From the elephant's point of view.

Wow. Malee is growing up so fast! She knows how to work a camera!

"Hmm... the Mystery Tower thread got bumped up. I better check it out."

...

:banghead:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/26/zepedunu.jpg

I cannot believe Lackmeyer would be so honest about newsok.com! Good for him!

I cannot believe Lackmeyer would be so honest about newsok.com! Good for him!

Well played, sir.



Even then, there isn't a ton of negativity here. Especially now.

I haven't been on here as frequently as I used to, but I must say it is nice coming on here with no mention of how ugly OKC is (America's largest truck stop!), what OKC is "lacking" in, or some circlejerk on the qualities of Charlotte/Dallas/Little Rock, etc. Kind of like a breath of fresh air.

David is right. I have been guilty of it myself. In all honesty, we in OKC have a lot to be thankful for.

ADaniel...you're right, the lack of knee-jerk, relentless negativity is a breath of fresh air.

The next way to clear the air? How about no more "he-said, he-said, woe is me, my feelings are hurt, I'm not being acknowledged, I'm being acknowledged incorrectly..." For those of us that get on this site to learn about the goings-on in OKC, the pettiness is time consuming and pointless. It causes me to spend less time on the site, because I assume a significant portion of the conversation in the threads will be personality issues.

Now, back to the "Mystery Tower."

I cannot believe Lackmeyer would be so honest about newsok.com! Good for him!

I asked him if he meant the Oklahoman's editorial page and then he deleted his tweet.

This is exciting. However, driving around Oklahoma City this weekend, I was really taken aback by what I saw. This city is in great disrepair north, south, east and west. I hope we continue downtown growth, but I'd like to see divided thoroughfares, nice looking lamps in the new medians, replace old and aged signage, throw in a few fountains, so many possibilities. This city is in dire need of some TLC in the way of beautification.

I only mention it here because this city won't be worth squat if we have 30 towers downtown and everything else is rundown.

I think this should be the theme of MAPS IV - Civic beautification, along with Transit (expanded streetcar, added bus + commuter bus, express bus during rush hours, implementation of Commuter Rail and possible rapid streetcar).

Finish the sidewalks, lighting, and bus stops; build tree farms at major entrance points (perhaps with statue(s) of important figures and/or fountains serving as anchors) and line thoroughfares with trees in addition to the aforementioned sidewalks, lighting, and bus stops.

To cement civic beautification, there needs to be zoning enforcement of existing regs + changes to the civic code requiring all new development adapt to design standards that encourage a sense of place and beauty. Obviously, the design standards would be different for the inner city than for the suburban tracts and those industrial vs. residential. However, I think regardless of the type of neighbourhood or location of the thoroughfare we should expect to have a sense of place and it should look pleasing to the eye. Luckily, OKC needs/will have quite a bit of development in all sectors so we could capitalize on the new projects without requiring existing to necessarily adapt beyond their current financial position.

Pete - feel free to move this to MAPS IV thread (or start one if there isn't); but I thought it was worth writing this as an expansion to Zookeeper's thoughts and how we could 'easily' make OKC a better place beyond the mystery towers to come.

Steve's got a few Mystery towers mentioned in this article ......

What's next for downtown Oklahoma City? | News OK (http://newsok.com/whats-next-for-downtown-oklahoma-city/article/5077470)

'A new mid-rise tower is set to be built in the Arts District for a new OGE Energy Corp. headquarters, with the prospect of additional mid- to high-rise towers possible on the block that for four decades was home to Stage Center. New mid- to high-rise towers also are quietly being contemplated in the Central Business District, where office vacancy is scarce.'

Wow. Malee is growing up so fast! She knows how to work a camera!

She has doubled in size over the last couple of years!

So is OG&E not building where Stage Center is??

So is OG&E not building where Stage Center is??

On the north side of the block.

I know this is for sure the wrong thread for this but I fell like more people will see it here, rather than its proper place. Enjoy!

Oklahoma City Style Guide - Most Stylish Cities in America - Esquire (http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/oklahoma-city-style-guide-2014?src=soc_fcbks)

Esquire Magazine? Damn, OKC is doin' it big!

