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The Water Cooler
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RIP Fat Larry, Fat Larry will not be down for corn flakes, etc
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<blockquote data-quote="nofearfactor" data-source="post: 2852323" data-attributes="member: 1535"><p><a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/down-home-with-joey-secora/article_cd92f360-1f4d-53d2-9b8a-070dec8c9ee5.html" target="_blank">http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/down-home-with-joey-secora/article_cd92f360-1f4d-53d2-9b8a-070dec8c9ee5.html</a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Joey Secora had it all.</p><p></p><p>She was a corporate success story. She was wife, mother,</p><p></p><p>Sunday school teacher.</p><p></p><p>She led the good life, the family life, the structured life.</p><p></p><p>She chased the American dream. And, she caught it. She embraced</p><p></p><p>it, held it to her bosom as if it were her own.</p><p></p><p>Then she threw it aside.</p><p></p><p>She chucked 25 years of corporate ladder-climbing, 25 years</p><p></p><p>of benefits, perks, stability, marriage and home.</p><p></p><p>Without once batting an eye, she threw it all away. Like</p><p></p><p>yesterday's newspaper.</p><p></p><p>To become a bartender.</p><p></p><p>Joey Secora, once president of the National Secretary's</p><p></p><p>Association and head of a department with International</p><p></p><p>Business Machines, became a bar owner.</p><p></p><p>But not just any bar.</p><p></p><p>She owns Joey's, the IBM of Tulsa bars.</p><p></p><p>It is the bar standard, the bar by which all others are</p><p></p><p>measured. Joey's, 2222 E. 61st St., has been voted Tulsa's</p><p></p><p>best live-music bar, and Tulsa's most popular bar. Standing-room</p><p></p><p>crowds five and six nights a week are the rule rather than</p><p></p><p>the exception. Joey's is more than a bar, it is an event.</p><p></p><p>It is the home of the blues. It is small, crowded, smoky.</p><p></p><p>It is a dive, yet it is a mecca, a shrine. It has a following</p><p></p><p>all its own. Its reputation as a sancturary of song stretches</p><p></p><p>from Los Angeles to New Orleans to New York.</p><p></p><p>And, the reason is Joey Secora.</p><p></p><p>When the joint is jumping, so is Joey.</p><p></p><p>She greets the customers at the door. She pours drinks behind</p><p></p><p>the bar. She walks the crowded floor. She lingers at the</p><p></p><p>tables. Always with a smile. Always with style.</p><p></p><p>She is part Pearl Mesta, part Auntie Mame, part Carol Channing</p><p></p><p>and Dolly Levy. She is, at once, gregarious, outrageous, charming.</p><p></p><p>She is flash, brass and splash. She is paint and powder,</p><p></p><p>yet soft and gentle. She is more lady than woman. She is</p><p></p><p>show business. She is down-home and modest. She is a female Toots Shor.</p><p></p><p>She does not sing, does not play a musical instrument, does</p><p></p><p>not care to take the stage.</p><p></p><p>Yet she is as much a part of the entertainment scene as</p><p></p><p>the musicians who come from both coasts to perform in her</p><p></p><p>club. She brings in the national greats and the local legends.</p><p></p><p>She is a visual treat herself, a sight to behold. There</p><p></p><p>is the red hair that flames, the baubles that clang. Her</p><p></p><p>earrings are more windchimes than jewelry. Her costumes</p><p></p><p>range from leopard-skin jumpsuits to leathers and silks</p><p></p><p>in hallucinogenic color combinations. And, then there are</p><p></p><p>the finishing touches, the fingernails, so bright and so</p><p></p><p>long that when she waves her hands in conversation it is</p><p></p><p>like watching a laser light show.</p><p></p><p>All of this from a woman who never entered a barroom, never</p><p></p><p>tasted a beer until she was pushing 40. She was pushing</p><p></p><p>40 and pushing herself, setting corporate goals, building</p><p></p><p>for the future.</p><p></p><p>She set up departments and ran departments. She was consulted,</p><p></p><p>promoted, praised. She traveled, earned big money.</p><p></p><p>"I gave 150 percent," she says.</p><p></p><p>"My career always came first."</p><p></p><p>Then her career took a turn.</p><p></p><p>She looked around one day in 1982 and didn't like what she saw.