Only in Oklahoma

I have decided to start a new regular feature on my blog, called, "Only in Oklahoma."
It is in this entry that I will share quirky goings-on.
That way, we have them in writing; and in another important way, I cleanse my brain because it's therapeutic for me. Remember, truth is stranger than fiction.
Trust me, I need this more than you do, dear readers, but I hope that you'll get a chuckle out of it somewhere along the way.
This is indeed a quirky state; a nice state, for the most part, but a quirky place. As one of my co-workers said to me earlier this week, "We are in the Twilight Zone."
Indeed.
And she's from Oklahoma.

THE DEAD POLITICIAN
This is a sad story, but it's quite true. State Rep. Terry Hyman from Leon, Oklahoma, was killed when his tractor rolled over him. This happened while we were on vacation.
Dante was very fond of this man, but only in Oklahoma would the death be viewed as "suspicious." That is, there may be reason to believe that "foul play" may have played a part.
The natural question for some people to ask was, "Was he in Gene Stipe country?" (Eugene "Gene" Stipe, the infamous Oklahoma politician who is more crooked than my 90-year-old granny's fingers after decades of crocheting.)
One person who was involved with Stipe was set on fire when the air mattress he was sleeping on wasn't filled with air, but propane.
Seriously, you guys. I am not making this up. But, I can promise you, I have a collection of ancedotes that will color my fiction writing forever.

THE FLAMINGO WARS
This isn't as intriguing, but it's funny, depending on one's perspective. There is a woman in a little town in Oklahoma who has waged a Pink Flamingo war on her lawn. Not so quirky yet, but wait. She makes her Pink Flamingos do all sorts of weird things, including tug o'war, etc. There was some type of unwanted behavior happening on her street, like speeders or something, and she took it upon herself to wage a flamingo war to stop the behavior. Turns out, she now has funding from the local police, AND she has invited all those who own singing bass fish (you know those stupid animated singing bass fish gadgets) to bring their bass over so she can pose them with her flamingos.
If it wasn't for this story, the little town's newspaper wouldn't have anything to report.

THE TRAFFIC TIE-UP
Someone dumped barrels of hay onto the I-35 interstate this morning, and then on another less busy road. It looked like shredded wheat scattered across the highway.
It was on most of the radio stations, with speculation that it was the same guy.
State troopers apparently were trying to find the source. I was sitting right there, watching the guy try to scoop up all the hay across I-35. He wasn't difficult to find, and I don't think he was trying to hide. He just needed more help scooping his hay.