Red Dirt Diaries: OU Parking Attendant Known For Whistling Ear-Catching Tunes

Humming a tune is one thing, but whistling it can take a lot more skill.

Gerald Allen knows that very well.

"I do classic, military, and rock-n-roll," said Allen, who is a OU parking attendant at the medical center in Oklahoma City.

Customers have been known to wait long after they've paid to hear Allen whistle inside his booth.

The military veteran says he started whistling decades ago while working at a movie theater as a kid.

He heard a song while watching the movie "12 O'Clock High" and felt he had to learn how to whistle the tune.

"Took me 10 years to learn it, 10 years not to be bashful," said Allen.

Allen has won numerous whistling contests, he's been featured on the radio, and knows hundreds of songs.

"Tens of thousands of hours practicing, I've never counted," added Allen about his hobby.

"I turn people down all the time," he said about events where he's been asked to perform.

But that may change in December when Allen retires from his parking attendant job.

He's considering getting an agent at that time and whistling for money.

"Not very many of us do what I do, it's got to be perfected to do this."