Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state and has over one million surface acres of water.
Back when I was a kid growing up, I think we visited a fair amount of lakes in Oklahoma when we went on vacation. My dad used to say Oklahoma spent more money on their lakes and state parks than they did their roads. I don't know about that, but the lakes certainly were better - and far outnumbered - the lakes in the Texas Panhandle.
Dad used to tell a story of going fishing in Oklahoma with some of his buddies; this was in the days of being able to drink and drive (as long as you weren't drunk and even then it wasn't as big of a deal as it is now). They were all sunburned and tired, fish in a cooler and what was left of the beer in another. One guy rolled down his window to throw out an empty beer can and the driver yelled "Don't do that! There's a highway patrol right behind us!"
The guys figured they'd get pulled over, but the cop just stayed behind them and they thought he hadn't seen the beer can being tossed. It was only ten/fifteen miles to the Texas line and the police cruiser stayed behind them but not pulling them over. The men thought they were really lucky, but about a mile from the state line the cop turned on his lights and pulled up right on their bumper and motioned for them to pull over, so they did.
As the officer got out of his car and walked up to theirs, they wondered why they were being stopped. They certainly hadn't been speeding and no one was drunk (and having a cop follow you for miles probably did a good job of sobering them up). The state trooper asked for the driver's license, glanced at it and started up some small talk.
"Been fishing?" asked the officer. "Yessir." said the driver. "Had any luck?" came the next question. The driver allowed that they had done all right. The cop looked at everyone in the car and back to the license, then handed it back. The men were relieved until the trooper said:
"Say, I saw that you threw out a beer can several miles back." The driver knew it would do no good to lie, so he admitted they had. "Didn't you want it?" asked the cop. The driver said no, they didn't.
"Well, the state of Oklahoma doesn't want it, either. What say we go back and you pick it up and take it back to Texas with you?"
So, they turned around and drove back the other way and when they got to the place where they had littered, the cop flashed his lights and they stopped and picked up a beer can. It wasn't even the brand they were drinking, but it satisfied the cop and he waved them on their way.
Dad used to tell a story of going fishing in Oklahoma with some of his buddies; this was in the days of being able to drink and drive (as long as you weren't drunk and even then it wasn't as big of a deal as it is now). They were all sunburned and tired, fish in a cooler and what was left of the beer in another. One guy rolled down his window to throw out an empty beer can and the driver yelled "Don't do that! There's a highway patrol right behind us!"
The guys figured they'd get pulled over, but the cop just stayed behind them and they thought he hadn't seen the beer can being tossed. It was only ten/fifteen miles to the Texas line and the police cruiser stayed behind them but not pulling them over. The men thought they were really lucky, but about a mile from the state line the cop turned on his lights and pulled up right on their bumper and motioned for them to pull over, so they did.
As the officer got out of his car and walked up to theirs, they wondered why they were being stopped. They certainly hadn't been speeding and no one was drunk (and having a cop follow you for miles probably did a good job of sobering them up). The state trooper asked for the driver's license, glanced at it and started up some small talk.
"Been fishing?" asked the officer. "Yessir." said the driver. "Had any luck?" came the next question. The driver allowed that they had done all right. The cop looked at everyone in the car and back to the license, then handed it back. The men were relieved until the trooper said:
"Say, I saw that you threw out a beer can several miles back." The driver knew it would do no good to lie, so he admitted they had. "Didn't you want it?" asked the cop. The driver said no, they didn't.
"Well, the state of Oklahoma doesn't want it, either. What say we go back and you pick it up and take it back to Texas with you?"
So, they turned around and drove back the other way and when they got to the place where they had littered, the cop flashed his lights and they stopped and picked up a beer can. It wasn't even the brand they were drinking, but it satisfied the cop and he waved them on their way.
