So, what do you learn in the Osage?

Sunday, December 4, 2016

What is wrong with old fashioned values?

Obviously I grew up on the farm in Osage county with fantastic parents that protected me from the world and ultimately from myself and those stupid decisions a child can make when everything is so exaggerated by emotions and perceptions.

Mom and dad literally worked seven days a week but church was important for reasons I am not sure I understood as a child and they did not explain the why it was important. We just went on Sundays, every Sunday, as proof I had an 8 year Sunday school pin for perfect attendance. Did I tell you we were Lutherans until about the time I was 8 and we switched to Methodist. What I remember about that is Larry and Debbie wanted to go to Grainola Methodist Church because that is where most of the kids in Grainola went to church. It was good enough reason for me. I never asked why. Now back to the work comment. We had a dairy and cows give milk 7 days a week and twice a day so there is no choice. Well, yes there is and mom and dad took that option when I was about 9. They got rid of the dairy cows except for old Jerz (ey). We kept her to provide milk, butter and cream for the house. We counted that she fed over 24 calves in her life plus all of us kids and mom and dad and a few friends and neighbors.

So what does this have to do with values. I don’t know, I never asked but looking back here is what I figured out:

· You don’t have to tell people about your values if they can see them every day in your life
· You don’t have to ask about values if you know what is expected of you
· If your expectations are low then you will get low values

OK, so what values did I see:

· Discipline – get your but out of bed and go to work if you want to eat. They never said it but I knew they believed it was right.
· Perseverance – no matter what the weather was or if I was feeling ill or if they were feeling ill or down/mopping the work had to be done. PERIOD!
· Share – share what you have with others even if you are a little short. I saw it literally hundreds of times where they gave to others of their time and talent and food even when they could have used a little help.
· Respect and love God – I don’t remember ever hearing them say, “believe in God”, they just did every day of every week.

Well, I could go on but I have to tell you my folks were of few words but their actions spoke louder than any person I knew growing up.

So what did I learn about old fashioned values in the Osage?

· Talk little and your words will be heard all over
· Don’t hesitate to do what needs to be done
· Expect the best and you will get it
· Give the best and you will get it

I love the Osage!

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Thursday, November 17, 2016

What next?

Well, this is 2016 and the presidential election is over. I am not sure that anyone is totally happy with what happened but more happy with what did not happen. The market did not crash and for some, happiness was Hillary not being elected. It does not matter what your choice but that we have a democracy and democracy Won. Losers, get over it. Winners, be humble. This is America first and there are NO groups of folks as we are all Americans or want-a-Be's and that is it. Now I am not prejudice but if someone is in America and does not WANT TO BE then that is fine but you do not get all the benefits of being an American.

Being from the Osage I remember Joe Conner (1961) was pro John Kennedy for President and I thought he was crazy even though i was almost 10 years old. Looking back I believe Joe was a brave man and very articulate (he was about 14 years old). His boldness was an example to me that a person can have conviction and not be violent or mean. He was and I hope today, is the good man that a little boy observed so many years ago. My mom and dad voted the opposite of each other on Kennedy and many thought it was a GIANT problem. I think history has proven that God owned it then and still does. John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson made a great difference and Kennedy certainly got the honors for what Johnson completed but I don't think anyone could argue that Lyndon Johnson was the purest of persons nor Kennedy who has his moral challenges. They both did some good and even great things so lets give credit where credit is due and get over their faults.

In fact when Obama was elected many folks had all kinds of conspiracy theories and concerns and almost all were unwarranted. Oh sure, we did get Obama Care and at least for me and my family it is a disaster. Since Obama took office we have gone from about $325 per month to at the beginning of Obama Care around $620 per month to just announced $2360 per month for health insurance. OUCH! It does not matter which side you are on this was one of the boldest miss-representation of the facts in American history. I am glad the barrier was broken with Obama but I am very sad for the division of people into ethnic or cultural groups. I am setting here waiting to have a procedure on Preston's eyes in California and there is a show "The View" with Whoopi and company and it is totally disgusting. They are slandering the newly elected president and not giving him a chance. Once again why don't we stop listening to the slander and look for the facts. I was just listening to one of the slanders about Trump and did a little research and found that he has a higher percentage of women in leadership positions and pays them in line with all the men but why is that never discussed? I think we find what we are looking for not the whole truth. In fact I remember Aunt Gladys Snyder who was a very one sided Democrat who insisted we get the facts and not listen to what others say because what others say is how they see it, NOT the truth. That actually reminds me of something I learned the hard way: There are three sides to every story, His side, Her side and the truth.

