Tulsa World

I try to be fair about Oklahoma when I'm not here, partially because mocking it is just too easy to be considered a respectable demonstration of wit. In fact when the occasion arises I usually try to follow my mother's advice and say something nice in lieu of nothing at all, often describing the state in terms of the musical-- "It's great, people dancing in the streets!"

But invariably Oklahoma does something to disgrace itself, and today, on day one of my tri-annual visit, I was faced with this headline in the area's major newspaper:

"ZOO AGREES TO DISPLAY CREATIONIST VIEWS."

This evidently in response to complaints about a science-based educational exhibit. Fave part of the accompanying article?:

"...those who favored the creationist exhibit, including Mayor Bill LaFortune, argued that the zoo already displayed religious items, including the statue of the Hindu god, Ganesh, outside the elephant exhibit and a marble globe inscribed with an American Indian saying: "The earth is our mother. The sky is our father."

Allow me to paraphrase Rogers and Hammerstein:

"OKLAHOMA!(.....uh,) oooooh-kaaaaay..."