</p><p></p><p>"All my life I had planned for the future. I got to thinking,</p><p></p><p>maybe you ought to be taking it one day at a time instead</p><p></p><p>of setting all these goals.</p><p></p><p>"I was tired of doing all that. I just wanted to live one</p><p></p><p>day at a time. I found out that nothing is permanent. Everything</p><p></p><p>is temporary. Life is all beginnings and endings.</p><p></p><p>"So this attitude came over me: start this new beginning</p><p></p><p>and end it, start another beginning and end it.</p><p></p><p>"The corporate thing always kept me in a turmoil about</p><p></p><p>the future. I was certainly planning my future, but then</p><p></p><p>you see your future crumble with a divorce, with a child</p><p></p><p>who grows up and leaves home and gets married.</p><p></p><p>"I just finally said, don't plan for the future, plan for</p><p></p><p>the future by keeping your body as healthy as you can, because</p><p></p><p>as long as you are healthy, you can handle the future, whatever</p><p></p><p>that brings."</p><p></p><p>What the future brought was change. She quit her job with</p><p></p><p>IBM, only the second job she had held in 25 years.</p><p></p><p>Divorced, she took a bartending job. Not because she had</p><p></p><p>to. Because she wanted to. By late 1983, she had purchased</p><p></p><p>a bar in Jenks. Within two years, she had added two bars</p><p></p><p>in Tulsa. She was becoming a virtual corporation herself.</p><p></p><p>She sold two of the bars, moved into her present location</p><p></p><p>three years ago and has been sitting atop her new profession ever since.</p><p></p><p>It is a profession she loves. Despite the long hours, despite</p><p></p><p>the risks and uncertainties that accompany the bar business, Joey thrives.</p><p></p><p>She runs her business like a business. What works stays,</p><p></p><p>what doesn't work goes. It is a bar business built on a</p><p></p><p>corporate foundation. Joey is president, CEO, department</p><p></p><p>head, clerk, janitor.</p><p></p><p>She works seven-day weeks. She is a competitive person,</p><p></p><p>an over-achiever. "I've never known what it's like not</p><p></p><p>to work," she says. "I have got to be the very best I can be."</p><p></p><p>And, with Joey's, she has become the best.</p><p></p><p>"I wish I had gone into the business years ago. But I'm</p><p></p><p>not sorry about the good years I spent in the corporate</p><p></p><p>structure. It helped round me out as a person."</p><p></p><p>This well-rounded person reads James Michener and F. Scott</p><p></p><p>Fitzgerald, fishes, exercises, and teaches her 2-year-old</p><p></p><p>blue-fronted Amazon parrot to speak.</p><p></p><p>"After hearing some of the conversations I listen to for</p><p></p><p>hours, his conversations are wonderful," she says.</p><p></p><p>"Precious," her parrot, utters such phrases as "the baby's</p><p></p><p>hungry," "baby wants to go bye-bye," "the baby would like a bath."</p><p></p><p>Joey, in all her colorful eccentricity, takes her parrot</p><p></p><p>for a walk in the park, feeds it French fries from the neighborhood</p><p></p><p>fast-food drive-in, and takes it for a ride on her bicycle.</p><p></p><p>Because of such behaviorial patterns, Joey often is described</p><p></p><p>as bizarre, strange, not sane, weird, and eccentric. It</p><p></p><p>is an image she loves, an image she covets, an image she cultivates.</p><p></p><p>Yet for all the seeming eccentricities, Joey is of down-to-earth,</p><p></p><p>plain, God-fearing stock.</p><p></p><p>She was reared around Fort Smith, Ark., in a poor, strict</p><p></p><p>family environment. Jake and Elma Sebourn taught their daughter</p><p></p><p>that, if she remembered nothing else, she always should</p><p></p><p>be be friendly and nice, and live by the Golden Rule.</p><p></p><p>The words were not lost on Joey. She lives by that influence.</p><p></p><p>She runs her business by those standards. Her customers</p><p></p><p>always feel at home. "If they don't have a good time, or</p><p></p><p>don't enjoy themselves, I feel I have personally failed."</p><p></p><p>She does not fail often. Her customers return night after</p><p></p><p>night, week after week.</p><p></p><p>And, what an eclectic collage of customers it is. Flash</p><p></p><p>and trash. Cash and crass. White suits and dark glasses.</p><p></p><p>Doctors with beepers, hairdressers in sneakers. The cultured</p><p></p><p>and the unconventional. The professional and the unemployed.