Listen to Learn or Listen to Respond

 I don't know about you but as a child we were to listen to the adults and speak when spoken to.  However, somewhere along the way there was a transition to listening to respond.  I think it started when I entered school (1st grade with Aunt Geneva and then Mrs. Casselman and of course later was Miss Shumate).  Just as a side note, when you grow up in the Osage and especially Grainola and Shidler you can always remember your teachers. 

The only reason I had two first grade teachers is Aunt Give (long e) commonly known as Miss Snyder got sick and had a brain tumor.  She did pass away after a period of trying to recover.  Mrs. Casselman took over and she taught 1st and 2nd grade and both classes together had 11 until Ralph showed up for a short time, then we had 12 but only 5 and sometimes 6 in the 1st grade.  The 3rd, 4th and 5th grade was taught by Miss Shumate and we had 5 and sometimes 6 in my class depending on Joy Frank changing from Shidler to Grainola and then back to Shidler.  I never did know why she changed.  Seventh and eighth grade was taught by Mr. Morris and then we had 5 in the 7th but I left early to go to Shidler and that left just 4 (Jim, Jon, Hugh Allen and Denise) for the 8th grade.

OK, back to the listen and learn vs listen to respond.  I guess I was fairly aggressive in that I always wanted to be first in getting the answers to questions from the teachers except when it came to spelling.  Thank goodness for spell check for me.  This continued through high school and pretty much disappeared in college as it was mostly just listening to a professor/teacher talk (I hesitate to say teach as many teachers/professors just want to tell you their opinions).  As you can probably tell, I don't think too highly of college and what it does for a person's career.  But that is another story.

So here is where listening to learn vs listening to respond became important, Career and MARRIAGE!  I was amazed when I went to work for EDS in Dallas and the emphasis, they put on learning how to develop programs/systems for banks but first learning what the customer wanted, not what I thought was more important.  Later in my career I discovered many computer geeks thought they knew better than the customer what was needed.  This kind of reminds me of government and how they pass laws and compliance issues on business without having the least bit of experience and understanding of what the impact on business would be.  If you disagree, look around and see how many small towns and businesses have disappeared due to the burden of regulation (another story). 

But then there is marriage.  Men, listen to learn and you will be a better husband.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• it is cheaper to listen and learn than listen and respond
• wisdom is the art of listening and learning
• you can stay out of trouble a lot easier if you listen or watch and learn

Well, thanks for listening,

gary.olson@finaciti.com

What was it like living through Covid, 2020 to 2024?

 Wow!  Suddenly the country was shut down basically by our government.  Between the government and the media, we were frightened for our family and friends.  

Family life became closer nit due to lockdowns and remote work.  We spent more time together and played more games and we watched a lot of TV to know what was going on in the world.  Probably one of worst aspects was out of fear the schools were closed.  Kids did not learn, and they lost time in all their activities.  We were almost in a prison, locked up and even the groceries were either delivered to the door or we ordered online, and our cars were loaded, but no walking the isles.  

Restaurants were shut down and drive throughs and outside deliveries were common.  No sit-down eating was allowed.  Think of the owners and the employees who both lost their incomes. Many businesses never reopened.  Amazon became a huge thing as it was totally online and door to door delivery of everything.  Government aid programs helped some businesses to stay afloat.

Social life was turned upside down.  Friends and even churches could only meet via the internet and Zoom became a huge help during that time.  Drive by birthdays were normal.  Our oldest son, a fireman, was constantly exposed to the virus and yet he survived.  He also shared that there were dramatic increases of medical issues and deaths.  Mental health skyrocketed with anxiety, depression, and loneliness.  As churches started to meet again we had every-other row marked off to help keep distance between folks.  Choir was canceled.  Sunday School or community groups went to online meetings.  

So it has been over five years and what lasting effects remain?

• remote and hybrid work remains - lots of automation to replace workers
• millions of folks retired and have never returned to the work force, some due to age but some just found another way to live and get by
• Dramatic inflation and availability of goods and services drastically reduced and/or changed
• Cities saw a mass migration to rural areas and lost tax revenue due to the shift
• We finally could get medical help/docs over the phone or via internet chats
• lots of lingering Covid related health issues remain
• delayed weddings and funerals especially were changed 
• some folks never returned to church gatherings
• online education is forever here

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Be careful in over-reacting and even under-reacting 
• Life is short and knowing Jesus is much more important when you understand that the end is potentially nearer than you once believed.
• God and family are much more important than I once thought

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

How did the depression make a difference in your life?