Hilariously, I actually know someone who was in that photo of Ednas. And for the record, the burgers there are as gross as you would think...don't know why they would recommend that.

Esquire Magazine? Damn, OKC is doin' it big!

Hilariously, I actually know someone who was in that photo of Ednas. And for the record, the burgers there are as gross as you would think...don't know why they would recommend that.

They recommended the burgers from Nic's, not Edna's

Ummm...


Edna’s is a classic dive bar that makes you feel at home the second you walk in the door. If the Lunch Box, which has reportedly sold an astounding 1.23 million, isn’t your jam – and there are several other varietals to choose from – you can always just get loose with the 75 cent draft beer special from 4 – 7 P.M. Oh yeah, and they have food, too.

Ummm...

It seems more likely that they were advertising the bar and they just mentioned the food as well. Not necessarily recommending it.

I know this is for sure the wrong thread for this but I fell like more people will see it here, rather than its proper place. Enjoy!

Oklahoma City Style Guide - Most Stylish Cities in America - Esquire (http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/oklahoma-city-style-guide-2014?src=soc_fcbks)

Not a big fan of OKC being labeled as part of the south. Maybe southeast Oklahoma, but not OKC in my opinion. Of course, Oklahoma is very difficult to label geographically and culturally so I'm not trying to give the writer too hard of a time...

Ummm...

That certainly doesn't sound like a recommendation of the food but, about that Mystery Tower now. :)

Not a big fan of OKC being labeled as part of the south. Maybe southeast Oklahoma, but not OKC in my opinion. Of course, Oklahoma is very difficult to label geographically and culturally so I'm not trying to give the writer too hard of a time...

While I agree with you, they are from NYC, so take it for what its worth. In my dealings with people up there, everything south of the latitude of Richmond VA and west of the Rockies is the south. OKC does has *some* southern influence and the writer seemed to imply that we are not part of the (in their words) "aw shucks" deep south.


That certainly doesn't sound like a recommendation of the food but, about that Mystery Tower now. :)

Sorry maybe I should be more specific next time. I've had the food from Ednas so I'm trying to prevent anyone from the gastrointestinal hell I suffered. If you want to eat there, you've been warned. Just make sure you're stocked with extra toilet paper :dizzy:

Carry on.

This is exciting. However, driving around Oklahoma City this weekend, I was really taken aback by what I saw. This city is in great disrepair north, south, east and west. I hope we continue downtown growth, but I'd like to see divided thoroughfares, nice looking lamps in the new medians, replace old and aged signage, throw in a few fountains, so many possibilities. This city is in dire need of some TLC in the way of beautification.

I only mention it here because this city won't be worth squat if we have 30 towers downtown and everything else is rundown.

Some pigs you can't even put lipstick on. For most of OKC, ugly is its destiny, and it was designed and built with that very intent.

Okay, I think everyone has had enough of your one-note negative diatribe and agenda being interjected into every possible thread.

You're being granted a one-month vacation which will be made permanent if you can't learn to participate in at least a semi-constructive way.

As jubilant as this makes me feel, and shocked as well because I know how hard Pete tries to avoid that ban button, I just hope I don't ever come across as annoying and negative. There really is a difference between being worthless and stupid and actually offering good criticisms that come from wanting to see OKC grow and improve.

Some pigs you can't even put lipstick on. For most of OKC, ugly is its destiny, and it was designed and built with that very intent.

This is good criticism? Hmmm. Very constructive input. Come on, you're better than this.

For most of OKC, ugly is its destiny, and it was designed and built with that very intent.I hardly think that any part of the city was designed and built with the specific intent of being ugly. I do think that many of the structures were intended simply to be functional, with no care either way about beauty or ugliness. For example, there was quite an outcry about the demolition of the Hales Photo building on N Broadway -- but about the best that can be said about any (or at least most) of the buildings in Automobile Alley, from 5th north to 13th and excluding the former OPubCo building, is that they were and are functional. I doubt that any of them would win beauty prizes!

Dealing with the problems caused by a century of deferred maintenance, such as old and aged signage, needs doing -- and even a pig can be made attractive (at least to another pig).

