# Civic Matters > Suburban & Other OK Communities > Norman >  A Norman mystery

## USG '60

I hope this is not inappropriate but curiosity is killing me.  

I heard 2 0r 3 days ago that local Norman "character" Mike (Michael Phillip) Wright was found unconcious on a bench in Norman and that he was not expected to live.  And I just heard that he has died and already cremated.  That is all the person telling me knew of the story.  Since I knew him since he was in elementary school, and have followed him in the media for decades, and knowing the controversial issues he hammers on, I am wondering if anyone knows if there is a story behind this or did he just die of natural causes.  Mike loved intrigue and I'm sure that he would look for intrigue in this story if it were someone else.

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## adaniel

Yes I actually heard this morning he died. I just graduated from OU this May and I remember Michael Wright quite fondly. For about 3 years I worked at the library and  he would always come to our department to use the computers to type up his latest consiracy theories. They usually dealt with David Boren, the CIA, AIDS, and other assorted rantings, but by and large he was pretty benign. As far as I know he had a stroke and nothing more. By the time I was ready to graduate I saw him less and less and he looked increasingly sickly and run down, so I guess old age and poor health got the best of him.

USG '60, since you knew him personally I'd be interested to know what you thought about him and why he was such a "character."

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## ouguy23

He died of an aneurysm in the Bizell library.

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## kevinpate

>  He died of an aneurysm in the Bizell library.

Or so "they' would have you believe?

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## blangtang

Strange...I worked in the coffee shop in the basement during my OU years and remember him always being around the library.  

Anyone remember 3 hat Willie?

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## USG '60

> >  He died of an aneurysm in the Bizell library.
> 
> Or so "they' would have you believe?


Kevin, I just have to ask, was that honest skepticism or just a bit of levity.  Intrigue aside, I think it would be fitting that that was where he died, since it was his home away from home dispite his ragging on it all the time.

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## Andrew4OU

> Yes I actually heard this morning he died. I just graduated from OU this May and I remember Michael Wright quite fondly. For about 3 years I worked at the library and  he would always come to our department to use the computers to type up his latest consiracy theories. They usually dealt with David Boren, the CIA, AIDS, and other assorted rantings, but by and large he was pretty benign. As far as I know he had a stroke and nothing more. By the time I was ready to graduate I saw him less and less and he looked increasingly sickly and run down, so I guess old age and poor health got the best of him.
> 
> USG '60, since you knew him personally I'd be interested to know what you thought about him and why he was such a "character."


You stole the words out of my mouth!  I also worked at Bizzell and just graduated in May. ...Wonder if we know each other?  The most recent time I saw him was on Labor Day weekend.  He actually came up to the desk and asked for help on a computer.  Crazy.

Anyway, I never really encountered any problems with him.  Before I knew who he was, I always thought he was a professor who I just happened to see walking on campus all the time.  It was until my friend told me that one of her coworkers at the Western History Collections put a restraining order on him.

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## kevinpate

> Kevin, I just have to ask, 

[furtive glance]
no, you don't have to, really you ... wait, what was that? Jeepers, I gotta go and you should to, no, never mind, we were never even here, got it?!?  Good!
[/furtive glance]

8^)

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## USG '60

> USG '60, since you knew him personally I'd be interested to know what you thought about him and why he was such a "character."


I'm sorry, I missed this part of your post.  Since his days as one of the Tinker Field Seven (or whatever they were called) he has been a rebel.  He was originally influence in his politics by me and his older brother, but then he just kind of went on his own momentum.  When he would get so far out on some issues his bro and I were unable to make him see reason.  We kinda created a monster.  He totally alienated himself from his family and early day friends.  His brother hadn't spoken to him since their mom's funeral 15 years ago and they lived only 10 or so miles apart.  No one who knew him could explain his behavior for the last 30 or 35 years.  He was just his own kind of strange in a town that put up with Jodie Bateman for decades.  BTW, is Jodie still around?

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## Jesseda

okay i might be undera rock but who is this guy and what was he famous for?

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## feconi

> okay i might be undera rock but who is this guy and what was he famous for?


Hating David Boren and the OU administration in general, along with posting videos on YouTube that usually elicit outrage from OU students, alumni, and fans...

For example, YouTube - Ridiculous Football Fanaticism at the University of Oklahoma

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## USG '60

> okay i might be undera rock but who is this guy and what was he famous for?


Jesseda, basically he was just one of Norman's long time local 'characters."  He was a Boren "hater," and conspiracy theorist regarding a variety of things.  He deemed himself a serious researcher and exposer of wrongs ranging from noisy neighborhood dogs to elevators not working at the OU Library.  This would only be meaningful to someone living in Norman or knew him as a kid in OKC.  He was what he was.  :Tiphat:

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## stratosphere

> Strange...I worked in the coffee shop in the basement during my OU years and remember him always being around the library.  
> 
> Anyone remember 3 hat Willie?


i remember the hat guy,  he always would stand outside of the Subway at night and shine a flashlight at cars as they drove by.  Is he still around?  

