[Mattie Jo]

I am so sorry AG. How horrible. I didn't know that about Peggs either. What a shame.

[mkfarnam]

I got here just intime to see the lakes overflow around "Duncan".

[writerathome]

Drunk Drivers are my number one fear in Oklahoma. Far more people are killed
on the roads here than by any tornadoes. We have far too many fatalities
resulting from drunk drivers. We could control them far better. I lived in a state for
a short time, where cold beer could only be purchased in a restaurant or pub. That
took care of a lot of over enthusiastic drinking and minors drinking. All other beer
was sold room temperature. Not so easy to buy a 12 pak and go get plastered and
drive. They also closed at 9pm. We could control the problem if we really wanted
by changing our laws.

Some years, the thunderstorms have been horrible and those straight winds took
out four trees in my back yard one summer and landed one in the swimming pool and
another right on top of my new car. The heat and humidity in the summer don't
bother me anymore. Not after a visit to Austin, Shreveport, or Houston. Actually,
by comparison, ours is pail. But I have to agree that the ice storms are killers
People don't know how to drive on ice here. So number one for me would be the
weather. However, the wonderful sunny days in November, December, and even
January almost make it all worth it.

The roads are a real joke. You can really tell when you enter Oklahoma from an
adjoining state. Makes you wonder, if they can do better, why can't we? Also, in
Tulsa, the engineers that designed our highways must have been on crack. Hwy 169
is a perfect example. This is the only place I've driven where you get on a highway
and right in front of you, someone else is trying to get off. Another issue of poor
planning is how we build huge neighborhoods before we build adequate access to
them. Do they do that everywhere??

The Bible Belt mentality is somewhat of an enigma. We have a church on every
corner, but our crime rate just seems to move right along. So maybe we
Oklahomans need to practice more of we preach? So crime is another
biggy on my list. We build lovely malls and then fail to provide adequate security to
protect them. Unsupervised teens are snatching purses, fighting, and robbing
stores and we just look the other way. So, the "turn the other cheek" mentality
slams us again.

[Annemieke Roell]

Originally Posted by writerathome

Drunk Drivers are my number one fear in Oklahoma. Far more people are killed
on the roads here than by any tornadoes. We have far too many fatalities
resulting from drunk drivers. We could control them far better. I lived in a state for
a short time, where cold beer could only be purchased in a restaurant or pub. That
took care of a lot of over enthusiastic drinking and minors drinking. All other beer
was sold room temperature. Not so easy to buy a 12 pak and go get plastered and
drive. They also closed at 9pm. We could control the problem if we really wanted
by changing our laws.

Some years, the thunderstorms have been horrible and those straight winds took
out four trees in my back yard one summer and landed one in the swimming pool and
another right on top of my new car. The heat and humidity in the summer don't
bother me anymore. Not after a visit to Austin, Shreveport, or Houston. Actually,
by comparison, ours is pail. But I have to agree that the ice storms are killers
People don't know how to drive on ice here. So number one for me would be the
weather. However, the wonderful sunny days in November, December, and even
January almost make it all worth it.

The roads are a real joke. You can really tell when you enter Oklahoma from an
adjoining state. Makes you wonder, if they can do better, why can't we? Also, in
Tulsa, the engineers that designed our highways must have been on crack. Hwy 169
is a perfect example. This is the only place I've driven where you get on a highway
and right in front of you, someone else is trying to get off. Another issue of poor
planning is how we build huge neighborhoods before we build adequate access to
them. Do they do that everywhere??

The Bible Belt mentality is somewhat of an enigma. We have a church on every
corner, but our crime rate just seems to move right along. So maybe we
Oklahomans need to practice more of we preach? So crime is another
biggy on my list. We build lovely malls and then fail to provide adequate security to
protect them. Unsupervised teens are snatching purses, fighting, and robbing
stores and we just look the other way. So, the "turn the other cheek" mentality
slams us again.

Sounds lke you need to move t Texas.

As far as trees falling into your pool .... I lived in an area with major nor-westers and hurricanes and never had a tree come down because I maintained them properly.

[Not PC]

Wow, from what I've read I always thought OK had some of the most stringent alcohol laws in the U.S. I mean, 3.2 percent beer? Man, that would suck. Not quite sure if that is a good answer to controlling drunk drivers, writerathome.

[mkfarnam]

Originally Posted by Not PC

Wow, from what I've read I always thought OK had some of the most stringent alcohol laws in the U.S. I mean, 3.2 percent beer? Man, that would suck. Not quite sure if that is a good answer to controlling drunk drivers, writerathome.

Is that the "normal alcohol level" here in OK???? I don't drink so I don't know, I do know that it was .08 in Calif.

[peggydavis]

I don't know the exact laws, but I do know you can be arrested if the officer just thinks you are under the influence and can smell alcohol, like for one 3.2 beer. It happened to someone I know, cost her over $3000 in fines and fees, then 1 year probation.

[Nez60]

One thing that would cover all more than five reasons not to live in Oklahoma...POLITICS rules everything..and IF you are fortunate enough to have a few extra dollars to use as payoff or bribe money then hey..this is the place for you. Enjoy.

[peggydavis]

I have lived in Oklahoma for almost 50 years and I have never felt the urge to bribe or payoff a politician. Maybe I've been missing something?

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

Is that the "normal alcohol level" here in OK???? I don't drink so I don't know, I do know that it was .08 in Calif.

mk,
The alcohol level of beer in Oklahoma is (roughly) 3.2 percent; that of it that is sold in convenience stores and grocery stores. Comparably, here in Texas the alcohol level in beer is around 5.5 percent (they say "six percent" but I think it's more like 5.5). You can get stronger beer in Oklahoma if you go to a liquor store, where it's the same percentage as elsewhere, but it is not cold.

I'm not a liquor drinker but I do like an occasional beer; it's an acquired taste that I got after spending a tour of duty in Germany while in the Army. Before I went there, I couldn't stand the smell or the taste of the stuff.

Whenever I go to Oklahoma, I have a hard time stomaching the 3.2 beer that they sell there, so I rarely ever have any to drink while up there. I have noticed that in some of the better hotels that they sell the stronger stuff.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about the percentages and where it is sold.

PS. BTW, I'm sure that the alcohol level of beer in CA is of the stronger variety. The 0.8 that you're talking of is probably the legal level that a person can have in their blood before they are considered "under the influence."

Oh, and I just checked. It is illegal to drive with a blood or breath alcohol content of 0.8% or more. The same as it is in California.