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."