Norman sure does have their share of "characters"

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## Mydalmationis8

Three-hat Willie is not around, at least as far as I know.  He used to live in one of those small duplexes between the Islamic Center and that large boarding house next to O'Connell's.  I must confess that I took a bit of revenge on him one night.
     I used to live near that Conoco on Lindsey and Classen.  One night, Willie was standing on the corner of Cherokee Lane and Lindsey honking a bicycle horn at people and laughing when he scared them. (He had the old kind of horn, the kind with the bulbous rubber bladder.)  I drove around the block and sneaked up on him with my car.  While his back was still to me, I BLASTED my car horn at him from 3 feet away.  I am surprised to this day that he did not get run down when he jumped onto Lindsey.
     I figured it was time he had a taste of his own medicine.  Besides, I wanted him to move along, which he did.  Never saw him on that corner again.

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## USG '60

Mike's memorial service will be this Sat at 2:00 at the Unitarian/Univeralist church in the 1300 blk of W Boyd.

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## stratosphere

> Mike's memorial service will be this Sat at 2:00 at the Unitarian/Univeralist church in the 1300 blk of W Boyd.


has anyone invited David Boren to attend?

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## USG '60

> has anyone invited David Boren to attend?


THAT is YOUR assignment.

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## stratosphere

> THAT is YOUR assignment.


 :Ohno:   no way!   :LolLolLolLol: 

ive got nothing against Boren,  of course,  but im wondering was he even aware of Mike Wright and all of these videos?  I watched about 10 of them and...wow.

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## okyeah

> I'm sorry, I missed this part of your post.  Since his days as one of the Tinker Field Seven (or whatever they were called) he has been a rebel.  He was originally influence in his politics by me and his older brother, but then he just kind of went on his own momentum.  When he would get so far out on some issues his bro and I were unable to make him see reason.  We kinda created a monster.  He totally alienated himself from his family and early day friends.  His brother hadn't spoken to him since their mom's funeral 15 years ago and they lived only 10 or so miles apart.  No one who knew him could explain his behavior for the last 30 or 35 years.  He was just his own kind of strange in a town that put up with Jodie Bateman for decades.  BTW, is Jodie still around?


who is jodie bateman?

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## USG '60

> who is jodie bateman?


It would be hard to explain.  A crazy radical dating back to the late 60's.  He was often armed.  He made Mike Wright look normal.  Several years ago he was still around but I haven't heard anything about him lately.

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## stratosphere

anyone know of a fellow who used to frequent the Vista who was kind of strange?  Specifically,  he was a middle aged heavyset guy with a beard and glasses,  looked like he could be a professor maybe.  Anyway he would  sit there all by himself and hold conversations,  sometimes rather heated,  with unknown or unseen people.  We noticed this one time because we had the fortune of sitting in the booth behind this gentleman,  when he was yelling at his iced tea and spoon.  

Also he would go into the restroom and watch the little tv they had there by the sink,  he even had the remote and would control it and turn it from whatever game everyone was interested in.  Most people wouldn't bother him though because he had this look about him.  But i remember he was in the restroom for over an hour one night,  and the Vista was crowded,  and people were waiting to come in an sit.  But none of the waitresses would dare sit anyone down at his booth because if they did he would return and there would be hell to pay.

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## mugofbeer

I used to work at the Hyde's Drug on Main street while I was in school and the 1st summer I lived in Norman I learned about the dozens of folks the hospital used to let out on Friday evening because half of them would stop by Hydes on their way to whereever.  Back then we hand Mr. Gloves, Chief (a la "chief" in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Mr. Hands and then one guy who sometimes slept in our dumpster.  I think Norman has always had a number of colorful folks that have nothing to do with the University.

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## kevinpate

stratosphere, 

I dinna frequent the Vista much, but the chap you reference reminds me of a local fella who also used to frequent what's now Prairie Kitchen, back then the Kettle, in the latter 80's.  I did a lot of all nighters there.  A chap very similar in action and appearance was around from time to time.  

He had a habit of enjoying the conversations with one of his corporeal challenged dining companions, somewhat indifferent to another, and a right fair disregard and dislike for the third corporeal challenged companion. 

Every so often he would pop out of the booth, stand ram rod straight, snap a smart looking salute and then return to his seat.  he was usually less animated for a while after the salute.  I came to know him in my own mind as Sarge, based on the salute habit.

Same chap or no, the staff at Kettle, and the customers, dinna disturb him much. 

