My daughter Kate turned 14 today and she, Marilyn and I celebrated at Junior’s.  Junior’s is a nightclub and restaurant in the basement of Oklahoma City’s Oil Center.  Two books written after the Penn Square Bank debacle of the 80s, Belly Up and Funny Money both immortalized Junior’s.

Junior Simon opened the restaurant in the 70s as an exclusive club for the City’s wealthy and newly-rich oil millionaires.  His menu consisted of steak, chicken or lobster.  His food was always expensive but he always divided the bill between food and drinks.  You guessed it.  Drinks always cost more than dinner.

Junior Simon was one of the best persons that I’ve ever met.  After the oil bust, I was left dead broke and still owing Junior more than $3000.

“Junior,” I told him.  “I’m broke and I don’t have a pot to pee in, but if you’ll bear with me, I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

“Eric, I know you will,” he said, giving my shoulder a fatherly pat.

Yes, I finally paid Junior back, a hundred bucks at a time.  Still, I knew that if I had never given him a penny, he would have forgiven me just as I’m sure that he did many of his customers not as fortunate as I.

I have enough stories about Junior’s and my adventures there over the years to fill a fairly thick book.  I knew, or know, all the players in Funny Money and Belly Up personally.  Hell! I was a player in the last oil boom and a victim in the last oil bust.  Yes, there are stories, untold stories, that are almost unbelievable, even to myself, even to myself and I lived them.

Well, tonight Kate, Marilyn and I revisited the scene of the crime and here are a few pics from the visit.

http://www.gondwanapress.com  http://www.ericwilder.com