 I know that I did not grow up in the depression, but it certainly made a difference in my life.  Mom and dad grew up during those times including the Dust Bowls, Depression, WWI and mostly WWII plus lots of presidents and lots of politics.  

Did it make a difference in my life?  Certainly, because mom became extremely thrifty, and she worked like a dog every day providing for the family.  Dad wanted to own land and raise a family that he could be proud of.  They both worked long hours 7 days a week from before daylight to after dark.  They both wanted their children (Larry, Debbie and me) to go to college and they taught us hard work, discipline and respect. They gave us values, honor and faith.  We virtually never missed church and knowing about the life of Christ.

Let me be specific:  We always had a huge garden and literally hundreds of chickens and I would guess over 100 hogs, and milk cows (a dairy for many years) plus beef cattle and even a few sheep.  Every year we put up (canned) hundreds of jars of vegetables for the winter.  We butchered chickens for meat and harvested eggs for the kitchen plus we traded eggs at Dale's Feed Seed and Fertilizer store for groceries.  We separated the whole milk and sold off the cream and then the milk for income.  We even made our own butter for years and to tell you the truth, I was glad to see those sticks of butter in the store and then our kitchen.  It saved a lot of work.  All of this was a reflection of mom's thrifty ways.  She made clothes for the entire family, except for the Levi's and even those were patched many times to make them last.  

Another reflection of the lasting effects of the depression is that being the youngest, I got to wear the used clothes of Larry, my brother, and Billy Snyder, my first cousin.  That is, until I outgrew them and that was about the time I hit 12 or 13.  Debbie, my sister, and the Shumate girls all learned to sew and make their own clothes.  Mom was a great teacher.

Another thing my parents did, and I believe it was due to the depression, was giving or I could say sharing what we had with others.  They gave even when it hurt as they saw others in need more than us.  I would say they happily gave, and they never asked the government to take their place in that giving.  They did not require something in return, because they understood the law of giving was a gift in itself.

Leftovers were never wasted with the one exception of liver.  Dad hated liver, so we got to use it for fish bait, so maybe it was not wasted either.  Vehicles were driven for years and were totally repaired and maintained by us.  Even the tractors were maintained and never traded for a newer model.  We used everything until it could be used no more.  

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• A great life is made by the values you learn, the hard way or should I say hard work
• Without a good example of a father and mother, growing up can be very difficult
• Give and give until you can give no more and give some more, you will be richer for it

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Honey Bees in your face -

 I never knew why but Mr. and Mrs. Fulsom seemed to really like me and insisted on hiring me to do any job they needed at their house.  When you are kid, folks always seemed old, and Mr. and Mrs. Fulsom were always old.  They lived in Grainola just east of Aunt Gladys (Mrs. Snyder) in a wonderful house with a giant wrap around porch and a detached garage with living quarters above the garage.  They had a crawl space under the house bigger than I have ever seen.  I could actually stand up in it.  Also, I should mention it was a rock house and, in my mind, the prettiest house in Grainola.  One last note before I get back to the story.  One of their daughters married Jack Heath (brother to my uncle Bill who married Aunt Peggy-mom's sister), father of Jim and Clarissa, and she could play basketball with the best of them.  In fact, she could play tennis as well.  Deanie was her name, and I have no idea if that is how you spell it.  Her sister was also on the team, and I hear she was a great player as well.  I believe Mildred Kelly was on this team as well.  They were the 1950 state champion girl basketball team. OK, back to the story.

Honeybees:  Mr. Fulsom asked me to repair the roof on his house and it was two stories tall, so we had to set up some scaffolds (dad, me and my brother Larry).  I know Mr. Fulsom knew that I would need dad, but he always asked me, and I never knew why.  So here we are on top of the scaffolds repairing the roof and some honeybees start coming out of the attic of the two-story house.  The more we hammered those nails the more bees came out until there were literally thousands.  Larry jumped down and ran to the pickup as he did not want to be stung.  Dad just said ignore them and keep on putting up shingles and hammering those nails.  I could see the bees were landing all over him and crawling in his hair and across his face.  There were hundreds landing on me as well and finally they were walking across my face.  I drew a steady hand until one of them walked across my eyelid.  I looked at dad and said I am done.  I slapped that bee and jumped down about 10 feet to the ground and took off running.  The bees were chasing me, and dad was just laughing at me.  I ran to get in the pickup with Larry, but he LOCKED the door.  I have no idea how far or how long I ran but I was stung at least 9 times!  I guess I was just too sweet to resist.  Finally, they stopped, and I rolled in the grass to keep them off until they were gone.  

