If you want to know the key to a Tulsan’s heart, take them to the 76-foot Golden Driller at ExpoSquare* (4145 E 21st St). Now, I grew up in Tulsa, but I think I can say this with all seriousness, the Golden Driller is the greatest statue in the world. Set outside the fairgrounds in 1966 as a tribute to “Texas tea,” the … Read on
Everyone knows who Woody Guthrie was, right? Folk singer who sang about the Dust Bowl, the Columbia River and killing fascists? He grew up in Oklahoma, but the author of “This Land is Your Land” was the eternal rambler — and not just because he wrote “I Ain’t Got No Home In this Home Anymore”. But now he has a permanent home, in … Read on
Jack Kerouac’s On the Road ends, rather sadly, as Sal/Jack looks over the Hudson River in Chelsea and thinks of Dean/Neal heading west. He writes: So in America when the sun goes down and I sit on the old brokendown river pier watching the long, long skies over New Jersey and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unblievable huge bulge … Read on
I grew up in Oklahoma and never heard of Boley, or 40 other “black towns’ that were formed in the early 1900s by African Americans looking for the “promised land.” Boley, 53 miles southwest of Tulsa, is one of a couple that are still there, and has — for decades — hosted a wonderful three-day Memorial Day Weekend event, Boley’s “black rodeo.” No one … Read on
The weird thing about going up to the north end of Manhattan is seeing San Francisco-esque inclines on otherwise atypical New York streets. Look one way, just over a five-floor apartment block, and you see a hill of exposed rock wooded with the island’s only original forests. You quickly forget where you are. In Washington Heights, the north exit of the 181 St/A … Read on
If you’re a local in Montreal, you know about the “big orange,” one of the city’s longest lasting (and brightest) landmarks. Most visitors never see this 40-foot orange-shaped diner that’s stood here since 1942. Gibeau Orange Julep (7700 Boulevard Décarie) is a long metro ride out from the city’s fabled historic core. There are no cobblestone walkways, just big stores and chain restaurants. … Read on