Whenever I had a study companion who seemed nervous about him, I just explained that Sarge was Sarge and I had never seen him be anything other than mildly animated, and as for his companions, just because we did not see or hear them dinna necessarily mean they were not there with him.  Come to think of it, I probably should have left that part out.  It may have cost me a study bud or three over the years.

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## stratosphere

thats a good story Mr.Pate,  your right on target there with that i think.  I used to have a neighbor named Mr. Pate,  or maybe it was a teacher,  east of Norman by the lake.  

mugofbeer,  that sounds pretty good right now btw,  i worked at the Wrights IGA at 12th and Alameda when i was in high school which was back in the late 80's.  We used to get all kinds of "interesting" people wander in the store from the hospital on pass.  The stories i could tell....probably best not....but they were pretty funny stuff.  Most of those people were relatively harmless,  just a bit "different" to put it mildly.  I do remember the glove man,  RIP.  Also there was one guy who would ride his bicycle in and he was always dressed like a woman,  though he was obviously not.  Most of the time he looked like Pocahantas and he would create quite a stir in the store (this was the 80's afterall).  

There was another guy who was skinny with long stringy hair,  he looked like the stereotypical brilliant student who lost his mind in the 60's or 70's and completely flipped out on LSD or something.  This guy would always ride his bike and then he would scream and yell at....god only knows what he was yelling at....but i seen him get into a violent arguement with his bicycle.  Ive even seen him throw his bicycle out into a crowded 12th street in a fit of rage,  only to run after it like it was his long lost child while cars swerved around him and honked to his oblivion.  This guy is probably not around anymore.  I dont really think he would have made it past 911 with all of the potential theories and baggage associated with that day.

Whats bad is i would tell my friends about all of these interesting folks i would see in and around the grocery store,  and i had one of my buddies one time came into the grocery store (after having been out drinking) and pretended to be one of these people.  He had a KFC bucket over his head and he walked with a fake limp,  he went up to our assistant store manager who was putting away bread and asked him "sir,  can you tell me where the bread aisle is?"  Of course the manager was like,  "um,  you are on the bread aisle" to which my friend freaked and ran out of the store.  It was a prank but i swore i would never talk to him again if he ever came into my store and did that while i was there!  Of course he went into the marines when i went into the army,  no dount we have both seen some interesting characters wherever we went.

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## drum4no1

Havent spent much time in Norman lately, but is Calvin still around selling newspapers??

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## stratosphere

> Havent spent much time in Norman lately, but is Calvin still around selling newspapers??


last time i was at the Vista he was there,  also at Mr Bills too!

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## MikeOKC

I didn't know Mike had died. He sometimes went way off the rocker, but what really angered OU officials was his always talking about David Boren being gay, which most people know but just don't talk about. People around Boren have gone to great lengths to hide this for years. Anybody who has ever been around Oklahoma politics knows that David Boren is gay. So what? I've always wondered why he hasn't come out and it be over with. Somebody once told me the reason was because Boren had to go through all that swearing on the Bible stuff back in the 70's swearing to God that he wasn't homosexual. After that, he was pretty much stuck to his "I'm straight" story, especially being from Oklahoma. But really, today it's just not a big deal. But that truly was the only thing that got under the OU admin's skin. That, and Boren's always touting figures of Academic excellence that don't include AAU schools. Mike was always pointing that out to anybody that would listen.

Mike was troubled emotionally, I think he would have admitted that, and was way off base on a lot of things, but he was also a kind man who was right about a lot of things that didn't sit well with some at OU. RIP, Michael.

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## USG '60

> I didn't know Mike had died. He sometimes went way off the rocker, but what really angered OU officials was his always talking about David Boren being gay, which most people know but just don't talk about. People around Boren have gone to great lengths to hide this for years. Anybody who has ever been around Oklahoma politics knows that David Boren is gay. So what? I've always wondered why he hasn't come out and it be over with. Somebody once told me the reason was because Boren had to go through all that swearing on the Bible stuff back in the 70's swearing to God that he wasn't homosexual. After that, he was pretty much stuck to his "I'm straight" story, especially being from Oklahoma. But really, today it's just not a big deal. But that truly was the only thing that got under the OU admin's skin. That, and Boren's always touting figures of Academic excellence that don't include AAU schools. Mike was always pointing that out to anybody that would listen.
> 
> Mike was troubled emotionally, I think he would have admitted that, and was way off base on a lot of things, but he was also a kind man who was right about a lot of things that didn't sit well with some at OU. RIP, Michael.


Well said.

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## Andrew4OU

> Havent spent much time in Norman lately, but is Calvin still around selling newspapers??


Yep.  I just saw him last week asking a group of freshmen-looking girls if they wanted a copy of yesterday's paper.  They had horrified looks on their faces.

