On a cold Saturday morning, eight Albright students, myself, and our adviser stood outside of Public Safety, wondering why we were there at 2:30 a.m. in what felt like single digit weather. The driver was going to be an hour late, and we were all exhausted as many of us had made the not-so-smart decision to pull an all-nighter. We talked about our class, our major, a bit about where we were from, and a little bit about the trip ahead of us. As we boarded the van and started our journey to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, none of us had any idea what was in store. We didn't know that the people we were with would become great friends in just a week, we didn't know that Oklahoma would become one of our new favorite states, and I certainly didn't know that the next week would become what I consider the best week of my life.
Have you ever bonded over ripped pants? We have.
One of the first and funniest occurrences of that Saturday morning was when Tyler ripped his pants just as we boarded the plane to Tulsa. Somehow, as he turned to sit in his seat, the handle of the chair caught the side of his shorts and well, it was hysterical. Everyone else on the plane didn't know why we were laughing, but oh did we know. Quite the way to show up to Oklahoma, no?
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You're not from around here, are you?
After we landed in Tulsa and got our rental van, we first (as was customary) did a quick drive past the house we were going to be staying at. After that, the thought on everyone's mind was food. We decided to stop by a small diner on the main road, called the 50s Diner. They had great food and service, but holy crap we stuck out like sore thumbs. Not only did everyone look like they were from Oklahoma, but some of the things they say are different. "What kind of pop do you want" took a second to process, and even the waitress asked where we were from because she said our mannerisms screamed we are not Oklahomians.
Don't like Oklahoma weather? Wait a minute.
There were a few times during the week that it looked like it was going to pour, or that'd we'd be caught in a tornado of some sorts. The weirdest day we experienced was when it was sunny, then a downpour, then windy, then raining, then a downpour while sunny. Oklahoma is that one state that doesn't know what it wants to do when it comes to weather.
Two-Paws, the tiger with the infamous limp.
When you're around Two-Paws, you'll realize where he got his name. His back left paw was injured almost ten years ago, yet he still uses it as a way to get attention (while sad, it's also hilarious at how hard he tries). With some bones and skin missing in his foot after a botched de-clawing by an untrained veterinarian (tigers are not the same as house cats), Two-Paws was left with a deformed back foot. While usable (he walks on all fours if you're not around), he still uses it as a way to get attention. Putting his weight on his front paws, he moans and groans and huffs and puffs as he shows you how bad he's limping. The only sympathy he gets is the daily 'come on Two-Paws, you can walk,' that's followed by more groaning.
We rode a lot of machinery because it's the fun way to do work.
First, we rode in the bed of one of the sanctuary's trucks when we did a trash run. Then one day while we were clearing brush from behind Two-Paws' cage (and yes, he limped the entire time we were there) we learned they had a front-load backhoe. Thankfully for us, the owner's husband let us ride it after we asked. We would leave to bring the logs to the burn pile on the side of the backhoe, but on the way back we got to ride in the bucket itself. On the way back we were even lifted high into the air and then dropped down. The Oklahoma-version of carnival rides are more fun than the real thing.
Larry the asthmatic boa constrictor.
Alright, he doesn't actually have asthma (he's so big that when he has to move it takes a lot of effort, so he pretty much wheezes) but he was still an awesome boa constrictor at that. Kellie claimed Larry as her child just as I had claimed Goliath the iguana as mine. Larry's a big snake, and heavy too, but he's actually really easy to hold. He slides around you until he finds a comfortable spot, which is usually your head. While we were at one of our Zoo 2 You trips (bringing animals to local schools to teach the children about the wildlife), Larry simply rest his head on Kellie's hat and watched. At some points he would wheeze in her ear, and it became a joke that if you make wheezing noises you're living like Larry.
Barbie, the bird in the auto-body shop.
On the way back from one of our Zoo 2 You trips, it was found that we needed to get a new tire for the truck. The other animals we had brought were in containers (and Goliath was asleep on his pillow) so we decided to bring Barbie in rather than have her sitting in the truck. Luckily, Barbie is a very well-behaved bird and only did what we call 'fire alarming' once (she can imitate the sound of a fire alarm except it's about 20 times as loud).
The 29 baby boas that we named after pasta.
If you saw a pile of baby snakes, wouldn't you think of a plate of spaghetti? Well, that's the reasoning behind the name choices. We met the babies the first day, and by the third day at the Sanctuary we had names for all of them, although Rigatoni, El Bowa, Lasagné, Chef, and Sous Chef quickly became the ones we claimed. Sadly though, snakes on a plane was not the best idea (if only that movie hadn't been made) and all of the babies remain at their home.
Have you ever heard of a whispering duck?
We hadn't either, until we got to the sanctuary. It's this robotic-looking duck that walks really slowly and to walk it moves its head forward and then brings its body to where its head was. Immensely creepy, but also hilarious because it seriously whispers. If you get close to it, you hear a weird whispering-clucking sound. The last day before we left we managed to pick it up and its version of yelling is to whisper louder.
"Missy, no!" The most talked-about incident on this trip.
Missy is a small baboon that lives in the Winter House in the kitchen during the cold months. She likes jewelry, getting her nails done, and being one of the girls. The only issue with Missy is that she doesn't take no for an answer, and she has the temperament of a three-year-old. One day, while we tried to change her food, she had an absolute freak-out/meltdown/tantrum. As she yelled and ran towards us, we yelled and ran out the door. Luckily, she's also the size of a three-year-old so she was easy to outrun (well, out-walk). As we stood on the porch, we watched as she raided the fridge and promptly stuffed her face with the jello she found. What happened was entirely our fault, but it lead to a really hilarious dinner talk that night. Until next year Missy.
To our adviser, Mike - thank you for making this trip amazing.
This trip wouldn't have been the same without you, seriously! Thank you for the jokes, the stories, and making us all become comfortable so quickly. Thank you for the dinners, the random accents, and for dealing with our jokes and antics (some of which I'm pretty sure you started). Thank you!
