SWITCHING GEARS
A new year is upon us. All the trappings and trimmings of the holidays have been packed away (maybe), and thoughts have turned to all the things we will and will not do (maybe) in the coming year. In our house, there was no Christmas tree to take down and haul away. We didn’t make the trek to the tree farm to labor over the decision of which conifer was the perfect size, shape and color. We never put one up at all, in fact. Our living room is in a state of semi-chaos, a rather lengthy one resulting from an enduring remodel-in-the-works. So, we made the most of the situation. My daughter Chloe recently turned 13, and part of the celebration of such a momentous occasion was a slumber party, where she and her friends Maya, Clare and Holly painted a Christmas tree on one wall of the living room, complete with decorations and presents underneath. Why not? After all, the wall will eventually be repainted when the remodeling project is complete. Maybe. There’s nothing wrong with shaking up the routine. In this issue, you’ll meet four locals who shook up their own routines, taking big detours from their chosen paths and embarking on new adventures. The payoff, it seems, often far outweighs a little fear and trepidation. We also take a look at some of the projects that have altered our city’s cultural landscape – many that made it better, a few that can’t quite get off the ground and others that hold promise for the future. All things change, and we change with them. And so we arrive at the dawn of a new year, taking stock of what is behind us and what lies ahead. We seek to correct mistakes, but will likely repeat a few, and to undertake new endeavors – large and small – that will make life better for ourselves and those around us. As you embark on your journey, we at Slice wish you peace, love and laughter in the coming year. May your approach be unique and your confidence unwavering. You never know what’s just around the bend.
A new year is upon us. All the trappings and trimmings of the holidays have
been packed away (maybe), and thoughts have turned to all the things we
will and will not do (maybe) in the coming year.
In our house, there was no Christmas tree to take down and haul away.
We didn’t make the trek to the tree farm to labor over the decision of which
conifer was the perfect size, shape and color. We never put one up at all, in
fact. Our living room is in a state of semi-chaos, a rather lengthy one resulting
from an enduring remodel-in-the-works. So, we made the most of the situation.
My daughter Chloe recently turned 13, and part of the celebration of such
a momentous occasion was a slumber party, where she and her friends Maya,
Clare and Holly painted a Christmas tree on one wall of the living room, complete
with decorations and presents underneath. Why not? After all, the wall
will eventually be repainted when the remodeling project is complete. Maybe.
There’s nothing wrong with shaking up the routine.
In this issue, you’ll meet four locals who shook up their own routines, taking
big detours from their chosen paths and embarking on new adventures.
The payoff, it seems, often far outweighs a little fear and trepidation. We also
take a look at some of the projects that have altered our city’s cultural landscape
– many that made it better, a few that can’t quite get off the ground and others
that hold promise for the future.
All things change, and we change with them. And so we arrive at the dawn
of a new year, taking stock of what is behind us and what lies ahead. We seek to
correct mistakes, but will likely repeat a few, and to undertake new endeavors
– large and small – that will make life better for ourselves and those around us.
As you embark on your journey, we at Slice wish you peace, love and laughter
in the coming year. May your approach be unique and your confidence
unwavering. You never know what’s just around the bend.
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pipes were welded to a 2-inch plate, which was<br />
bolted to the concrete bed set deep into the Oklahoma<br />
clay.<br />
The lettering on the side, once a bright<br />
red, declares: GOT PROBLEMS OKLAHOMA<br />
TRUCK SUPPLY. The top of the trailer reads WE<br />
FIX TRUCKS. Total cost for the materials and<br />
installation: $8,000.<br />
“We didn’t know if it’d last the first storm,”<br />
said his son, Brett Wilkins.<br />
Twenty-eight years later, it’s still standing.<br />
The five-story-tall rig – which has now spent<br />
far more time in the ground than it did on the<br />
road – stands solid in the open field north of the<br />
shop. For 10,000 dawns, the truck has served<br />
as a giant sundial, its shadow extending long<br />
across the lanes of traffic to the west, contracting<br />
as the sun climbs, and then reaching to the<br />
eastern horizon as the sun sets. Its fading lettering<br />
takes care of business, posing its existential<br />
question to travelers speeding across the prairie.<br />
A tornado has come within a mile of the site,<br />
which has been battered by straight-line winds<br />
that crumpled road signs on the interstate.<br />
“Two or three years ago, there were winds<br />
over 100 miles per hour. They blew in the doors<br />
of the shop, peeled back the eaves from the roof,<br />
sandblasted vehicles in the parking,” Brett said.<br />
In the end, the truck was still standing, undamaged,<br />
trailer end jutted 50 feet into the sky. And<br />
there it remains.<br />
TEXTBOOKS CITE TONKAWA INSTALLATION<br />
In the modern storm of self-promoting retweets and hashtags and inflatable<br />
apes, the GOT PROBLEMS truck enjoys its own kind of viral popularity with<br />
postcards, photo ops and salutes from the experts. The Wilkinses and their<br />
installation are featured on page 345 of the 700-page college textbook Effective<br />
Small Business Management, and on page 440 of the even-longer classroom<br />
textbook Basic Marketing: A Marketing Strategy Planning Approach. The<br />
New York-based Inc. magazine featured the idea as one of its top buzz-worthy<br />
examples of small-business savvy.<br />
The business has grown into a truckers’ toy store, hosting an annual Busted<br />
Knuckle Truck Show in September and offering chrome accessories, diesel<br />
maintenance and repair, a tow truck and expert advice. “It’s the best marketing<br />
we could’ve done,” Brett Wilkins said. “Even when we’re out of state, when<br />
people ask where our shop is, we say we’re in Oklahoma on 35, the place with<br />
the truck, and they say, ‘I know where you’re at!’”<br />
Editor’s Note: This installment is part of author M.J.<br />
Alexander’s “77 Counties” series, chronicling her travels across<br />
Oklahoma. The full series is available at sliceok.com/travel/<br />
JANUARY 2015 // SLICE 25
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