Some pigs you can't even put lipstick on. For most of OKC, ugly is its destiny, and it was designed and built with that very intent.

And you expect people to take you seriously with this kind of stuff? Seriously?

nm

This is exciting. However, driving around Oklahoma City this weekend, I was really taken aback by what I saw. This city is in great disrepair north, south, east and west. I hope we continue downtown growth, but I'd like to see divided thoroughfares, nice looking lamps in the new medians, replace old and aged signage, throw in a few fountains, so many possibilities. This city is in dire need of some TLC in the way of beautification.

I only mention it here because this city won't be worth squat if we have 30 towers downtown and everything else is rundown.

You better get used to it because most of OKC was built without maintenance in mind. The developers and city authorities relied on the growth model to pay for maintenance and we simply can't grow fast enough to cover the cost, and of course, nothing grows forever. Another large problem with the growth model is that it requires exponential growth. Just as nothing grows forever, it sure has heck doesn't exponential grow forever.

So what exactly is the growth model? The idea is that building a road will open up future development that will then pay for maintenance of the road in the future. The problem is that the NEW construction of that road doesn't have a source of funding, so they have to borrow the money (i.e. road bonds). That causes a problem because that growth money is now being spent twice - once to pay back the bond for construction and again to pay for maintenance. Of course, that defies mathematics because the money can't really be spent twice. So how do they get around that? Answer, by building an extension to the road and hope that the tax revenue growth along the NEW segment is enough to cover the short fall on the old segment. Of course, this doesn't solve anything because the problem with the first segment is just transferred to the second segment. Then they keep repeating that sequence expecting growth to continue forever, but since cost keep going up and density keeps going down it requires exponential growth. Eventually it just collapses.

What they should have done is built how humans did it for 10,000 years and that was insure there was enough tax revenue collection along the infrastructure to not only pay for construction but also for maintenance and eventual replacement - but the idea of fiscal responsibility has totally been lost on almost everyone, all in the name of living the "American dream" (which was created by the Federal Government in 1949).


The idea is that building a road will open up future development that will then pay for maintenance of the road in the future

Coincidentally, this was the exact same mistake made by early builders of OKCs streetcar system. They had to keep building houses to cover the maintenance costs of what they already built that when the growth stopped they went bankrupt.

I am curious who thinks a Walmart and a Ideal Home subdivision, staples of OKC sprawl, were ever intended to be beautiful. One of the eccentricities that have formed (or deformed) OKC sprawl is near-total market saturation by Walmart.

We have this ostrich head in the sand mentality about that though, as indicated by the responses along the lines of, "Whaddya mean OKC is ugly? I have always lived at Sunnylane and MacArthur (or wherever makes no difference) and it's beautiful to me, and nothin else matters. We even got a new Oncue comin, and now that's a real big city amenity!"

I am curious how people can live in a state with such regimented liquor laws but then profess that the public sector is utterly powerless to break up a malignant monopoly like Walmart (perhaps limit Supercenter locations based on some criteria). Or just stop gleefully approving the damn building permits. The point is that OKC has to make up ground from how many years the Walmart saturation has set it back. We wonder why these are such exciting times for development and yet the statistical analysis of poverty and quality of life show things getting worse.

We have a great NBA team and towers sprouting out of the ground, which do nothing but give our failed city leadership a pass they don't deserve.

I am curious who thinks a Walmart and a Ideal Home subdivision, staples of OKC sprawl, were ever intended to be beautiful. One of the eccentricities that have formed (or deformed) OKC sprawl is near-total market saturation by Walmart.

We have this ostrich head in the sand mentality about that though, as indicated by the responses along the lines of, "Whaddya mean OKC is ugly? I have always lived at Sunnylane and MacArthur (or wherever makes no difference) and it's beautiful to me, and nothin else matters. We even got a new Oncue comin, and now that's a real big city amenity!"


All I can think of is this from the Declaration of Independence:


Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

While the subject matter is different the mentality is the same. Familiarity breeds complacency.

Declaration of Freedom from Bad Development

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that developments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that people are more disposed to suffer, while bad developments are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the bad development to which they are accustomed.

Wal-Mart is the new mystery tower?

Come on y'all... This thread is being derailed.

