The kickstarter campaign has just ended and it has been an interesting experience to say the least. Thank you to everyone who supported the project. Stay tuned for the next developments.
Welcome back. Although I’m currently back in Stephenville, Texas to continue covering the murder trial of Eddie Ray Routh, I’m starting this week with Oklahoma State’s basketball team. On Wednesday my travels took me to Stillwater the game against Iowa. Henry Iba brought big time basketball to this town and unbelievably you can still see a game there for just fifteen dollars. I started off sitting in the nose bleed seats but when I caught my breath after the climb I really enjoyed the view. During the second quarter I was able to move down to the dead center of the court, just a few rows back from the floor. It’s hard to figure out why attendance wasn’t better that night because when you have two ranked teams playing you know you’re going to see a good game and I did. Another highlight of a visit to the university is seeing all the student life on campus. When you are far beyond your college years like I am, it’s fun to see all the energy and enthusiasm these kids have.
After spending the night in Stillwater, and with basketball still on my mind, I headed down the highway another two hours to Oklahoma City where I knew the Oklahoma City Thunder would be playing at Chesapeake Arena. As we now know, it would be the last scheduled game for two members of the team. Here’s a tip if you plan to catch a game. There’s lots of street parking right next to the arena and if you arrive a couple of hours early you can park practically right in front of the building. While you’re waiting, Bricktown is just a couple of blocks away which is an area that is full of great restaurants. The Oklahoma City Bombing memorial and Museum is also close by and if you haven’t been there I highly recommend a visit.
My next stop in town was the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club where IMPACT OKC Magazine was honoring their “Man of the Year”. You regular readers know that I learned about this person about five years ago and I have written about him and his generosity several times since then. However for you new followers, I will start from scratch with some of the information that was included in his recent interview in the magazine.
“For over thirty years Robert “Bob” Funk has built Express Employment Professionals into the leading employment solutions company in the United States with over 700 franchisees in the United States and in multiple countries. In 2012 Express had 2.3 billion in sales and found work for over 367,000 people. Bob has also developed Express Ranches into the number one breeder of Angus cattle in the United States with four ranches in Oklahoma and a 167,000 acre ranch in New Mexico… Despite his great success and the wealth he has earned, Bob has become best known for his generosity to many different causes and he says that his greatest joy comes from giving his money away.” These are just a few of the many organizations he supports: Children’s Miracle Network, Youth Expo, The Western Heritage Center and Cowboy Hall of Fame and right here in Bartlesville, the #1 Not for Profit Organization in the State of Oklahoma for 2014, Elder Care.
Wrapping up a quick two day trip, I was able to get over to the Oklahoma City fairgrounds where one of the largest sales of its kind was in progress. The Leake Auto Auction is celebrating fifty years of selling rare, collectible cars and their expertise was on display at this sale. With close to five hundred cars to sell, they used two sale rings, bringing in one high dollar car after another. I have no idea how they sold them all in just a few hours but everything worked like a finely tuned watch as they say.
The auction is coming to the Tulsa fairgrounds in June and even if you’re not in the market for this type of car, it is fun just to be a spectator.
Till next week when I’ll be bringing you more from the courtroom in Stephenville, I’ll see ya down the road…
P.S. If you want more on these stories visit my website for daily updates: www.originalbuffalodale.com
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