When is everyone going to get so tired of the bias in media that we quit watching the crazies including ALL of the networks. Let's stop watching the movies of those who are so disgustingly immoral plus the TV and start talking to each other about what matters most, family. What ever happened to Walter Cronkite and David Brinkley and the Paul Harvey's of the world? What happened to news and stories where the facts were checked and both sides given so that the public can make informed decisions. Let's stop letting the media divide us and let Free Enterprise reign again. It seems we are choking out our rights with every new law. We fixed the mortgage industry and eliminated almost 70% of the competition. We fixed banking so now the top 5 banks in America control more assets than the over 5000 other financials institutions combined. We have 5000 fewer banks today. We have protected the consumer from predatory lending so now if you want a loan below $100,000 very few banks will even talk to you. I should correct myself, not banks but financial institutions. And here is an interesting fact credit unions were formed for small groups of folks to form a co-op type financial institution with common interest and it does NOT pay taxes but competes with banks who do. And here is an interesting question: Why do we regulate banks so they cannot fail and force them to pay insurance in case they do when they are owned by stockholders who invest at their own risk? Do I need to explain?

So what do you learn in the Osage?

Joe Conner had it right
Respect democracy and America
Give everyone a chance
Every new law takes away someones freedom

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Monday, October 10, 2016

what do you worry about?

I guess everyone has something to worry about and I am no different. I am a pleaser at heart and have always liked making my folks proud which is easy to do because they are so forgiving of my mistakes. I guess it took me years to figure that one out but today I hear a lot about what to worry about.

So what is on your worrying mind?

Presidential election - two numb-skulls running for office and neither one fit for dog catcher

Now, don't get POed at me cause I am just repeating someone else's remarks.

What is going on in this world that people don't work hard and are not interested in getting ahead by doing a good job then being recognized for their efforts.
Morals are watered down so that no one is marginalized
the good old days are gone
health insurance even Obama Care is out of reach for those who have a job and some money
the stock market is going to crash
interest rates are too low
interest rates are going to go up

We all have something to worry about even though we should be happy and looking up for the future.

So what can we do to get past all this worrying?

the easy answer is put God first in your life and let him handle the hard stuff
the hard thing is putting it all in the the hands of God and not worrying

OK, solutions, yes I have them.

STOP WORRYING cause that will not make a hill of beans difference
Look for the good going on around you
Invest in your family with time
Share good thoughts about others
read a good book
encourage someone every day

One of the things I find that creates the most anxiety and worry in me is SPECULATING on something. How many times have you gotten your underwear in a wad and the outcome was not even close? I bet it is by far most of the time.

Well, I guess we should stop right here and do - you know what.

What do you learn in the Osage?

worrying about something will not get anything done, stop it and do something and just like my dad, Clifford Olson, use to say, " let's do something even if it is wrong".
Action will overcome fear and worry, DO SOMETHING! You are responsible for YOU and your actions, don't blame anyone for your circumstances
America the Beautiful is going to be fine if everyone does their part and stops BITCHING

Get over it and let's do something good for somebody else,

thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Wet wooly

I don't know where that name came from but it reminds me of the first time I experienced it.

One of the delights of growing up in the Osage was good friends dropping by the house. The Shumates had come by and that would include Mrs. Shumate, Sally and Janie. Sally, Larry and I were sitting on our dark brown couch. By the way, that couch lasted for at least 20 years before it was recovered and I don't think it really needed covered except that Mom wanted a new look/cover. So back to the story: Larry was sitting on the end of the couch with Sally next then me while we were watching TV (2 channels only, 2 and 6). I think it was Sally who put her finger in her mouth and got it very wet then with stealth like movement she placed it in my ear! I immediately assumed it was Larry and shoved Sally out of the way and hit Larry as hard as I could on the shoulder. He rolled over the arm of the couch and onto the floor. Those were great times with great friends.

