Published September 04, 2008 10:06 am - While most of Oklahoma spent the weekend buried under piles of blankets, driving at a snail’s pace, or cussing the weatherman, a small group of citizens were a little more open minded.
The Okie Snow Warriors
By M. Scott Carter
The Moore American
OKLAHOMA CITY
—
While most of Oklahoma spent the weekend buried under piles of blankets, driving at a snail’s pace, or cussing the weatherman, a small group of citizens were a little more open minded.
They didn’t complain about the ice.
They don’t care about the cold.
And you won’t find them shoveling sand.
These aren’t your typical, ‘oh-why-can’t-it-be-summer’ type people.
Seriously, for these people, an absolutely perfect day involves being outside in sub-zero temperatures and hurling themselves through the frozen Oklahoma air in a vehicle which has no breaks and is almost impossible, at best, to steer.
Call them Okie Snow Warriors.
And they only come out in winter.
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There’s a park in northwest Oklahoma City that is four blocks square; it’s nestled in a quiet, attractive neighborhood surrounded by sturdy looking houses.
And it’s shaped like a three-sided bowl.
There, three steep hills flow down into a low, flat field.
During the summer this park would be a royal pain if you’re the head of the mowing committee. But come January, let Mother Nature glaze those hills with about an inch of ice, and this park’s strange topography draws more people than Friday night at a Baptist prayer meeting.
Such was the case this weekend.
By 2 p.m. Saturday, University of Oklahoma student Scott Struby and his buddies Andrew Shomber, Eric Casso and Chris Hartman were already half-frozen and muddy.