</p><p></p><p>Three-piece suits and tank tops.</p><p></p><p>And, there is Joey herself. She fits right in with this</p><p></p><p>crowd. Perfectly. Even if perfection appears to be somewhat off-center.</p><p></p><p>"I like to think people think of me as a lady in an environment</p><p></p><p>where it is sometimes hard to be a lady," she says.</p><p></p><p>And, as a lady, Joey manages to skirt all questions about</p><p></p><p>her hair color and her age. Indeed, on the latter point,</p><p></p><p>she offers, "How old would you like for me to be?" But</p><p></p><p>her standard reply to the question of age is, "Age is merely</p><p></p><p>numbers, and names are merely letters."</p><p></p><p>For Joey, the numbers and the letters today add up to SUCCESS.</p><p></p><p>"I have finally found an inner peace with myself," she says.</p><p></p><p>"Joey's has garnered a certain amount of respect, and I am proud of that."</p><p></p><p>Terrell Lester is a World special writer.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="nofearfactor, post: 2852323, member: 1535"] [url]http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/down-home-with-joey-secora/article_cd92f360-1f4d-53d2-9b8a-070dec8c9ee5.html[/url] Joey Secora had it all. She was a corporate success story. She was wife, mother, Sunday school teacher. She led the good life, the family life, the structured life. She chased the American dream. And, she caught it. She embraced it, held it to her bosom as if it were her own. Then she threw it aside. She chucked 25 years of corporate ladder-climbing, 25 years of benefits, perks, stability, marriage and home. Without once batting an eye, she threw it all away. Like yesterday's newspaper. To become a bartender. Joey Secora, once president of the National Secretary's Association and head of a department with International Business Machines, became a bar owner. But not just any bar. She owns Joey's, the IBM of Tulsa bars. It is the bar standard, the bar by which all others are measured. Joey's, 2222 E. 61st St., has been voted Tulsa's best live-music bar, and Tulsa's most popular bar. Standing-room crowds five and six nights a week are the rule rather than the exception. Joey's is more than a bar, it is an event. It is the home of the blues. It is small, crowded, smoky. It is a dive, yet it is a mecca, a shrine. It has a following all its own. Its reputation as a sancturary of song stretches from Los Angeles to New Orleans to New York. And, the reason is Joey Secora. When the joint is jumping, so is Joey. She greets the customers at the door. She pours drinks behind the bar. She walks the crowded floor. She lingers at the tables. Always with a smile. Always with style. She is part Pearl Mesta, part Auntie Mame, part Carol Channing and Dolly Levy. She is, at once, gregarious, outrageous, charming. She is flash, brass and splash. She is paint and powder, yet soft and gentle. She is more lady than woman. She is show business. She is down-home and modest. She is a female Toots Shor. She does not sing, does not play a musical instrument, does not care to take the stage. Yet she is as much a part of the entertainment scene as the musicians who come from both coasts to perform in her club. She brings in the national greats and the local legends. She is a visual treat herself, a sight to behold. There is the red hair that flames, the baubles that clang. Her earrings are more windchimes than jewelry. Her costumes range from leopard-skin jumpsuits to leathers and silks in hallucinogenic color combinations. And, then there are the finishing touches, the fingernails, so bright and so long that when she waves her hands in conversation it is like watching a laser light show. All of this from a woman who never entered a barroom, never tasted a beer until she was pushing 40. She was pushing 40 and pushing herself, setting corporate goals, building for the future. She set up departments and ran departments. She was consulted, promoted, praised. She traveled, earned big money. "I gave 150 percent," she says. "My career always came first." Then her career took a turn. She looked around one day in 1982 and didn't like what she saw. "All my life I had planned for the future. I got to thinking, maybe you ought to be taking it one day at a time instead of setting all these goals. "I was tired of doing all that. I just wanted