Now I have to admit I have used "wet Woolies" many times. But I learned the hard way that once you are married you don't wet wooly your wife and not get retaliation and once you get older they don't even retaliate they just get mad. So I don't do that too much anymore. You know there are a lot of silly games we play with each other and that is what makes a relationship fun and lasting. I hope we never get too old to joke around with each other and tease. I guess I just have never grown up but Shouna and I have a wonderful marriage and as of two days ago we are FINALLY grandparents. In fact I can use your help. Shouna thinks we should be called Lolli and Pops or Lollipops and I think I should be called Big Popa. What do you think? I want a vote. Mike Cunningham of Cunningham Advisers says it is real simple on getting named on what you want to be named. He says that when they are a child you just say, "what is my name?" and if they get it right you give them a dollar. Works for me. We will see.

Back to the Wet Woolies. I do have to tell you that when dating it is not a good idea and that may be just why I could never get a date, especially in high school.

Well, I have to go as the tractor will not start at Wings and they are calling me so:

What do you learn in the Osage?

A wet wooly is not about the story in the Bible when the wool was set outside waiting on a sign from God that if it was wet one night and dry the next
A wet wooly is a sick way to flirt with a girl
If a girl cannot take a wet wooly she does not have a good sense of humor and you should not date her
The joy of the Lord is in my faith and an occasional wet wooly.

Go try it on your wife,

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Monday, October 3, 2016

Bob and Lizzy

There can only be one Bob and Lizzy Scott and they literally took care of everything at Grainola Grade School where I spent a lot of my early life. Bob drove the bus and maintained the building, yes one building for the entire school, and he cleaned it and he fixed everything. Lizzy cooked and cleaned the kitchen and loved everyone of us. I never heard them complain and I never knew them not to help out even if it were not a standard school event like the annual basketball game for old timers or a square dance where Carl McConaghy played the fiddle or the Grainola District fair where Eva Kelly and all the Kelly clan had something in the fair to even the Lord's Acre Sale where they raised money for the local Methodist Church. Now I do realize I was a kid and did not know of all the conflict or frustration or work that went into each of these events but I did know one thing and that was EVERYONE in the community chipped in to help get ready and clean up. No excuses just community rather you were a democrat or republican. In those days Democrats outnumbered Republicans but luckily that has changed. Whooppps, someone just got mad.

Lizzy was always old to me and she stood with a slight bend to her shoulders but she could cook. I especially liked her sloppy joe hamburgers which I think was the same thing she put on spaghetti which I thoroughly loved as well. She served, she cooked and she cleaned without help.

Now what brought me to remember Bob and Lizzy was thinking about that old coal fired heater in the basement of the school. You see we never had air conditioning and as I recall everyone turned out ok and some folks were even successful. A little sarcasm for those who complain about todays facilities. Our doors leaked and our windows leaked and we had those old hot water heater/furnaces. Well, anyway I was always curious about that basement and Bob gave very limited access to anyone so one time my first cousin and the son of the famous Gladys Snyder and I broke into the school basement from the east side of the building where there were some old stairs and an old door. I honestly don't remember how Billy did it but he got us in there and we took our flash lights and went exploring. That basement had to be 12 feet deep at a minimum and seemed to be the entire size of the basketball stadium because it was below the court and the bleachers. Each year at least once per year there would be a delivery of coal which was dumped into the basement to fire up the heater. It was magical and it was cold and damp and down right scary like one of those Alfred Hitchcock movies. Do you remember The Cask of Amontillado? If you have not read or watched it, it is a classic and at least in those days would scare the bijibbies out of you. I never did know what bijibbies was and certainly do not know how to spell it. But if you were in that basement you would feel them all around you.

Well after exploring the basement Billy and I went upstairs and discovered the old locks on the old doors were easily broken into if you had a skeleton key (as we called them). We never did get caught and we did not mess with things, we just looked around and enjoyed the adventure. Back then even if you got caught you would get a paddling from Bob ( I assume or from the principal, Lewis Morris) and then certainly one from home but you would never get kicked out of school. Now here is one question you can help me with.

What good does it do to kick a trouble maker out of school? It seems to me that you just gave freedom to the person who got in trouble. That is NOT punishment, kind of like everyone getting a trophy for participation. What a joke! What idiot thought of that one? I guess I made someone mad with that one as well. If you want someone to change their ways you PUNISH them not reward them and rehabilitation is a joke in my opinion, for the most part anyway.