The cool thing was we finally completed the roof, and dad knew how to smoke out the bees so they would not swarm, and we could get the honey.  I really do not remember how much honey there was, but it was huge, and I would bet it was at least 10 lbs. of honey.  

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• When there is something sweet, there is always a bite to it, especially with girls.
• Every job has its challenges, but some have a sweet ending.
• You do not need to lock the pickup to keep out the bees.

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

We just got water in the house!

 I don't know about you, but we always had water in the house, but mom (Opal (Lane is maiden name) Olson) did not.  In fact, she had 5 sisters and 2 brothers and grew up about one mile west of Grainola on the first road north out of Grainola and then to the north on top of the hill which was about another quarter mile or more.  

They had a water-well but you had a hand pump to get water in a bucket that you would have to carry to the house to wash dishes and then what about taking a bath or flushing the toilet.  Not so fast:  the bathroom was outside in a little room called an OUTHOUSE.  An outhouse was a hole in the ground with a shed about 4 feet square built over the hole with a bench seat with a hole in it to let stuff fall through, if you know what I mean.

Now, what about that bath?  Have you ever seen a galvanized tub?  They would heat the water on the wood stove, yes - a wood stove.  Now that is another problem as that meant you had to cut wood to put in the stove to cook.  Right, no electricity and no running water and no gas in the early days.  Back to the bath:  now you might understand why folks back then they took a bath once a week.  Who wanted to carry enough water to heat and fill up a tub to take a bath?  Generally, Saturday evening or afternoon was bath time as Sunday there was church, and you had to be clean for church.  Mom's parents were not particularly religious and in fact I don't believe Grandpa Jess (Poppie Jess as we called him) ever darkened the door except when he was carried in.  But what is interesting about that is I have his father's bible, and it had a lot of written notes in it.  Ok, OK, back to the bathing.  Another item of interest is that the bath was taken outdoors even in summer and winter.  How would you like that in winter?

All of this to say that when they got running water in the house and a hot water heater (which did come later so they still had to heat the water for a bath) it was a great day!  I do mean a GREAT DAY!  Did I mention that it was much later that the outhouse was replaced with a toilet and again running water?  The first indoor toilet was actually what was called a water-closet where there was a board with a hole in it and a bucket (slop bucket) underneath to catch the stuff.  It literally was a closet.  Just a side note, they did not have closets in the bedrooms and there were originally only two bedrooms, meaning that all the children slept in the same room.  Yep, boys and girls in the same room, like a dorm except for a while there was only one bed and a feather bed at that.

So, what do you learn growing up in the Osage?

• Water in the house was a great invention
• Being poor is relative and they were a very a happy family
• hardships create character and character creates hope
• Romans 5:4 Character creates hope (if you want hope come to Jesus)

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

First business adventure: Turtles

 I know this is from an older story but just to reminisce I want to share my first business adventure and then I am going to add in some stories about my business history .

Well, when i was about 7 years old and we had the Grainola District Fair going on I had experienced for a few years turtle races.  The way it worked is I would find a terrapin and then use fingernail polish (red) to mark it with my name (don't worry, it was on the shell and would wear off easily and not harm the terrapin).  Then one of the men would draw a large circle on the blacktop by the Grainola School (see pic of old school building) and then take a cardboard box and everyone would pay 10 cents to enter and then place your terrapin (turtle) in the box in the middle of the circle.  The person in charge would raise the box (there was no bottom in the box) and the turtles would be off to the races.  The first turtle reaching the outside of the circle would win (there usually was a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place).

This was a pretty fund gig, but I soon realized there was a better way to make money.  I started with my dad's help gather turtles/terrapins a few weeks early and then at the Grainola District Fair I would sell turtles.  Yep, I made a killing as most kids did not have a turtle and wanted to enter the races.  Of course, the dads were very competitive and would pay the higher prices to get a good racing turtle.  Another advantage I had was that I could test the turtles for speed and keep that one for me.  Now I will have to tell you that turtles are unpredictable, and one might not even put its head out for the race, but I had no guarantees for performance, but I could sell you another turtle.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• a turtle in the hand is worth more than two in the bushes
• Leverage your opportunity by finding what others don't see
• Enjoy what you are doing, else find something that excites you

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

If you are interested in Finaciti and would like to join, send me an email and I will get you a code that allows you to have total access for $24/ year or $2 per month.

 

heebie-jeebies

 heebie-jeebies - yes, it is a real word, and it scares me to death.

