Over the past couple of weeks, there's been a lot of social media chatter about when the pandemic became "real." On behalf of everyone from Oklahoma City, and millions and millions of other people around the world, I'd like to state for the record that the date is March 11th, 2020.
On that afternoon at around 2pm, just after I bought a new sports jacket to wear to the big Oklahoma Contemporary grand opening the following day (an event that would never happen), I got a text from a friend – we'll call him Ogle Mole Agent X42 – asking if I wanted to crash the Oklahoma Restaurant Association's "Legislative Reception" at the Bricktown Events Center. It's a fancy yet casual affair where lawmakers, lobbyists, capitol insiders and restauranteurs all gather to mingle and sample free food and drink provided by about 50 or so Oklahoma restaurants, along with some wineries and breweries.
The obvious and easy answer was "Hell Yes."
Three hours later, I Lyfted down to JJ's Alley – the most under-appreciated bar in OKC – for a few pre-reception beers. By that time, the Coronavirus had already overtaken the Democratic primaries as the dominant news story in the country. Everyone was watching the virus unfold in China, Italy and other places abroad with a strange, uncomfortable uncertainty, leading to millions of questions racing through our minds like –"When's it going to hit Oklahoma? Are we gonna have to shut everything down for a few weeks?? Will we really run out of toilet paper??!"
While some guy strummed on an acoustic guitar by the front window at JJ's, Ogle Mole Agent X42 and I talked about those topics and more. After knocking back a couple of bottles of beer, we then when walked to the ORA event.
This was the third year I had essentially snuck into the hobnob. Usually, it was packed with all sorts of politicos, ranging from the most powerful lobbyists to the lowest-on-the-ladder legislative aides, all stuffing their faces with tasty finger foods, hors d'oeuvres and little plastic cups of terrible Oklahoma wine, but this time around the crowd was sparse. In years past, breweries would try to ration beers – even the ones named after us – to two-ounce pours. Now they were begging you to take an entire can! At the OSO table, Chef RP literally couldn't give away tacos, something I've never seen happen before, and will likely never see happen again.