Bill and Sheila Puttin on the Ritz .....

Everybody has a special friend or two I guess.  And, I guess families are the same way.  Dr. Francis Manning of the University of Tulsa has always been a family friend to us.  For the many years that Sheila and I were associated with TU in one way or another, we often felt the gentle presence of Frank in the background when a little help was needed.  A true friendship developed.

Last night was a special night for Frank.  A major force in the oil patch endowed a multi-million dollar chair at TU and insisted that Frank be named the first holder of that chair.  It was a tremendous honor for Frank and a well deserved recognition of the decades of hard work he has devoted to turning out some of the best chemical engineers in the oil industry.  Sheila and I were greatly honored and a little shocked when we were invited (engraved invitation no less) to share this moment with Frank and his family.

The soiree was held at the Skelly Mansion.  The Skelly Mansion was built by Bill Skelly the founding president of Skelly Oil.  Over the decades, world leaders such as Winston Churchill, multiple presidents and more political figures and captains of industry than you can count have stayed there.  The Skelly Mansion is now the official residence of the President of the University of Tulsa.

Uniformed parking attendants were waiting for us as we drove up to the main entrance.  TU President Stedham Upton and his wife Peggy were stationed at the front door, greeting each guest as they arrived. The room was filled with the usual TU academic affair mixture of Tulsa society, oil patch money and academics. Sheila and I know most of the faculty and their spouses and a few folks from the oil patch from Sheila's years working as the outreach coordinator for IPEC.  We had a good time catching up with old friends.  I even ran across an acquaintance or two from law school.  As we visited, uniformed wait staff oh so politely and professionally circulated taking bar orders and passing hors d'oeuvres.  As cocktail parties go, it was a darned good one.

After about an hour, speeches were made.  Not the interminable, long winded, self serving windstorms that often occur at these things but rather a simple, straightforward and heart felt expression of the sentiment of the evening.  It warmed my heart to see Frank finally get the recognition he deserves after all of these years of academic toil and struggle.  Frank is one of the good guys and he deserved his moment in the spotlight.  When the speeches were over we waited a few moments, gave Frank a big hug and worked our way out the door.  Within moments, our car was whisked to the end of the long entryway and we drove off into the Tulsa evening.

Politely nibbled canape's and daintily sipped cocktails, no matter how good they are, do not a dinner make.  Sheila and I were hungry and dressed to the nines.  (Well at least to the fives.  I don't know that we are capable of nines anymore.)  But, we couldn't really go out on the town since Sheila had to be up and out of the house early Saturday morning to administer the Professional Engineering certification exam at TU.  We decided to stop at Te Kai's and have something light.  Sheila's boss owns Te Kai's and we know the executive chef. It was too late for a full dinner so we ordered three substantial appetizers, Korean tacos, Satay chicken skewers and potstickers.  It was the perfect end to an evening we will remember for the rest of our lives.