Have you ever walked to a cliff or a balcony and looked down?  Well, last week I was in the mountains (Yellowstone and Grand Tetons) and was hiking with Shouna and Preston.   My entire life I have been scared of heights.  Now, I don't avoid them, but they give me the heebie-jeebies.  I can set and watch a movie and when they jump off a cliff I get the heebie-jeebies.  OK, but here is what I learned in the national parks which also include Flaming Gorge and the National Dinosaur Monument:

• the earth has gone through several hot and cold climate changes over millions of years
• there were large floods that caused the dinosaurs to die off in a short period of time and due to the flood were piled up in a riverbed
• large canyons and mountains formed by plates of rock pushing against each other and that water from floods caused a great deal of erosion
• that our government and its agencies only show one possibility of how this occurred and not a single person lived to see this all happen

What interests me is that there is a possibility that a large flood like in the Bible could have been the cause of all of this.  Also, that global warming has been happening over and over again but no one that we talked to considered that global warming today might be for the same reason it has happened in the past.  In fact, based on the evidence they shared it sounds like we are in a normal cycle and man and animal has survived several of these cycles.  Does anyone beside me find it amazing that only one point of view is given?  I don't know and in fact was not there during creation even though I am getting old.  It seems to me that it takes more faith to believe in the BIG BANG than it does to believe in creation.

If a big bang would have happened, it seems that an explosion would create scattering of debris rather than organization.  Well, I am not the sharpest rock in the pile, but it seems to me that the logic is flawed or at least biased based on what they are looking for.   

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• heebie-jeebies are a function of expectations, for me heights scare me
• what you become is a function of what you are looking for
• I chose to live by faith in Jesus Christ and that no matter what, He wins in the end
• It is easier to trust in God than to trust in opinions of those looking for answers in the wrong places 

Thanks for listening,

Gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Visiting the SWAMP

 I hope everyone remembers visiting Washington DC and what an incredible place it is.  The history and what we stand for are everywhere except in the political arena, the SWAMP.  I am not going to get too political but here is what resonates with me and how it ties back to Grainola, Shidler and the Osage.

I am actually here today (2024 07 03) and yesterday I visited Arlington Cemetary where 100's of thousands of soldiers are buried who gave their life for freedom.  There were no black and white or red and yellow markers based on your skin tones.  It was all about those who served and cared.  I thought a lot about my family and particularly Uncle Snyd (Vernon) Snyder, Wayne and Stanley Patterson (on the Lane side of the family), Paul and Arnold Jones and my dad and many others.  

So, my question for you and hopefully my children and grandchildren is, "why and what for?".  I went to the FDR memorial which is quite beautiful and one of his quotes (not accurate but you will get the idea), was that "everyone should have food, shelter and not want".  What he stated also was that all should work if capable and I believe that was excluding those who are handicapped not those that have self-inflicted problems.  Even the handicapped can do something but the government/swamp folks are too stupid to figure out how to fix it.  Perhaps they should ask the people.  Let's do help those who cannot help themselves.  Sorry, I got off subject.

I don't think that is why these folks went in the service.  I think they went to preserve our freedom and way of life.  I agree no one should be hungry but I think a WANT to do better and a WANT to get ahead and a WANT to change are good.  I wanted to serve in the Marines and got drafted to only get turned down due to a back injury.  I wanted to be witty and talented like Steve Chrisco and Jimmy Heath.  I wanted to not drive on gravel roads.  I wanted to not milk cows, I wanted to work in an air-conditioned building like Uncle Bill Heath.  I can go on, but you get the idea, if you don't want for anything because it is handed to you then you will NEVER get over yourself or get out of the rut of complacency.  I once heard it said that the only difference between a rut and a grave was the ENDS are closed up.

My grandpa Olson came to America at 16 and the first day he was robbed and did not speak English and did not know anyone.  He WANTED a better life, and he came legally (yep, that is political).  He did not want to be hungry, so he scrapped to get a little food and ultimately found a job and worked his way to Kansas.  He did well because he WANTED.

About 50 years ago Susie Snyder said something to me that made a lot of sense and still makes sense today.  She said all the government programs/giveaways and I do mean ALL should have an end.  In fact, she stated that if you just decreased benefits every year by 5% then folks would have time to adjust.  That is too simple, but you get the idea.

Warning, this is political.  Would it be better for the government to NOT have the best pay and benefits so that there is an incentive to get a job outside of the government?  I do want to make an exception for schoolteachers, not administrative folks or college professors and their admin.  We all know that colleges have gotten out of hand on just about everything.