Wal-Mart is the new mystery tower?

Come on y'all... This thread is being derailed.

Everyone forgets the taco mayo taco shaped tower.

Some people don't want to discuss what the topics are. They just want to rail on OKC, add their spin to history, and try to convince everyone that if only our leaders were as smart as them we would have utopia. Gets old with the preaching. And if you object to their whining, they accuse you of giving everyone a pass or being too optimistic. They undervalue the effort the rest of us make towards making things better. While they have some very good, salient and educated views a lot of the time, it gets lost in their vitriol and arrogance.

How many times can we hear that OKC is ugly, the people are stupid, our leaders are even more stupid (and corrupt), and our visible citizens only work for personal motives? After a few hundred times it loses its effect.

Since some of these moved away, it reminds me of the Will Rogers comment about the Okies who moved to California...."it raised the IQ of both states".

Everyone forgets the taco mayo taco shaped tower.
Wasn't there Waffle House too?

Oklahoma City like many other U.S. cities have areas that need repair. It's not something that you fix overnight; especially, if it didn't get that way overnight.

Our city suffered neglect for many decades, those eyesores grew scabs. Now, those scabs need to be surgically removed. Sure, there's beauty on the surface in a lot of cities, the true heart of a city is its citizens. Oklahoma City tops a lot of cities in that regards.

https://sp2.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608009353212267138&pid=15.1&P=0 https://sp1.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608024514437254817&pid=15.1&P=0 https://sp1.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608039894724710113&pid=15.1&P=0


https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608035127304520068&pid=15.1&P=0 https://sp3.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608004371045877851&pid=15.1&P=0 https://sp3.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608051108876519947&pid=15.1&P=0
Let's maintain the cosmetics of what we have as we prepare a better place and quality of life for our citizens. Keep the momentum of MAPS.

http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif "Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif

Since some of these moved away, it reminds me of the Will Rogers comment about the Okies who moved to California...."it raised the IQ of both states".I note that neither of the most recent negative posters still resides in the state.

It also strikes me that bchris02 was becoming much less negative, yet got sent to timeout. Are some posters more equal than others?

And yes, the thread is so far derailed that it might be best to have it locked. Opinion, Pete?

Coincidentally, this was the exact same mistake made by early builders of OKCs streetcar system. They had to keep building houses to cover the maintenance costs of what they already built that when the growth stopped they went bankrupt.Have you actually read what happened in those days? According to the histories, it was the exact opposite of what you've said. Anton Classen was first and foremost a developer of housing additions. He got into the streetcar business in order to be able to sell those houses, and he created most of what we now know as historic neighborhoods. While doing so, he helped heal a rift in the Methodist church and donated the land on which the original University in OKC was built (at NW 18, two blocks west of the boulevard that bears his name). He also donated land for Classen High School, and pr3etty much single-handedly led the way to the city's reaching a population of 100,000 by the time he died in 1922.

Blame for the demise of the streetcar system can be placed primarily on Henry Ford's creation of an automobile for the masses (and building an assembly plant for it right here in OKC), and secondarily on lack of a long-term business plan or vision on the part of surviving management after Classen's death.

I don't contest the fact that OKC needs a solid long-range vision, such as that possessed a century ago by Anton Classen, but much of the sprawl problem we have today stems from the disastrous competition with Houston for the title of "Largest City in the Nation Based on Square Mileage" that we undertook in the 50s and have had to live with, ever since. While we won, it was a pyhrric victory...

It's almost like Chris was Spartan's alter ego. Now that he's been banned, he's being forced to talk about Walmart saturation and how ugly OKC is with his actual login.

I note that neither of the most recent negative posters still resides in the state.

It also strikes me that bchris02 was becoming much less negative, yet got sent to timeout. Are some posters more equal than others?

And yes, the thread is so far derailed that it might be best to have it locked. Opinion, Pete?

I agree that BChris has had spurts of less negativity recently, but he still was pretty heavy on the troll type antagonistically negative posts. If not for his history of extreme baseless negativity, people probably wouldn't have been as sensitive to his more recent posts, but they had gotten to a point of completely derailing almost every thread he posted in (and even after he was banned apparently). While I think Sparten and sometimes JTF are way too negative at times (and could probably tone it down a notch), at least their criticisms are mostly free of hyperbole (this thread excluded) and far more often than not, constructive. BChris was almost never constructive or solution oriented and was almost turning into a cartoon character.

