Where and what is Oklahoma? Is it semi-arid or subtropical; forested or treeless? Do classic novelists and Hollywood movies get it right?

Map of the State of Oklahoma, USA. Nations Online Project.

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Is Oklahoma your home state, too?

I grew up in Oklahoma.  For me, it’s my home even when I’m not able to live there and always wins first place on my map. 
 
Perhaps you rank your home state as Number 1 on your map.  Where do you rank Oklahoma, and why?
 
Out in the wide-open spaces?

​After I left Oklahoma to join the Army and see the world, I met many Americans with few, if any, accurate conceptions about my favorite state.  Some people pegged it as Southern, others guessed Midwestern. The closest most non-Okies could get is “it's somewhere out in the wide-open spaces.” 
 
The Dustbowl, tornados, and flat terrain might feature in their mental image along with oil and Indians.  About all they really knew was the wonderful song “Oklahoma!” from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical of the same name.  
 
I like Oklahoma’s wide-open spaces so much that I set my novel, Cloud County Persuasion, in that great state.  My research on the 1940s and 50s reminded me of a few of the reasons why the location and geography of the “Sooner” state is sometimes misconstrued or just dead wrong.

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