It’s challenging to navigate the Campus here at OU without encountering a structure, park bench, garden, or field named in honor of an important figure in the university’s storied past. Yet, it’s important to remember such heroes; more importantly, it is dire to keep churning out high levels of academia and sports. Therefore we all accept the challenge of navigation! Onward ho!
I was walking to my car in the commuter parking area just beyond where the new statues commemorating three former Sooners have just found their new place. Fortunately, I just so happened to be walking about when they placed in the last of the three brothers. By the way, these three statues look remarkably close to the people they portray.
I wondered what it would be like to have a statue or likeness cast of me. What would I do to earn such an honor? Of course, I’m not worthy of such an honor. But, I would be interested in knowing what I would have to contribute to humanity to warrant creating and recreating a likeness of me. I guess this is why not everyone gets their shot at the honor. Is it make people happy? Play football well? Or score a specific score on a Mensa exam? I feel a group of people’s love adoration almost demands this to happen. It is cool to be a part of a University that recognizes the greatest. Every statue on Campus was earned with hard work and created because of the honorees’ contributions.
I’m ok with others’ immortalization in bronze; I’ll leave the rock carrying to those that choose and the hours of relentless study to the Rhodes Scholars to go on to solve the world’s most challenging of feats. But I am ok with seeing if they got the likeness close and details, if apparent.