You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma

I always loved the 1981 David Frizzell and Shelly West hit You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma. One of the reasons I like the Stuart radio station (KKRF 107.9 FM) is because they play the older tunes which is where I heard this song this morning. It brought back some good memories.

 Not the least of which was our first trip to Oklahoma during spring break in the early '90s. Can you see Bud in this photo? He is nearly camouflaged - fits right into the scenery. Years before this trip, I had read about the Heavener Runestone in a novel. It became one of those places I wanted to see for myself.

The Runestone is enclosed now and protected from defacement. The theory is that the carvings were made by Viking explorers hundreds of years before America was discovered by Columbus. Heavener Runestone Park and Historic Site is located atop Poteau Mountain at the edge of the beautiful Quachita Mountains that stretch across the Oklahoma-Arkansas border.

The park is not very large. At one time it was a state park but is now maintained by the nearby municipality of Heavener. The town was named for settlers Jacob and Elizabeth Heavener after Jacob and their son William were hung by Jayhawkers for being Union sympathizers. Information about the park can be found at  www.exploresouthernhistory.com/heavener1.html

The runic alphabets used letters known as runes to write several Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet. Whether or not these marks are Norse runes has long been debated. Mystery lover and romantic that I am, I choose to believe they are real. And I'm especially fond of the rune which looks the most like an R as it means journey. If you're thinking about making a journey, Eastern Oklahoma is a beautiful area to visit.

There's a full moon over Tulsa,
I hope that it's shining on you.
The nights are getting cold,
In Cherokee County.
There's a Blue Norther passing through.
I remember green eyes and a ranchers daughter.
But remember is all that I do.
Losing you left a pretty good cowboy,
With nothing to hold on to.
Sundown came and I drove to town,
And drank a drink or two.
You're the reason God made Oklahoma,
You're the reason God made Oklahoma.
And I'm sure missing you,
I'm sure missing you.