to live one day at a time. I found out that nothing is permanent. Everything is temporary. Life is all beginnings and endings. "So this attitude came over me: start this new beginning and end it, start another beginning and end it. "The corporate thing always kept me in a turmoil about the future. I was certainly planning my future, but then you see your future crumble with a divorce, with a child who grows up and leaves home and gets married. "I just finally said, don't plan for the future, plan for the future by keeping your body as healthy as you can, because as long as you are healthy, you can handle the future, whatever that brings." What the future brought was change. She quit her job with IBM, only the second job she had held in 25 years. Divorced, she took a bartending job. Not because she had to. Because she wanted to. By late 1983, she had purchased a bar in Jenks. Within two years, she had added two bars in Tulsa. She was becoming a virtual corporation herself. She sold two of the bars, moved into her present location three years ago and has been sitting atop her new profession ever since. It is a profession she loves. Despite the long hours, despite the risks and uncertainties that accompany the bar business, Joey thrives. She runs her business like a business. What works stays, what doesn't work goes. It is a bar business built on a corporate foundation. Joey is president, CEO, department head, clerk, janitor. She works seven-day weeks. She is a competitive person, an over-achiever. "I've never known what it's like not to work," she says. "I have got to be the very best I can be." And, with Joey's, she has become the best. "I wish I had gone into the business years ago. But I'm not sorry about the good years I spent in the corporate structure. It helped round me out as a person." This well-rounded person reads James Michener and F. Scott Fitzgerald, fishes, exercises, and teaches her 2-year-old blue-fronted Amazon parrot to speak. "After hearing some of the conversations I listen to for hours, his conversations are wonderful," she says. "Precious," her parrot, utters such phrases as "the baby's hungry," "baby wants to go bye-bye," "the baby would like a bath." Joey, in all her colorful eccentricity, takes her parrot for a walk in the park, feeds it French fries from the neighborhood fast-food drive-in, and takes it for a ride on her bicycle. Because of such behaviorial patterns, Joey often is described as bizarre, strange, not sane, weird, and eccentric. It is an image she loves, an image she covets, an image she cultivates. Yet for all the seeming eccentricities, Joey is of down-to-earth, plain, God-fearing stock. She was reared around Fort Smith, Ark., in a poor, strict family environment. Jake and Elma Sebourn taught their daughter that, if she remembered nothing else, she always should be be friendly and nice, and live by the Golden Rule. The words were not lost on Joey. She lives by that influence. She runs her business by those standards. Her customers always feel at home. "If they don't have a good time, or don't enjoy themselves, I feel I have personally failed." She does not fail often. Her customers return night after night, week after week. And, what an eclectic collage of customers it is. Flash and trash. Cash and crass. White suits and dark glasses. Doctors with beepers, hairdressers in sneakers. The cultured and the unconventional. The professional and the unemployed. Three-piece suits and tank tops. And, there is Joey herself. She fits right in with this crowd. Perfectly. Even if perfection appears to be somewhat off-center. "I like to think people think of me as a lady in an environment where it is sometimes hard to be a lady," she says. And, as a lady, Joey manages to skirt all questions about her hair color and her age. Indeed, on the latter point, she offers, "How old would you like for me to be?" But her standard reply to the question of age is, "Age is merely numbers, and names are merely letters." For Joey, the numbers and the letters today add up to SUCCESS. "I have finally found an inner peace with myself," she says. "Joey's has garnered a certain amount of respect, and I am proud of that." Terrell Lester is a World special writer. [/QUOTE]
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RIP Fat Larry, Fat Larry will not be down for corn flakes, etc
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