Who was your hero?

As it turned out I lost everything I wrote on this one and lost it.  Sorry for the confusion.

Anyway we all have heroes and some are huge but most are small events in a person life based on something someone said or did that made a difference.  Most of the time those "Heroes" don't even know they are heroes.  So here is a short list but let me make sure you know this is a short list of probably a hundred folks who made a difference in my life.  One last thing, when I say made a difference it might just mean that something they did inspired me and you might not call them heroes although I am going to stick with that definition.  One qualification I do have is that it was a positive influence.

My abbreviated list of heroes and why or what they did:

• Vernon Snyder, Uncle Snyd, was an inspiration and he is really Bill and Suzie Snyder's uncle and not mine but that is what I called him.  Uncle Snyd was a WW II hero who was in the death march in the Philippines and four years in prisoner of war camp.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Death_March  Uncle Snyd, short of giving his life, gave his eye sight due to starvation and no feeling in the bottom of his feet and his ability to drive or have a normal life so that YOU and I would be free.
• Andrew Glazebrook - another war hero who fought in WW I and when they refused to let him fight in WW II due to what was called smooth mouth (meaning he had lost all of his teach) he had surgery at his own expense and pain so he could fight again for YOU and ME.
• Lizzy Scott who was our school cook in Grainola who loved and served us everyday.  Of course it was her job but she did not act like it was a job and she served us with a smile and cooked with love.
• Beth Shumate who taught me 4th, 5th and 6th grade and who insisted on me writing clearly.  She hugged us because she loved us and she punished us and disciplined us when we were not.  She taught us to respect and love to learn and she taught us to laugh at ourselves.
• Gladys Snyder, Aunt Gladys, who taught me to love puzzles and math because she praised me (maybe she was just surprised and her expectations were low, just kidding) which made me want to do my best.
• Coach Gilbreth who encouraged me in the 7th grade that I should play football for him.  I did not really know anything about football but it made me think I could and I knew an adult wanted me to be on his team.  Because of him football became a passion.
• My Dad who taught me to work and most of all it was literally and figuratively his footsteps that I sought to duplicate.  I never wanted to disappoint him and I always wanted to take big steps to stay up with him.  He always said, "let's do something even if it is wrong".  I know that does not sound good but why sit on our butts and watch TV when there is something worth while we can do.
• Mom, who served and cooked and cleaned and motivated me to do my best.  I think she even ironed my underwear when I was a kid she was so insistent on being neat and clean.  She would always ask me if I was going to college or dig ditches or clean out sewer systems.  She knew by asking she was getting me to make a decision to chose a positive path at an early age.   She was a positive thinker.
• Jim Heath challenged me to read by his example and he made me laugh uncontrollably with his dry humor and remarks.  Does anyone remember the Girdle comment?
• Hugh Jones was my every day competition to be tough (he is a Marine) and he won but I loved the challenge.
• Jon Tanny Olsen because he was like an engineer who did not go to engineering school.  He could figure things out and he could solve problems.  He could fix anything and then he would laugh and never get too serious.  
• Denise Logue who put up with four boys in her class and was always a lady.
• Helen Head (let's be honest in that no matter how old she was we all called her old lady Head), she insisted on greatness in writing and thinking skills.  I think she forced us to think creatively.  When she would walk in the class and drop a ping pong ball and then say, "write a story on what you saw" she made us think outside the box.  Mrs. Head had a frog that jumped when you squeezed on an air ball attached and she made us write about it.  She made us write poetry which I actually grew to love.  She taught us to write and to think.
• Norman Voss, an Oklahoma Christian student in 1973, who challenged me to figure out what my belief system was relative to God and Christ.
• Paula Neal who hounded me and prayed for me all through college and made sure I came to know Christ as my personal savior.
• Ross Perot who was the owner of the first company I worked for in 1975.  He insisted on folks that had a great work ethic and he valued hard work and loyalty over brilliance  He demanded that doing what was right was more important than money.  He served and by serving he led.
• Joe Bowie, my partner, who loves Christ and believes in doing what is right no matter the consequences.

This list can go on and on.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• Heroes are common people who do uncommon things without trying
• Leadership is serving by example
• Making a difference is easy if you just do the right thing most of the time

Thanks for listening and go thank one of your heroes,

gary@thepioneerman.com