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## kevinpate

Shame on them.  Nothing horrifying about Calvin.

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## MikeOKC

Calvin's a friendly guy. One of the papers, (maybe the Gazette?), had a nice story about him a few years back. The guy works HARD. Never one to complain and loves what he does.

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## nik4411

Can someone give me some background on this guy? I live in Norman, but am not from here and see him occasionally.

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## nik4411

Calvin that is

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## bluedogok

> Shame on them.  Nothing horrifying about Calvin.


I've heard some good and not so good things, some of it is I think some people don't know how to react to him and at times he can get aggressive. Overall he is pretty harmless from what I have known of him.

nik - Here's a YouTube video about him interviewing local business people.

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## kevinpate

Only time I recall seeing Calvin aggressive is when someone decides to pull his chain.  

He's a guy, so yeah, that means he's as capable of a short fuse moment as anyone.

Flip side is I know lots of folks who would be far more mellow if they had a lil' more Calvin and a lot less tude in their blood.

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## nik4411

thanks blue.

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## Andrew4OU

> Shame on them.  Nothing horrifying about Calvin.


They were definitely the sorority/suburban/Southlake, TX type of girls.  That should explain why they acted the way they did.

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## nik4411

well to be honest, and not to be hateful, if some cat wearing a football helmet pulling a wagon was hassling me to buy newspapers, and i knew nothing about him, i might be a little weary as well.

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## stratosphere

> Mike was troubled emotionally, I think he would have admitted that, and was way off base on a lot of things, but he was also a kind man who was right about a lot of things that didn't sit well with some at OU. RIP, Michael.


I just saw his picture and he does look somewhat familiar,  not sure if i knew him at some point or not?  Anyway it is sad that he passed and i hope he has found peace and happiness now.

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## silvergrove

I remember seeing him on campus but I always thought he was a professor.  Too bad, he sounded like an interesting guy.

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## kd5ili

Speaking of characters from Norman...how many of you remember Lanny Lamphere? I actually had a few one on one conversations with him, and even went to his house...once. Only once.

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## oneforone

It should not suprise anyone that Norman has interesting people running around down there. After all... Griffin is with in walking/bicycle distance of campus. I would not be suprised if some of these folks are former patients or people being seen on an outpatient basis.

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## Stan Silliman

I went to Mike Wright's funeral. It was at the UU and was conducted by Charlie, his brother. Charlie did a great job of recounting their childhood and the influences which shaped Mike's interests. 

Charlie had a few stories of his Jackson and Grant days and Mike's empathy for the working class. Both Charlie and Prof Dick Hilbert also recounted Mike's time as pres of the SDS and the nine months in prison he served from being part of the Tinker Twelve. Bill Crozier also chimbed in.

About 90 people attended the funeral, many from mike's generation like myself but also many of his music friends and fans plus also many young friends who enjoyed gabbing with Mike at Cafe Plaid.

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## Puppet

> I used to work at the Hyde's Drug on Main street while I was in school and the 1st summer I lived in Norman I learned about the dozens of folks the hospital used to let out on Friday evening because half of them would stop by Hydes on their way to whereever.  Back then we hand Mr. Gloves, Chief (a la "chief" in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Mr. Hands and then one guy who sometimes slept in our dumpster.  I think Norman has always had a number of colorful folks that have nothing to do with the University.


Well... Hyde's Drug goes back a few years....

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## stratosphere

> I went to Mike Wright's funeral. It was at the UU and was conducted by Charlie, his brother. Charlie did a great job of recounting their childhood and the influences which shaped Mike's interests. 
> 
> Charlie had a few stories of his Jackson and Grant days and Mike's empathy for the working class. Both Charlie and Prof Dick Hilbert also recounted Mike's time as pres of the SDS and the nine months in prison he served from being part of the Tinker Twelve. Bill Crozier also chimbed in.
> 
> About 90 people attended the funeral, many from mike's generation like myself but also many of his music friends and fans plus also many young friends who enjoyed gabbing with Mike at Cafe Plaid.


what is the Tinker Twelve?  i tried googling it and didnt really come up with anything...

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## Stan Silliman

> what is the Tinker Twelve?  i tried googling it and didnt really come up with anything...


During the Vietnam war a group of local protesters, mostly OU students attempted to protest on the base. That was at a time when it was legal for civilians to enter the base. The Twelve were prevented from entering and some tried to climb the fence and were subsequently arrested. 

It was understood that laws were passed prohibiting protests on federal property just a few days prior to this protests.  

The story goes that the General at TAFB met with the arrested protesters and offered to let them off if they would say they were sorry. I'm not sure how many accepted his offer but Mike was not one of them. Wright served 9 months in a federal prison in Texas.

Say what you want but Mike had his integrity. He fought for what he believed in and he never sold out.

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