It's the difference between "The suburban areas of OKC have become ugly which has been caused by sprawl and the city's inability to keep up with maintenance because of it. We should do everything we can to slow or stop sprawl" (paraphrasing obviously) and "Much of OKC is mindnumbingly ugly and run down. There are a few nice corridors but they are the exception moreso than the rule. A lot of people have called this town "America's largest truck stop." That perception is somewhat grounded in reality."

Posts like "everything is better in Charlotte, Tulsa, Dallas, (insert city)", "Tornadoes are the worst thing in the world, why would any one ever want to live here", "OKC is a wasteland for young professionals", "Walmart has ruined all retail in OKC and it can never be fixed", and "OKC suckz" don't add anything to the discussion (I paraphrased and left out many of the hyperbolic adjectives that make these posts more awesome).

It's not a good idea to discuss other posters and how we moderate the board on the open forum.

If there are any questions or concerns, please contact me directly. I'm very good about responding.

Thanks.

Now, back to topic please.

This thread is the cigarette of OKCtalk. I Just keep coming back to it but it never does anything for me but waste time, make the board cancerous (look at how negative this thread has turned over the last half year) & give me a bad taste in my mouth.

Devon center made tower talk cool, and gave us hope that towers were just gonna start sprouting out of the ground. We all need to realize it was an anomaly, and IF another tower is proposed then I want to talk about but I've gotten over the sugar rush and I don't really expect anything to happen anymore. Doesn't mean I won't keep coming back to this thread when I see new posts, but seriously I don't believe ANY new towers will be built within the next decade until I see a public announcement of such. I don't care how much smoke there has been, deals fall through all the time. Call me negative if you want, jut how I see it at this point.

Maybe each specific "lead" we have on a possible tower needs its own thread. I just think this thread should be locked at this point.

I still think we are close to an official announcement about a tower for Main & Hudson.

Pickard Chilton and Hines have been in town recently, and my contacts tell me this is going to happen; about 800,000 square feet on that site and it will connect into the Devon Energy Center via skybridge. Best estimate is 30 to 45 stories.

One North Hudson will soon have it's last tenant leave and my understanding is that it will not be redeveloped any time soon, and instead will serve as construction offices as it did for Devon.

We also know that Clayco (and perhaps others) will submit a proposal for the property south of Stage Center, and you can be sure any structures will at least be mid-rise and could be high-rise. The convention center hotel will be mid-rise and perhaps high-rise. OG&E will be mid-rise. There are other projects in various stages of planning.

We seem to be in the eye of the hurricane, with a bit of calm before we see several large projects -- including the redevelopment of First National Center -- take off.

Approximately how many stories would an 800,000 square foot high rise be?

and it will connect into the Devon Energy Center via skybridge

Does Devon ever have any intention of filling their retail space along Hudson? My guess is No they don't.

well 800,000 sq ft could be any number of stories. depending on the footprint ect. Devon Tower is 1,800,000 square feet however that includes the 6 story Rotunda and base structure to the west of the actual tower.. so it really is anyones guess. this is excited and look forward to some announcements.

Does Devon ever have any intention of filling their retail space along Hudson? My guess is No they don't.

I thought those were faux spaces rather than actual retail.

well 800,000 sq ft could be any number of stories. depending on the footprint ect. Devon Tower is 1,800,000 square feet however that includes the 6 story Rotunda and base structure to the west of the actual tower.. so it really is anyones guess. this is excited and look forward to some announcements.

The property at Main & Hudson is not very big which will limit the size of the footprint and floor plates.

But assuming somewhere near 20,000 SF per floor, that would be approx. 40 stories.

With Pickard Chilton involved, you can bet one of the goals is to balance out the skyline; slot this tower somewhere between Devon and Chase.

You may remember that PC said they took cues from First National and athough surrounding buildings when they designed Devon Tower.

I thought those were faux spaces rather than actual retail.

