One of my favorite Oklahoma “what in the world were they thinking when that decision was made” experiences are yield signs at interstate on-ramps.
First off, say goodbye to the word “freeway.” Doesn’t exist in Oklahoma. Start saying “interstate.” I just looked up a definition on Reddit. This one sounded good: “interstate is a freeway with tolls, and typically goes between states (hence the “inter”).” That sounds right.
If you’ve grown up in Southern California, you have lived with the word “merge” when entering a “freeway.” The term is comforting, simple, and safe. Almost cozy. A way to enter freeway traffic without getting killed. Simple.
I have missed “merge” since moving to Oklahoma. The idea that I had some entry rights when I got onto the “freeway” was pretty great. This word is useful if you don’t have a lane to gain speed as you enter the interstate.
Oklahoma City has yield signs posted as you enter the “interstate.” Typing this last sentence makes my heart race. Somebody thought that beginning at 0 MPH and accelerating to 65 without an entry lane was a good idea. My wife said it best, “it’s the Oklahoma spirit… ya’ll better figure it out.” I like merge better.
If you’ve watched the Jetsons cartoon, you can get a pretty good grasp of this experience. George worked at Spacley Sprockets. At the end of his work day, George would enter his space mobile and wait on the platform to enter the “freeway.” George would wait for an opening. His space mobile is at 0 MPH. George sees an opening and moves into a tight spot at roughly 320 MPH. We know executing this task is impossible; you can only do it in a cartoon. Yep, welcome to Oklahoma City!
LA2OKC 