My brother in law, Rocky Carter a football coach retired and I hope he does not get mad because I am getting ready to quote him, told me one time when he had four of his football players kicked off the team for smoking pot because of school policy. He even thought it was stupid because he could have made them work harder, run laps and make a personal decision that the reward was not worth it. But instead they were put on the streets so their grades when they got back would be worse and they would not get to participate in sports, one of the few things they really wanted to do, and of course they would be mad and more disrespectful and more likely to grow up with bad habits and make more bad decisions. I make a motion that we stop getting stupider and stupider and use some common sense.

Oh well, I have gone too long so: What do you learn in the Osage?

let local folks who understand the situation make decisions about how to punish a person based on the situation and keep the lawyers (oopps, just made another one mad) and bureaucrats (dog-gone-it, made another one mad) out of it.
Local coaches, teachers and administrators and even cooks, maintenance folks, bus drivers can make better decisions than a person 100 miles or more away in an office with nothing to do but write policy on something they do not understand or have the common sense to fix (I am chalking up a bunch of offenses)
In case you make too many people mad, HIDE or duck your head so they don't hit you

Thanks for listening,
thepioneerman.com

Bloated and gased

Now I have to tell you that my Dad, Clifford Olson, was a bit ornery. In fact for a while my nickname was Ornery while I lived in Chicago area. I guess some would say a nut does not fall too far from the tree. I hope I do not have to explain this metaphor. I could give you a definition for metaphor.

Metaphor - that is when a person has a blind date that did not last too long so you would say, "he met-er-fer a few minutes".

glad I got that off my chest.

Well, anyway, I had this show steer (meaning I had a steer which I was raising for a livestock show) that got out and ate some green alfalfa and got bloated. Let me explain. Bloated is like when you eat too many beans at one sitting and you get filled up with gas. The problem is that cattle don't handle gas too easily and can actually die from bloat. So here are a few solutions:

first one- take a long pocket knife and punch a hole into the side of the cow or steer and punch a hole into the stomach to allow the gas to escape. This solution is not too good and has potential other side effects. I am not going to explain.

Second method- take a water hose, yes water hose, and have one person hold the steers mouth open. I would also suggest having the steer tied to a post as it will run right over you and at about 1200 pounds you will lose. Anyway, the other person should take the water hose and stuff down the throat of the steer until you start to hear or smell the gas escaping and boy does it stink just like you can imagine. If Steve Chrisco or Pee Wee were still alive they could tell you how a fart smells like the gas from a steer. That comes from one of my older stories so go look for it.

OK, so here is where Dad comes into the picture. I was holding the steers head when dad stuffed the hose down the throat of the calf. It was everything I could do to keep that steer from killing me. Dad proceeded to take the end of the water hose not inside the steer and putting it under my arm so the gas would escape directly in my face. It was and dad was a stinker for that one. Another thing dad taught me that day is that gas from the steer is like gas for a heater, it burns. Dad always carried around a cigarette lighter as he smoked about two packs a day and lit the gas as it escaped the end of the hose. Dad just laughed as he was having a good time teaching me.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

A little fun is good when you work
Fun at someone else's expense can be fun as well, just make sure no one gets hurt
If the government had anything to do with it we would have had to fill out several forms and get a permit and the calf/steer would have died.
Common sense is better than a brilliant bureaucrat

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

How do you know if Connie Arrington told someone about my mom?

Connie Arrington, wife of Gene, mother of Rocky, Stony, and Stephanie broke her arm and was having surgery which brought several of us together in OKC which gave us time to talk about some of the "good old days". One of the things which I had totally forgot was that my mom had a name that no one ever used except Connie. Although today when talking to Terry (Stephanie's husband) I realized he was talking about my mom when he was saying Neit (sounds like Neat). Connie is the only person I remember ever calling mom, Neit. It is one of those endearing names you use only with a special friend. Connie and Mom were very close. Can anyone pick out Neit? This is the Lane family.

Can anyone guess who these Grainola folks are?

