We left you a little while back, and I’m deeply sorry for that. Life gets in the way sometimes – people move away, they find new opportunities, they start families and sometimes even dissolve them – and our secondary pursuits, however well-intentioned, all too often become the casualties of the out-of-control freight train that is life.
It is with great trepidation that I announce that we’re back – with new content, approaches, ideas and faces – but with the same intent of telling you, the people of Tulsa and beyond, our stories.
Tulsa as a Powder Keg
Recently I’ve been spending a great deal of time away from our beloved city. In my travels the subject of my home inevitably arises, and I’ve noticed a surprising (at least for me) and excitingly consistent trend: Tulsa is getting a reputation. In a conversation with a Dallas native a couple of months ago, I mentioned in passing my Tulsa heritage. “Oh, Tulsa” she exclaimed, “I’ve heard that’s the hip place to be these days”. She made comparisons to a young and smaller Austin, to Tulsa being a place where young people were excited to live, possibly even visit. But most importantly, at least to me, is that she’s never been here. This means that somehow, somewhere, the people of the world are saying good things about our little city. In San Francisco, friends were excited to hear about upcoming shows at the Cain’s (the conversation ensued, in fact, because so many of the bands playing the Bay area – like TV on the Radio and Fleet Foxes – had later dates in Tulsa).
Is it all just a fluke? A coincidence? I like to think it isn’t. I like to think that Tulsa has the kind of energy that cities have just before they hit their golden age. On a visit to Austin, TX earlier this summer I was surprised and excited by what I saw there – sustainable, hip, progressive development, a burgeoning creative class, a rich food culture; all things which have, in recent years, begun to take root in Tulsa. We’ve planted so many of the seeds that could – and hopefully will – bear fruit in the long-term.
So Where Do We Come In?
A city expresses itself through its people. All we must do is look back through our city’s history to see the interwoven fabric, the mixing and intersecting of the lives of individual people. So what do we want to do? We want to tell your stories. Or, even better, we want to let you tell them yourselves (who, after all, is better qualified?).
Perhaps most importantly, we want you to have fun. There’s a time for serious dialog, a time for stern and critical reassessment (see our North Tulsa Piece) and there’s a time for light-heartedness. We strive to do important work, but also not to take ourselves too seriously. If we start a dialog that contributes to substantive change? Awesome. If instead we simply make you smile? We’ll take that too.
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