Well, I guess I better quit, but what do you learn in the Osage?

• the government cannot fix anything
• work and hard work is good for the sole
• WANT and discipline are two of the most important aspects of a person's life
• Jesus is coming and not soon enough in my opinion

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

Why men go hunting and why it should still be a holiday.

This might get me and a lot of men in trouble, but it just might give some information to a woman into why men are like they are. 

Have you ever wondered why a man goes and sits in a tree for a week in freezing cold weather?  Sometimes it even rains and freezes ice on the man while sitting in a tree.  Now there are men who just have more sophistication (that really means more money to burn) and sit in one of those nice boxes on top of a tower with a heater and windows to block the cold wind.   There are also those with less sophistication (money) who sit in a 55-gallon metal drum sitting on top of a tripod about 15 feet in the air.  Now I will have to tell you that barrel is cold, but it does stop the wind.  The other bad thing is you have to stick your head out of the barrel where it is windy and cold to shoot.  Of course, there is a seat in the barrel so you can at least relax a little but there is NO leg room in there and it is not made for tall or fat folks like ME. 

Now there are men who actually hire/pay someone to take them up into the mountains on horseback where it is cold and windy and miserable by most folk's standards to hunt deer or elk. If you are more sophisticated (more money) moose.  There on that mountain, you have paid more money to be more miserable and more sophisticated.   

Well with all this said let’s examine the why of this sport. 

1. Men are not like women – does that resonate with anyone?   

1. Men dip, chew and scratch and women don’t like any of it normally.

2. Men pass gas (fart), tell off color jokes. 

2. Believe it or not it is fun and refreshing to be outdoors. 

3. I personally would rather take the pictures, but it is a thrill to hunt and kill just like our ancestors did years ago.  Just to make it clear it is not that I don’t want to shoot the animal, but I don’t want to clean it and carry it and I really don’t like to eat it unless you are like Larry Travis or Rich Kanaly or Rich Jefferies who have the meat made into sausage or jerky. 

4. Now there is one reason which is the motivation for this article and that is men need to get away from the women. 

Let me explain why men need to get away from the women.  First, if you stay home, they are going to tell you to do something.  Second, if they don’t tell you to do something, they are going to make you feel guilty for not doing something.  Third, if you don’t feel guilty and they are DOING while you are sitting you should feel guilty and therefore you are guilty.  So, the number 1 reason for sitting in the cold and freezing weather is to get away from the women. 

 So, what do you learn in the Osage? 

1. Men like to relax and not get in trouble for it. 

2. Hunting allows men to do what men do best, sit, spit, tell stories, pass gas etc. 

3. Not 100%, but women don’t hunt. 

Thanks for your time, 

Gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

 

Are we getting over protective or what?

 Growing up in the Osage, I remember Larry and I would take off to go fishing or hunting and basically Mom would assume we would come home when we were hungry.  Of course, things are different now, but are they really?  

When we went fishing, we would take our fishing seine and catch minnows and crawdads to fish with and sometimes we would go around the barns looking for worms hidden under old boards or around the sewer system.  We also went catching grasshoppers and crickets to fish with.  Now if we were going only after catfish, we would steal some liver from the freezer (actually we did not have to steal it because no one except mom liked cooked liver).  The next step in fishing was taking our bait and head for the creek, Beaver Creek.  Now there were two great places we focused on, and one was pretty close to the house where there was a bend in the creek and thus making a deep hole where there were plenty of fish.  The other place was Soup's fishing hole.  It was named after Soup Wade, but that is another story.  Typically, Larry would take one side of the creek and I would take the other.  I never knew why but Larry would almost always get more fish than me.  It was probably because I had a little more ADHD, and he was patient.  

Now hunting was a little different and it depended on what we were hunting for, quail or squirrel.  Larry typically carried a 410 and I carried a single shot 22.  Again, Larry outperformed me, but I think he liked the fact that I could spot quail and squirrels faster than anyone.  For some reason my dad (Cliff) and I had the ability to see with clarity great distances and we both had a very wide field of vision making it easier to catch things moving and a long way off.

So, what is the point?  We were allowed to be independent and make decisions including consequences for making bad ones.  Luckily, we did not drown or kill anyone, especially each other, but we had lots of fun and adventures.

So, what did we learn in the Osage?

• getting exercise was fun when you had a good purpose, we walked for miles and miles.
• we learned to play and work together, but most of all we learned about each other.
• you learn a lot by doing and living rather than sitting and watching.

thanks for listening,

gary.olson@finaciti.com