocky Mountain states for my 2020 vacation, I saw an opportunity to stop for a meal in Amarillo as I was heading home and decided I should at least have some sort of steak while I was wrapping up my trip.

The steak challenge involves being able to eat a 72-ounce steak, a bread roll with butter, a baked potato, shrimp cocktail and a salad in an hour. If you can get it done in that time, you get a free meal and a significant bragging point with your friends and family. And if you can’t finish in time or complete the meal - which happens significantly more often - the bill is $72 for the meal.

There was a time during my adolescence and early adult years when I was eating large deep-dish pizzas in one sitting that I believed I could have knocked this challenge out of the park. In 2020, however, I knew better and just ordered a regular-sized steak and ate like a regular person would expect to when going to a steakhouse in the Texas panhandle.

The meal was good and definitely worth the stop. And apparently someone decided to start a challenge as I was wrapping up my meal, but I chose not to stick around. But now I can say I have been there and that was worth the stop.

I’ve made this particular drive from Amarillo to Oklahoma City a few times and in recent years I’ve been fascinated with the wind power lights that glow in the evening as you drive past Amarillo. However, this time it was still light outside and I was ready to get home. But I definitely recommend driving around Amarillo at night sometime to see the number of lights on at least the east side of the city.

Ironically, after spending the entire trip attempting to make up for the existence of New York plates on my rental car (because nobody seems to like New Yorkers in the states I visited), I got pulled over for the only time while driving in western Oklahoma. Apparently a construction zone speed limit continued despite the end of the actual construction zone and I joined another car in passing a semi after the construction zone ended. Once I saw a posted speed limit that reflected that it was still the lower speed, I slowed down to that speed. But I was already on someone’s radar.

The young highway patrolman who pulled me over was sympathetic to me not knowing the speed limit remained the same and he acknowledged that I did reduce my speed once there was a posted sign. He was friendly about my vacation and said he was seeing a lot of people who had also been returning from trips. And then he let me off with a warning and I was set on the speed limit the rest of the way home.

My vacation came to a quick end that night and I was able to reflect happily about what had been a hectic trip with several 10-hour drives throughout the vacation. But I saw some places I had never been to before and now know that I will absolutely have to return to Yellowstone National Park at least once more while I am still mobile enough to move around as I please.

For 2021, however, I have already planned two more trips that I am extremely excited about the opportunity to set up and enjoy. Let’s hope 2021 gets better than 2020 in terms of the pandemic or I might be having to adjust to another trip that keeps me isolated from everyone else. Fingers crossed!

Breaking Albuquerque

Prior to 2008, New Mexico was probably best known as a place for great views, incredible art and a perceived hotspot for illegal immigration. But 2008 brought about new attention to the city of Albuquerque via a new hit show, “Breaking Bad.”

That show was the main reason I decided to make an overnight stop in Albuquerque - I had looked up the addresses for several spots associated with the show. While only one of them - The Candy Lady - seems to have embraced the Breaking Bad theme to attract business, the sites are mostly recognizable for those familiar with the series.

I originally planned the trip around being able to take a tour that was available on Saturday but not Sunday. However, the more I looked at time constraints and knowing the locations were available for those not wanting to take the official tour, I decided to hand pick a few of the locations and take a self-guided mini-tour.

To me, no Breaking Bad stops would be complete without including the car wash, the location of Saul Goodman’s first office, Los Pollos Hermanos, and of course, Walter White’s house. The car wash and the fast food joint had different names but looked the same and the office was in a strip mall with no specific office number to verify which business was the exact location.

Walter White’s house had two grumpy-looking people sitting in the front yard presumably waiting to yell at anyone who tried to get too close for a pic. I grabbed a couple of quick shots and continued on my way, so as to not make any enemies as I closed in the backstretch of my vacation.

Albuquerque didn’t have much else to offer other than a couple of statues and some historic buildings. I’m sure as a destination for a longer period of time, I could have more plenty to do for a few days. However, for this trip, I was happy to fit in the Breaking Bad sites with a couple of other stops at historic locations and then move on.

The great thing about this particular trip to Albuquerque is that it was a location in New Mexico I had not seen before. In previous trips to the state, I had mostly been in the northern half of the state either en route to Colorado or while spending time in and near Red River. So, it was nice to explore a part of the state I had not previously seen.

And given that this was my last night/morning of the trip, I wasn’t exactly unhappy to be having the opportunity to sleep in my own bed later in the day. So, on to Texas and then Oklahoma for the final leg of this amazing vacation.