Terry surprised me with how much he enjoyed being around Neit and how they use to go over to our old house on the creek and visit with Mom and Dad. This made me realize just how much I missed when I left Shidler and Grainola. The great thing about those days was we had time to receive guests who just dropped in or those who called at the last minute. We stopped everything including TV and talked and many times broke out the deck of cards and played or sometimes dominoes or checkers. I am afraid that today we are so dawgone (yes that is a word not found in your ordinary dictionary) busy we don't have time to breath, much less visit with folks. Who is running our lives and what is important? So here are a few questions to stir things up.

is it more important to have your child be involved in several sports or learn to communicate with adults and other children outside of school? I am just saying! You be your own judge.
Is it important that you children or even spouse watch every football game or play video games or learn to enjoy other folks?
Is it more important to cherish old friendships and nurture those along or is it better to stretch our center of influence or the number of contacts in our cell phones?

Well, I am not going to answer your questions but I am going to say that I have never regretted getting in contact with old Shidler or Grainola friends or acquaintances but I have regretted being too busy for those friends. I can also say I have never regretted spending one minute with my children but I have regretted spending so much time at the office or traveling for work. I was blessed to have a workaholic dad but I always got to work with him. I cherish those memories.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

When you are carrying a load down the gravel road it gets heavy but when you are visiting with a friend while you carry that load you forget about the load and cherish the friend.
It is not what we say to our children but what they watch us do and how they see us treat other folks that builds character in them and ultimately making them wanting to spend time with us as we grow older.
Honor thy mother and father and treat thy neighbor as ya'll want to be treated

Thanks for listening,
thepioneerman.com

Mentoring

If you would have asked me about mentoring someone in the past I would have said it is not for me. What I did not know is that I have been mentoring folks my entire life and just did not know it. Now you are probably assuming (assuming is a bad thing if you know what I mean) that mentoring is always positive but that is just not true.

For example, if you spend your life being critical of folks for what they do or even for what they do not do you are mentoring. And yes, I am using the word mentoring very liberally and you could use the word influencing but I kind of like mentoring. More specifically, I have a friend who always introduces me as his mentor for many years. I felt complimented knowing that he is a very moral and ethical person (those are two very distinct things) and is quit successful by man's measurement. Ok, let me explain. He has built a very successful company that is profitable and in man's measurement he is very successful. I would agree. However, from a moral and ethical perspective he is successful for many other reasons and NOT because of me mentoring him but a lot of folks who have poured into his life. Let's review those successes:

his children live moral lives and are leaders in their college
his wife is faithful in her spiritual life and her marital life
he respects and honors his parents
he treats people with respect and honesty

I could go on and on but let's get back to mentoring.

Yesterday I met with a young fellow starting his own business. He complimented me by asking for input on how he was building his business. It was very rewarding to give him a little insight from my perspective on how to think about his business. If that is mentoring then I really like doing it. If you have something to share with other folks that can help them improve their life, I call that mentoring. What fun and so very rewarding.

As I look back I was mentored by a lot of folks and many of those are folks I have written about so let me expound on those influencers or mentors. Mom and Dad of course were extremely influential but the small things of other folks added a lot to my development and life. Here I want to suggest you might mentor others by trying some of these small comments given to me while growing up.

Gladys Snyder - "you are really good at puzzles"
Helen Head - "you look very sharp"
Coach Gilbreth - "you need to move to Shidler and play football for me"
Mr. Fulsom - "if I ever need some work done, I want Gary Olson to do it for me"
Miss Shumate - "thank you for working so hard on fixing my sewer"
Mrs. Dozer - "thank you for being respectful in my class"

I suggest to you that small doses of simple comments make a BIG difference to people of all ages. Say good things to others and avoid the negative as much as possible but it can be a good thing to be honest and constructive but overall it is better to put a positive spin on things.

Well, thanks for listening and now, "what do you learn in the Osage?"

a little compliment can go a long way in someone's life
heartfelt and caring remarks lift the spirit and the life
mentoring is an everyday act of kindness

forever yours,
thepoineerman.com

Monday, September 26, 2016

What matters most

I would have to say I feel blessed even when I feel betrayed. Don't you just hate it when someone you trusted disappoints. Like always my wife figured it out long before I ever did. Have you ever listened to someone give you a line of bull_____ on why they were doing something and you knew better? Sure you have. You may even have tried it yourself sometime. It just don't work. Sorry for the bad English. One thing I have learned in life is just say it like it is and don't add any bull____ to cover up the mess cause it just becomes a bigger mess once you have stepped in it. Do you get it yet? If you don't get it then go out into a pasture where the cattle roam and find a fresh cow patty and then step in it. You will then understand.

