States I Called Home / What Sufjan Should Write About Part 1: Oklahoma

I had a uniform like that, and a hat EXACTLY like that. And it was covered in pins too!
So it occurred to me that if Sufjan Stevens is going to complete his 50 states project, he's going to need some help. To begin with, at 1 state every 2 years, our 30-year-old songster is going to be well into his hundreds before he's done. I'm not holding my breath waiting to own an album for each state, and I give him less than 10 albums before he jumps to EPs (in the best case scenario) or cans the entire project (in the worst case scenario). But he can't give up yet! He's yet to touch on the three states I've called home: Oklahoma, Washington and Oregon. So to make sure he gets on track, I thought I'd steer his research on each of these states this week, starting with my birth state, Oklahoma.

Mr. Stevens, here's FIVE great things to check out when you're travelling through the prairie!

1) For 13 years of my life, I was fed, clothed and sheltered off of paychecks bearing "Halliburton." Now I don't want to see Sufjan's material descend into political cockamame, but down in Duncan, Oklahoma (my birth town!) lies the ground where Erle P. Halliburton established the first headquarters for New Method Oil Well Cementing Company (later Halliburton Energy Services) in 1921. The town is what it is, mainly because of Halliburton. There's some interesting territory to explore for sure. Duncan is also the birthplace of Ron Howard and Jean Kirkpatrick.

2) Tahlequah, Oklahoma is one of the final destinations for the displaced Cherokees at the end of the Trail of Tears. If us proud Oklahomans are lucky, Stevens will not cover the Trail of Tears when he writes about Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas.

3) Some reference to the old slogan, "Oklahoma is OK!"

4) Bill Wallace, from Chickasha, Oklahoma, was a favorite author of me and my bros when we were younger. I imagine that if Sufjan Stevens were to have spent his childhood on the prairie and got trapped in caves, chased by panthers, or had a younger brother dying of lukemia, that it'd look an awful lot like a Bill Wallace book.

5) Only in places like Oklahoma can you get away with using geographical terms like "Panhandle" without people looking at you oddly. Take advantage of this.

That should get you started on your next state installment Mr. Stevens! No need to compensate me for my time or genius, just mention me in the Thank You section when the CD comes out!

I've put "The Unusual" on hold as my originally-intended 5-part series. It'll pop up now and again, but never again will I promise a continuing series without their being written in advance.