One of the things I learned I loved about the Osage was not apparent to me until after I met David Goldenberg and moved to Dallas the first time. Let me explain.
When I graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford, Oklahoma I took a job with EDS, Electronic Data Systems. EDS provided a training class where systems programmers were taught how to build systems and that is where I met David Goldenberg whom today I consider one of the greatest examples of what a person should be. Now I will have to tell you that David is quit humble and does not appreciate the level of admiration I give him. But he is not only a great person but every time we get together we laugh almost continually.
While working in Dallas David and I were literally working 14 to 20 hours a day for about 14 weeks straight. One of those times David and I were eating what I recall being an early morning breakfast at a Deli. Now where I grew up we never had a deli and I never had heard of one much less bagels and lox (lox is smoked salmon). David and I were trading stories and he was telling me how his brother in law took him out to Long Island (I had never heard of it at the time) and was showing him how to purchase a used car. His brother in law was crawling under the car and making comments about how it might be leaking a little oil and how the drive train might be a little loose. His objective was to make the sellers worried about being able to sell the car and to ultimately lower the price. I laughed and said, “You were jewing him down”. David informed me you don’t say that to a Jew. I informed him that I did not know he was Jewish. He proceeded to tell me that he was from Queens which I already knew. I responded eloquently, “So?” David laughed in his hilarious laugh and asked how I could not know he was Jewish.
Well that gets back to the Osage. I told him where I grew up there were three kinds of folks: red, white and black and almost all the white folks were part red. He could not believe it and I told him I was part Cherokee which brought up another discussion about Indians and prejudice. I told him I just had not experienced any prejudice against any the groups. He was shocked in that folks from New York believed that the south was very prejudiced. I am sure there was plenty in the south but in Osage County I just did not see it or feel it. He presented me with a word that was unfamiliar to me and that was anti-Semitism, prejudice against Jewish folks. Not only do I believe that all folks are equal under the law but I believe that America is the greatest place in the world for a person who wants to succeed can.
“Anyway”, that’s my word, I became extremely close to David and we were transferred to Chicago together plus my wife Shouna (another story and yes I did get married). I am sure at times Shouna thought I spent more time with David than her because we worked hard and long. David and I worked on developing banking systems for banks. But I have to tell you another story about David before I go.
David and I were always laughing and having a great time during the training sessions and it created a negative feeling from the teacher, Terry ( I can’t remember his total name, go figure). Well Terry was after us for some of the orneriness. Terry was very critical of our documentation (write ups about what our programs were supposed to do) so David increased his volume of documentation but buried in the documentation David provided some very descriptive references to a girl’s body. Terry put red ink all over the documentation and gave David a failing grade but Terry had NOT read the documentation. At EDS Ross Perot (yes, the one who ran for president) set the standards very high and there was never a situation which a wrong could not be righted. You always had the confidence that you could challenge a wrong and politics were not going to protect the teacher in this situation. Well I watched as David walked into Terry’s office with the document open and the particular area of interest highlighted so that Terry would immediately see it. David slammed it down on his desk and said, “You don’t read it, I don’t write it”. That was the last time we were criticized for our orneriness and Terry being a professional apologized and we all became good friends.
Kernel of wisdom learned: What makes a man is what is on the inside and what comes out of it.
Part one of two about David. Part two of two will be about our visit to the Osage and our life in Chicago.
Thanks for listening.
Gary
Glolson21@gmail.com
http://thepioneerman.blogspot.com
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