They are false fronts for now; there is concrete block only a few feet behind the glass.

But they were specifically designed to be removed so retail/service could be added at a later date.

I think we'll have action as soon as the main street garage opens up, either in an announcement or the project actually starting. Is the old auto hotel being used today ? Also, the new 3 story addition to the City East garage should be completing around the same time.

I have zero inside info, just a guess.

Does Devon ever have any intention of filling their retail space along Hudson? My guess is No they don't.

By itself, Devon's spaces are a non appealing retail area. But, with retail space in the new parking garage, Devon opening their "faux" space, and a new tower with retail on the bottom, the new OGE tower and possible associated housing/other development on their south, this could actually become a nice pocket of retail. Then, if the Arcade joins in and with what is happening in Film Row, this could be a great area. I think 21C knows exactly what they are doing by being on the west side of downtown. Things are looking way up for retail on this side.

The possibility of retail in that Devon space on Hudson would improve if there *wasn't* a skybridge built from the proposed Main & Hudson tower, as it is directly across the street.

Skybridges and tunnels need to be discontinued in OKC. However, we all know that will never happen. And with the street interaction that Devon already has, there is virtually zero chance of them not building a bridge if they have a building next door.

DowntownOKC Inc. even supports them.

They posted a photo on instagram several weeks back praising them.

If the people who socially promote walkability and urban design don't "get it" then I don't think anyone in power will.

Just more stuff my generation will need to tear out when it's our time to be in charge. 2 steps forward and 2 steps backward in this city on walkability issues.

Skybridges and tunnels need to be discontinued in OKC.
Why?

Skybridges and tunnels need to be discontinued in OKC.Why?

The simplest answer is that retail merchants and potential retail customers should be on the same horizontal plane so that commerce can ensue. That commerce then generates the sales taxes and property taxes that fund the maintenance of the street (and other infrastructure) that both the businesses and customers use. That block of Hudson already exists so wouldn't it make sense that it also generate tax revenue to help pay for it?

The simplest answer is that retail merchants and potential retail customers should be on the same horizontal plane so that commerce can ensue. That commerce then generates the sales taxes and property taxes that fund the maintenance of the street (and other infrastructure) that both the businesses and customers use.

Sounds good in theory... but as someone who is downtown five to six days every week, the existence of the skywalks and tunnels does not impact whether or not I patronize the downtown retail merchants. On good weather days, based simply on personal, daily observation, there is much more activity on the street than in the skywalks and tunnels and retailers have plenty of opportunity to draw customers. On bad weather days, retailers are not likely to see great benefit to the absence of skywalks and tunnels as people are inclined to move much more quickly to their ultimate destination bypassing any retailers. IMHO, the absence of skywalks and tunnels would do more harm than good — more inconvenience and aggravation for downtowners than any additional benefit retailers might see.

Some people don't want to discuss what the topics are. They just want to rail on OKC, add their spin to history, and try to convince everyone that if only our leaders were as smart as them we would have utopia. Gets old with the preaching. And if you object to their whining, they accuse you of giving everyone a pass or being too optimistic. They undervalue the effort the rest of us make towards making things better. While they have some very good, salient and educated views a lot of the time, it gets lost in their vitriol and arrogance.

How many times can we hear that OKC is ugly, the people are stupid, our leaders are even more stupid (and corrupt), and our visible citizens only work for personal motives? After a few hundred times it loses its effect.

Since some of these moved away, it reminds me of the Will Rogers comment about the Okies who moved to California...."it raised the IQ of both states".

I'm not sure exactly what point you're trying to make besides something contrarian. I think, from your tone.

Just wondering, since I don't live in OKC but have friends and relatives still in the city, could tunnels also be used to weather tornados? Or... might they fill with water?

Just wondering, since I don't live in OKC but have friends and relatives still in the city, could tunnels also be used to weather tornados? Or... might they fill with water?

I know several sections flooded during the storms last year. I'm not sure how many areas are problematic or if the whole system is though.

Just wondering, since I don't live in OKC but have friends and relatives still in the city, could tunnels also be used to weather tornados? Or... might they fill with water?

Knock on wood, but the OKC metro area has yet to even have a tornado watch this year....