Route 66 in the News

Bowling Balls for World Peace

2007-04-30 19:08:32

TULSA, Okla. - Richard L. Branaman felt empty the day two skyscrapers tumbled to the ground in New York City.

Then, some six months later, he passed a Sept. 11, 2001, monument along Interstate 244 and wondered why there couldn't be reminders of something other than disasters that hollow a man out.

You know, "Something happy," he said.

That night, as he sat on the edge of his bed, the flea market maintenance man had a vision of a multi-colored pyramid at the very same moment two words came to him -- world peace.

He's not a bowler, but Branaman has scoured flea markets, garage sales and the like for years, so he realized that bowling bowls, which are often abandoned like so many gum wrappers, would be an ideal stone for constructing his World Peace Monument.

To clarify, Branaman puts this disclaimer on his business card: "The World Peace Monument is non-denominational, multi-racial and is not a political statement."

Heck, Branaman's never even been to a protest.

Not long after Branaman received his vision, he attended a service at the God's Light Shining Church, and asked the preacher to pray to God for donated bowling balls.

"Bowling balls, what are you talking about?" Branaman recalled the preacher asking. Nonetheless, God heard a most unusual request that day.

The next day the Lord came through. Branaman received 18 bowling balls.

Over the years, the 50 year old has collected about 850 bowling balls, but he'll need another 7,586 to build a 21-foot bowling ball pyramid, which he will perch atop a three-legged, 77-foot-tall cement structure.

And get this: He wants to plop it smack in the middle of the Mingo Road and Admiral Boulevard traffic circle, which was once part of historic Route 66.

For now, though, it's all just a fantastic idea.

Actually, it's so fantastic that it grabbed the attention of a local news channel, which did a short piece on Branaman last year. That local piece somehow found its way to a producer on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show.

So one day, a huge truck with a huge satellite parked out front of the Great American Flea Market, where Branaman works and maintains a smaller version of his bowling ball pyramid.

During the live interview -- beamed to millions of viewers -- the fun-loving host with a wicked sense of humor asked Branaman, "How does the pyramid of bowling balls bring us world peace exactly?"

To which Branaman said, "Well, people will see the pyramid and tower and know it's the world peace monument, so it will remind them to pray for world peace."

Then Branaman added, "As people pray and pray, it will suck the evils of the world in, incapsulate them and keep them there like the pyramid on "Ghostbusters" or whatever."

Standing in his flea market booth, Branaman stopped the videotape of the interview and explained, "That Ghostbusters thing, I don't think that completely, seriously, but I don't know for sure. I really do think there's something to it. I feel that God gave me the idea and that's what keeps me going on it. Something might happen when it's actually put together."

After the Kimmel show aired, Branaman figured several people would donate balls but he received just one ball from Kimmel and another from Casey Jones, a teacher at Andale High School in Andale, Kan.

Jones saw the Kimmel show, as did some of his students, so they signed a black ball and a sent letter that said, "We appreciate your efforts and bless you for keeping the hope for world peace alive."

Jones himself said in a recent e-mail, "I thought it was just quirky/eccentric enough to appeal to my students and possibly get them to think about peace and the world outside their egocentric teenage cocoon.

"Besides that, it was a lot of fun and the kids loved it," he continued. "I gave a 'world peace' message everyday for about a week at the beginning of class, attempting to show how individual actions can make a difference."

Today, the black ball from Andale, Kan., tops Branaman's flea market pyramid, which includes a swarm of other balls donated by a bowling alley in Pryor and even a dozen or so from a prominent wheelchair bowler.

Ultimately, Branaman figures it will cost several hundred thousand dollars to construct his monument, so beyond collecting donated bowling balls, he'll raise money via his World Peace Thrift Shop inside the Great American Flea Market and via financial donations.

Branaman also will need plenty of volunteers to join his quest, especially an architect, and he hopes companies will donate building supplies.

It sounds like a task too great for a simple flea market maintenance man to accomplish, but Branaman has no doubt he'll turn his vision into a reality.

"It'll happen some time," Branaman said. ". . . It took more than 100 years for Noah to build the ark. He just kept at it."

To contact Branaman, call 282-5405.

~Matt Gleason, TulsaWorld.com