Earlier this week I listened to someone giving me a list of excuses on why they were doing something and I knew it was a bunch of BS (do I have to explain?). It really does not matter but I learned a lot about the person which I should have known but I have a tendency to look for all the good in a person and ignoring or at lease giving the benefit of the doubt.

Another thing that really gets to me is when folks make bad decisions and then blame it on God. For example: It is a God thing. I do believe God is in control but I also believe he gives us a free choice so we can screw up on our own. God does not make us greedy, selfish, uncaring, rude and insensitive. Those are choices we make. We decide how we want to be treated and we treat folks or at least should treat folks how we want to be treated.

Sometimes you just gotta say it like you think it.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

if it ain't broke, don't fix it
sometimes we just say stupid stuff and we will regret it for a long time
sometimes I get lucky and say something really good and then I forget it

thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneerman.com

"a funny thing happened on my way to hell, I got saved saved saved!"

I just loved that song.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

what is on my mind?

Nothing, just kidding, my mind runs a hundred miles an hour. I get kidded a lot for thinking outside the box or being so creative or just being a problem solver. All of these are for the most part complimentary but sometimes it also causes problems. The times it becomes a problem is when people around me cannot handle the number of options I can throw out and especially when I verbally make things easier than they really are. So here is where you should go look up Julian Codding's website (a good old Foraker/Shidler boy) www.juliankcodding.com and listen to him talk about keeping things simple. Back to the story.

I don't know when it started in my life but somewhere I found this talent to figure out solutions to problems. I guess if I look back to Dad, Cliff Olson, I should know that an acorn does not fall far from the tree. I remember Dad could stand and look at something and come up with solutions that were far from any idea I had. A couple of examples: we had a problem with cattle getting out because it was next to impossible to build a fence across Beaver Creek to keep them in. So Dad devised what we called a Water Gap. Truthfully I still don't know why we called it that but here is what he did. We went to our trusty old junk pile where we kept all the used machinery and parts. Every farmer had one. We took an old lister (used to cut and bundle wheat or grass) and proceeded to the south end of our property where the creek crossed over to Aunt Helen's and Soup Wade's property. We then took a super heavy steel cable and hung it across the creek and we wrapped it around two trees, one on each side of the creek. If you cannot visualize this think of hanging a piece of wire between two posts or trees and then needing to tighten it to get it straight. With a cable about 1 inch in diameter you should be able to understand there are significant problems with this. First it is extremely heavy when you stretch it over 100 feet and of course we used the tractor to tighten it. But think about this, how are you going to take that cable and get it wrapped around the tree when it is attached to the tractor? And what happens if that cable brakes? Someone is going to get killed, literally. Honestly I do not remember how we solved this issue but we did or I should say Dad did.

Well I have to tell you that was just one big problem and when you stretch a cable like that it is NOT going to be straight across the creek and you would not know it but that creek was very deep at this point. Second problem: How are you going to get that lister attached to the cable and hang it in the creek and how is that going to stop the cattle when the creek is much wider than the lister. You think you are pretty smart? Dad takes the cake. We cabled the lister to the other long cable then used the tractor to pull the lister off the creek bank to be suspended into the middle of the creek. Next problem? how do you get the gap between the lister and the creek and the banks of the creek to be blocked so the cattle cannot get through? Temporarily we attached barbed wire to the lister but the real solution came with the rain. Yes, the rain. When the creek rises the dead trees and limbs float down the river and accumulate around the lister creating a damn or a fence which stops the cattle. Problem solved. Actually there is another story about that Water Gap I need to tell but later for it.

I loved the engineer in Dad even though he never went to college I would put him up against anyone on solving problems. He had a talent that kept me in awe. The funny thing is his grandsons got it just like him: Cliff Crow, Richard Crow and Chase Olson.

Well what do you learn in the Osage?

Street smarts starts on the farm
Perseverance and common sense far outweigh IQ
Don't ever judge a person by their ability but by their results

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

or golson21@hotmail.com for faster responses

Friday, April 8, 2016

Sometimes I wish I had an extra Chromosome, just like Preston

In life I have learned that everyone has hang-ups and self esteem issues, or at least they should have some self esteem issues else they are a little or a lot too proud except for those with one more chromosome.

