ADA – Mike Turpen is full of wit, wisdom, humor and energy.
Turpen will be channeling all of his attention toward his newest cause: student debt and the need to create more scholarship dollars, as he will speak in a review at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11 on the East Central University campus in the ECU Foundation Hall of the Chickasaw Business and Conference Center.
Whether it’s sharing his views as a political analyst on KFOR Channel 4’s Flash Point in Oklahoma City, talking about his longtime friendship with Bill and Hillary Clinton, participating in numerous speaking engagements or writing a book, the vibrant and passionate Turpen does it all enthusiastically.
The review, entitled Turpen Time: The Wit and Wisdom of Mike Turpen, will feature excerpts from his book by the same name. The book focuses on 50 shades of life in the form of short stories, each woven around a one-liner.
The review is free and open to the public. While books will not be sold at the event, the first 100 attendees will receive a free copy of Turpen’s book and a limited number of books will be available for purchase. A book signing will follow the review.
In a similar event conducted recently at Oklahoma City University, more than $180,000 was raised for the Clara Luper Scholarship there. Additional reviews are scheduled at Oklahoma State University and Turpen’s alma mater, the University of Tulsa.
In his book, Turpen talks about everything from nocturnal meetings in the White House with President Clinton, to a first kiss, somewhere between the swing set and the dog house.
Turpen is full of one-liners, quite often referred to as Turpenisms such as “If you ain’t givin’, you ain’t livin” or “If you’re throwing mud, you’re losing ground.”
He often pokes fun at himself with what he calls “self-directed humor.” For instance, “Many, many years ago my family came to Oklahoma in a covered wagon. If you had seen my family you would know why the wagon was covered,” is an example.
Another example of his humor is “I just joined the senior, senior golf tour. On the senior, senior golf tour, you play three holes and whoever remembers their score wins,” said Turpen.
His stories (and one-liners) are often shared to teach life lessons.
“Through both work and family, I’ve lived – and learned how to live – an extraordinary life,” Turpen said about his book. “In our daily struggle for significance, it’s imperative to realize that we are not perfect. A few mistakes are better than perfect inaction. Stories you’ll read here have humbled me. I share them, knowing that we have all been humbled, chastened and even embarrassed by our actions at various points in our lives. Often, such experiences teach us the best lessons.”
Turpen has served as the Chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party and as the Attorney General for Oklahoma from 1983-87, before entering private practice. In 2009, he was appointed by Gov. Brad Henry to serve as a member of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. He currently serves as OSRHE President.