Hey OKC Pulse,

I tried to reply to your PM, but your storage box has reached its limit (50 PM's without a sponsorship). Anyways, here's the reply I tried to send you.

"Your post wasn't deleted on purpose. By all means, feel free to express your heart on this forum. Actually, your post was probably lost in the recent database crashes. Todd had backed up the site thru 10-30-2004, but everything between that and the crashes was lost. I apologize for the technical problems we had. Todd hired a computer nerd and got everything fixed though. Hooray! Hey, we'll miss you when you move to Texas, but continue to keep us up to date on happenings in the Houston area. I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas for our city. Hey, you'll always be an Okie at heart! Once an Okie, always an Okie!

Sorry again for the technical problem that led to the deletion of your post. If we could some how retrieve those lost posts we would, but unfortunately, they're gone. "

Thanks for the message, Patrick. I do recall the website being down one day, informing me the database had to be rebuilt. I thought that might have been the case, but I needed to be sure. As a soon-to-be professional computer technician, I understand what you mean by unretrievable.

I will undoubtedly send this forum information from the Houston area, and I already have plans to start a mail subscription of my favorite paper, the Oklahoma Gazette. Nothing in Houston compares. We too will miss Oklahoma City as well as Oklahoma. Unbelievably, we're leaving just when things are starting to get really good!!! But, we already have our vacation destination planned... OKC. And we hope to return as residents someday. And yes, once an Okie, always an Okie!

Continue the Renaissance!!!

Hey, moving to Houston will make the time you spend here on vacations even more valuable. I've always wondered what it would be like to take vacations to our fine city. You'll finally be in that position. It seems like many people that leave our city for vartious reasons end up missing it later. I guess that explains why there are so many people on here from out of state. Take floater for instance. He loves his home town of Cleveland, but now, after living in Cleveland for a few years, there are many things about Oklahoma City that he now realizes many people take for granted.

Anyways, I know you'll enjoy the Houston area. If you get a chance, head on up to the Woodlands and check out the new waterway for us. Norm Bekoff, former Water Taxi operator here in the city, is now running a water taxi operation on their water way. From what I hear, it's a lot like our Bricktown canal, only bigger. They've recently extended it and connected it to the Woodlands Mall.

Back to the computer problem we had. Yeah, unfortunately, due to the database crash, all of the newer posts that weren't backed up were lost. I probably lost like 20 or 30 posts myself. But, I guess that's just one of those problems we face with modern technology. there are benefits to modern technology, but there are also downsides.
Again, we dearly apologize for the loss of your post.
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lol! I just re-read that last statement....it sounds like I'm expressing sympathy for the loss of a loved one!!!

Thanks for the response, Patrick. Actually, now that you mention it, we will be living near The Woodlands in Conroe, just a few miles north on I-45. We visited the canal in The Woodlands, and enjoyed it. In actuality, the Woodlands Canal is shorter in length. There are advantages and disadvantages to both canals...

The Woodlands Canal advantages over Bricktown-

- Warm virtually all year
- Next to an upscale mall (The Woodlands Mall) with a retail "town square" that includes
Barnes & Noble, Ann Taylor Loft, Talbots, as well as Cheese Cake Factory, the area's first (get this) Panera Bread (funny to here Houston brag about something OKC has had for five years), PF Changs among other excellent choices
- Tropical greenery

Bricktown Canal advantages over The Woodlands-

- Located in an urban entertainment district with lots of festivals
- Greater length with a semi-connection to a river
- Next to sports venues
- Near many restaurants and night clubs
- More urban atmosphere
- Not located in a state with another city that already has a canal (San Antonio, of course)

I wondered what happened to Norm Bekoff. If I run across his path, I'll drop a couple of words.

My wife spent much of year teenage years living in The Woodlands, and remembers a time in the early 1990's when there was nothing but forested land in what is now a major retail and office district. Rapid growth has altered the area, and with good urban planning. Of course, The Woodlands was a master-planned community that is still unincorporated, but its existence dates back only to 1974. Sad to know my mom, in her late 40s, is older than a city.

That being said, I look forward to vacationing in my home city, especially now that casino gaming is legal in Oklahoma, my wife and I can drop by Remington Park and play the slots before a big race and a nice dinner in Bricktown. Until then, I plan to enjoy every day here before my move.

OKC Pulse: FYI. The Oklahoma City fire chief is forced to retire next spring and can not work as a fire chief in Oklahoma ever again due to union regulations.

He is interviewing for the same position in The Woodlands. You may have a rare oportunity. The chief of one the premier departments in the country, where you lived, follw you to your new city.

OKC Pulse....I see that passing SQ 712 is already helping our race tracks. Playing a few slots and watching the ponies race is definitely the combination Remington was looking for.

I actually did not realize that The Woodlands was not an incorporated town. That's interesting. A close aunt of mine lived there for awhile, so we visited quite frequently. She moved back here about 5 or 6 years ago, so I really haven't gotten to see the canal. I did see The Woodlands Mall though. It reminded me a lot of Penn Square or the Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa. They all have the same type of upscale stores. Anyways, The Woodlands is a nice community. I love the trees. Thanks for providing the info. on The Woodlands waterway. From the pics, I thought it was actually longer than our canal. I'm glad to hear ours is longer. But, being able to expand The Woodlands Mall out to connect with the canal was definitely a plus. Originally the mall was out by itself kind of like Quail Springs.