I cannot read Preston's mind but I watch his actions and I have to believe he has an advantage over all of us regular folks. Sure, he does suffer from anxiety sometimes like the Holy Shit story I told but he wakes up every morning ready to take on the world in a positive manner. He never and I really do mean never wakes up angry or mad or thinking about how he might be slower in speech or slower to learn and he certainly does not grouse around about work. On the contrary he gets up, makes his bed, puts on his clothes with a positive attitude and there is one problem here. He opens all the window shades then strips and puts on his clothes for the day, You might have to visualize that to understand it. Now maybe that is a good thing in that he does not get hung up about who might see through his window and see his modestly round body butt naked. He just does not have all the hang-ups or baggage the rest of us carry around. Back to his routine: He then goes around the house turning on every light, closes every cabinet or door and opens doors that are closed so he can turn on the lights then shuts the door as he goes on his routine. If you left something out on the counter like Shouna does (often) when she is making her HOT WATER (that is another story we should cover) and most of the time it is actually in the microwave where Preston finds it and puts it in the sink and the dishwasher. NOTHING should be left where it does not belong, not even the microwave because if it is done you should have removed it and gone on to your own chores or duties. Can you imagine what life would be like if we would just do the things we know we should without hesitation or procrastination or a bad attitude. He doesn't even consider how helpful this is to others or how it makes the house neater or cleaner or less messy or nicer for everyone except of course Shouna who would like to get her hot water before the CLEANER comes through.

I don't know about you but I get embarrassed easily and always feel that most people are smarter than me and I am a person always concerned with who likes me and why don't they are why don't they respond as I wish they would. It drives me nuts that I cannot remember everyone's names or respond quick enough and think of what I should have later after it is too late. If that does not make sense to you let me give you an example and I will not give you names to protect the innocent. Last night I was at a concert and there was a person there who is a leader and I know him very well but for some reason he made no attempt to reach out and say hello which in Oklahoma is a requirement for even complete strangers. If you are a Yankee you obviously find this uncomfortable until you acclimate your behavior. For Yankees eye contact with a stranger is off the charts as unacceptable but in Oklahoma it is a requirement of social norm. So I was wondering if he has a burr up his butt ( that is Okie talk for having a problem with someone) or if I had offended him or if he was perhaps embarrassed because of something he had done. Or how about the person you want to be friends with but for some reason you feel they are ignoring you. Well the point is Preston does not see this and does not concern himself with what others are thinking, he just loves them anyway. He approaches them and does not allow them to pass and leave an elephant in the room. Do you know what I am talking about? Preston believes it is his duty to talk to everyone and be friendly with them. He also has an agenda of love to pass along and it typically is about Jesus or he shares a story about someone who passed away years ago or recently and he feels you should know it. Basically his extra chromosome allows him to be un-inhibited, kind of like the person who has to do some drinking to loosen up. So the moral to that is if you think you need a drink to relax just get an extra chromosome.

Well in summary if you are not satisfied with yourself because you had one of the following issues:

bad business business decisions
trusted a friend and he cheated you
married and your spouse left you
you left your spouse because you got mad
you said something that you wish you could take back
your finances are not what they should be or are on a train wreck
your job stinks or your boss is a jerk
your kids don't meet your expectations
you don't meet the expectations of your parents or someone you think is important
you think you are stupid or at least as smart as you think you need to be
you are insecure
you are not good looking enough or as good looking as someone else
you have doubts about yourself
you made too many bad decisions and you don't think Jesus forgives
you are a disappointment to yourself
you think you are not disciplined
you are too busy or too lazy
the list goes on and on

there are three options to fixing these and if you can do all three but you may not be fixed but you will feel better everyday:

get focused on Jesus (not yourself) as he forgives and overlooks ALL the bad, no one is good enough
get an extra chromosome
suck it up and get over it

I don't have most of these problems but I, like almost everyone, suffer in self esteem in one form or another and am self conscience about some things which prevent me from being the person I want to be but through the blood of Jesus Christ I can see tomorrow in a better light. So here is my summary:

Some folks have a glass half full

Some folks have a glass half empty

I chose to have a glass completely full

because my water was made crystal clear

by the Blood of Jesus

and the crud of life is filtered by Him

Everyday is a new day and everyday I, just like you, have to get over my hang-ups and dump the crud out and it ain't easy but I look at Preston and am encouraged because he can overlook so many problems that I cannot. If only I had one more chromosome?