#7: Praying Hands, Oral Roberts University
I asked the Tulsa sub-reddit to choose my next tourist attraction. My only criteria was a location within 5 miles of downtown Tulsa. The praying hands are a 60 foot statue outside Oral Roberts University, said to be the world's largest praying hands*. However, they are not within 5 miles of downtown Tulsa. Wisdom of the crowds, man.
*Tulsan pride is often expressed in qualified superlatives. For example, the Gathering Place is the seemingly paradoxical "largest public park funded by private donations". My favourite is the daddy-superlative, Tulsa as the "oil capital of the world". Stay tuned for more.
Date of creation: 1965
Oral Roberts University was established in 1965 by Oral Roberts to ''to build a university on God’s authority and the Holy Spirit''. The campus is centered around a prayer tower. There were concerns that this would endanger being accredited as a university. Fortunately the state of Oklahoma had no complaints. The televangelist Billy Graham gave a keynote speech at the registration ceremony in 1967.
Three former professors filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination against ORU in 2007. They also alleged that Oral Robert's son, the university president, had ordered the university to participate in a Republican candidate's campaign to become Tulsa mayor. Add to that a healthy sprinkling of embezzlement and nepotism, including my favourite that he remodeled "his house at university expense 11 times in the past 14 years", and you have the archetypal abuse of tax-exempt status.
The university president eventually retired leaving a healthy debt problem. This part of Tulsan history normally involves a bond approved by voters. Alas no. A local family donated $82 million and the university replaced the board of regents with a 23 member board of trustees. ORU is presently chugging along debt free.
I was fortunate to share my visit with a father-son pair packing a curiosity not seen since the glory days of the Enlightenment. As they tried to read a weathered plaque, the middle aged son in a tight nylon shirt says "I can't believe it has weathered so fast". His father, sporting a salmon pink scowl, lashes out with a point of information "the plaque has been here since 1963".
"But cemetery stones have been around for even longer and they're still legible. I think its because the plaque is horizontal" says his boy. The dad offers a counter hypothesis "more likely because the inscription is so shallow".
I can't promise that your visit to the praying hands will be shared with such inquisitive men of science. But if you do, you'll be experiencing 8.6/10 collective consciousness.
One of those "worth a stop if you're driving past" ones. I massively enjoyed the father-son exchange. But that might be because I live alone in a new city and crave human interaction.
I'm happy with this. I went for a golden base and then blobb'd on brown for shadow. Then brushed it all with a sloppy stroke to finish.
*Tulsan pride is often expressed in qualified superlatives. For example, the Gathering Place is the seemingly paradoxical "largest public park funded by private donations". My favourite is the daddy-superlative, Tulsa as the "oil capital of the world". Stay tuned for more.
Date of creation: 1965
Oral Roberts University was established in 1965 by Oral Roberts to ''to build a university on God’s authority and the Holy Spirit''. The campus is centered around a prayer tower. There were concerns that this would endanger being accredited as a university. Fortunately the state of Oklahoma had no complaints. The televangelist Billy Graham gave a keynote speech at the registration ceremony in 1967.Three former professors filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination against ORU in 2007. They also alleged that Oral Robert's son, the university president, had ordered the university to participate in a Republican candidate's campaign to become Tulsa mayor. Add to that a healthy sprinkling of embezzlement and nepotism, including my favourite that he remodeled "his house at university expense 11 times in the past 14 years", and you have the archetypal abuse of tax-exempt status.
The university president eventually retired leaving a healthy debt problem. This part of Tulsan history normally involves a bond approved by voters. Alas no. A local family donated $82 million and the university replaced the board of regents with a 23 member board of trustees. ORU is presently chugging along debt free.
Historical significance: 34
I love human capital but I fail to see how founding a faith based university in 1965 has significantly impacted the world. Most of ORU's alumni preach or play baseball (lol). Feel free to explain why I'm wrong in the comments.European-ness: 1.1
I cycled 9 miles (cheers reddit) across some sketchy intersections, puffin on SUV fumes, to arrive at a privately funded faith university. We really out here.Cowboy hats: 0
Nothing giving.Collective consciousness: 86
Roadside attractions are doomed to becoming lingering jaunts. Group visits last until the lowest common denominator decides they've had enough. "I'll wait in the car" means "be there in 3 minutes or face the wrath of a passive aggressive spouse".I was fortunate to share my visit with a father-son pair packing a curiosity not seen since the glory days of the Enlightenment. As they tried to read a weathered plaque, the middle aged son in a tight nylon shirt says "I can't believe it has weathered so fast". His father, sporting a salmon pink scowl, lashes out with a point of information "the plaque has been here since 1963".
 |
| (Legibility) = (Depth of inscription)^(Vertical angle) |
"But cemetery stones have been around for even longer and they're still legible. I think its because the plaque is horizontal" says his boy. The dad offers a counter hypothesis "more likely because the inscription is so shallow".
I can't promise that your visit to the praying hands will be shared with such inquisitive men of science. But if you do, you'll be experiencing 8.6/10 collective consciousness.
Wokeness: -19
The statue reads "educating the whole man" like 2017 didn't even happen... still they might be holding out for society to settle on a trans-friendly substitute for "man and woman".Overall
One of those "worth a stop if you're driving past" ones. I massively enjoyed the father-son exchange. But that might be because I live alone in a new city and crave human interaction.
Notes from an artist
The comment suggesting this location justified itself with "hands are a devil for the amateur artist!". Overcast gloom as far as the eye can see is a godsend for the amateur artist.I'm happy with this. I went for a golden base and then blobb'd on brown for shadow. Then brushed it all with a sloppy stroke to finish.
Like the shading, self taught?
ReplyDeleteI'm posting every water colour so in theory you should be able to see the self teaching in progress
Delete