39 years and counting

39 years today, we have lived together twice as long as we were apart. Shouna was 19 when we married . God has blessed us with trials and challenges and three great children and two more married into the family. Shouna got a great report at John Hopkins this week and I am recovering quickly from the broken rib, toe and punctured lung. I am grateful even among all the challenges that God gives me peace and Christmas makes it better as I know that Jesus has my back. He never promised a rose garden but he promised us joy in our faith in Him. I love you all and am thankful for your friendship. I promise as I am lead to continue writing on my blog thepioneerman.blogspot.com and thanks again to all of you have read my many stories.

Merry Christmas
Gary

What is a rib worth?

I am hear to tell you that I have never given enough mercy to anyone who broke a rib.  I remember when dad broke his rib cutting down a tree.  We loaded up and ran to the house where mom promptly wrapped his ribs with one of those Ace Bandages.  He just told her to wrap it tight.  She tried to get him to go to the hospital but dad had "True Grit".  He was tough.  We quickly went back to cutting wood although dad was on the side lines most of the time.  Well, (pause) that brings me to the rest of the story.

Last Saturday I was up on a ladder with a chain saw cutting limbs off a large oak tree.  I knew I was safe but I did not anticipate the limb taking out the ladder.  It was only about 8 feet so it was not like I was way up high.  At the instance the ladder was being taken out I had to make some decisions.  What do you do with a chain saw that could cut you in half in about two seconds?  Push it AWAY! and then what happens happens.  The other element of science is the acceleration rate of a body falling at 32 feet per second per second.  Thud! as I hit the tree and the ground on my left shoulder.  I knew it was bad but I got up and thought it would go away soon.  I started working and over the next 10 minutes I realized it would not work, I would not work.  As I loaded into my pickup (remember pickups are not trucks unless you are selling them) and took off for the house.  By the time I got to the house I could hardly breath.  I went inside the house only to tell Shouna we had better get to the hospital.  Every bump, even turning a corner, stopping and starting the car hurt.  I have to admit my language suffered with every small element of movement.  Even Shouna asking me questions made those, really it was one word, words slip out.  But let me give you a list of the things you use your ribs for or what you don't want to do:

1. you absolutely cannot cough
2. No laughing
3. I think smiling even hurt
4. hiccups are killers
5. getting up and down in a car, bed, couch, chair, or any movement accept sitting perfectly still
6. you would prefer not to have to take a dump (that represents that one word that slipped out a lot during my ordeal)
7. If you would like an intimate detail - you really don't want to have to clean yourself on the behind
8. choking on a small piece of food that goes down the wrong pipe will make you cry real tears
9. sleeping in your own bed is next to impossible
10. and the list goes on

I have to tell you I had no idea how tough my dad was until this accident.  Perseverance is what made the pioneers in the Osage and I don't know how they were ever so tough.  The pioneers of the past should be revered.

What do you learn in the Osage?

1. tough today is no where near tough in the old days
2. Perseverance is what made Dad and Mom's generation the great generation
3. don't climb trees with chainsaws and ladders without some safety belts
4. Have mercy on those with broken ribs, punctured lungs and a broken toe

Thanks for listening,

Merry CHRISTMAS,

gary@thepioneerman.com

A Sunny day

I just saw where Sunny Holloway passed away and it reminded me of some fond memories.  It was good to hear he had been another who served in the armed forces and in particular WW II.   It really does seem that everyone in that age group were in the war.  I remember Mrs. Shumate telling us how difficult it was with so many men and boys gone to the war.  Well back to Sunny.

I suppose we all know very little about each other and it seems that I knew very little about Sunny other than what my dad said about him and the times I talked to him.  The last time was about a year ago at one of those Shidler events which as I recall was Dorothy Kelsey's funeral.  It sure seems like a lot of wonderful folks have passed away.  Paul Kelly being one of the recent ones.  He was a good guy and a great supporter of Shidler.  Anyway, the last time I talked to Sunny he was just as friendly and jovial as ever.  He spoke about the bull he bought off us and how that was the best bull he ever had.  Just for your information, it was a Hereford bull and one of the longest bulls I ever saw.  The bull must have had an extra rib or two because it was particularly longer than normal.

The first time I remember meeting Sunny was when he pulled up to our farm and ranch with his bulldozer and truck.  He came to clear about 40 or 60 acres of timber so we could put it into bermudagrass on Beaver Creek.  He just knew how to push those big trees and roll them into piles without getting killed.  If you don't know it, it was a very dangerous work when you are pushing down trees that are 40, 60 or even 80 feet tall.  Some were so big that dad would cut them with a chainsaw and then Sunny would dig up the stump.   Some of those stumps laying on their side were taller than me.  It was interesting seeing a transformation of the land so that we could plant grazing material (grass) on it.  In fact I remember our first planting was a bermudagrass sprigger being pulled by the tractor and I would stand in the back of the trailer shoveling bermudagrass sprigs into the planter.  It was a dusty and dirty job as the wind would blow the dirt and trash back in my face.  I actually kind of liked doing this job because it was fun to see the outcome from our work.  We also planted lespedeza and sweet clover to hold the dirt along with turnips until the Bermuda caught on.  It took a lot of faith that all this expense and work would pay off but it did.  I think we had the best bermudagrass in the county because our land was almost entirely bottom land on Beaver Creek.   Now for those city folks, bottom land is land on the bottom, not on the rolling hills.  Typically bottom land would be more fertile and have more moisture as there was generally a creek in those areas.  Land on a hill typically had shallow soil and held less moisture and therefore did not provide as much necessary elements to grow grass.  Sunny was part of all of this and I don't remember how long he worked at our place but it seemed to me he spent the entire summer at our place.  Wouldn't it be interesting to know how much it cost back then to own and run a dozier (bulldozer)?

My dad really liked Sunny and always spoke of Sunny as a good person and good neighbor.   Back to my point about knowing a man and what they were really like.  I cannot say I knew Sunny well but if you took what people said about him plus your own encounters, Sunny must have been a great person and one of those great Osage men who had grit, a great smile and a good heart.

What better way to be remembered.
Thanks for sharing your time with me,
gary@thepioneerman.com

What happened to Our Home

I saw today an investment that I really liked and then I realized the reason I like it is the same reason I am frustrated all the time with our political system.  In my home, The Osage, it was so wonderful and free of government intervention.  People were proud and people did not care who was rich or poor, or at least I never noticed.  People cared for each other and if someone had a need they did something about it.  No complaining or pointing or telling others to do it but just plain old Osage Do It Now kind of do-en.

The only complaint I ever heard was my Dad saying if the government would stay out of farming then he could make a living.  Now you may not know much about farming but the government has been involved for years.  As far as I know it started back during the dust bowl when the federal government helped folks to plant trees along their fields to stop erosion due to the drought.  This is one time I am sure it made some sense but I would have to say I was not there either.  The government then started paying farmers to not plant crops and it made sense (CRP) so all land would not be converted to planting wheat and create the dust bowls again.  The government then started limiting production of milk because there was an oversupply and then the government started paying peanut farmers (not in the Osage) to not plant and then limiting the amount of peanuts that could be planted.  This was the beginning as far as I know of the politicians killing free enterprise.  I will not attempt to go into the details of these programs but there are probably hundreds.  But what started out to be a good thing has now turned into a system where farmers are dependent on government programs.  The government has insurance to protect a farmer against crop failures and quit frankly I would have to say I agree with this one.  But I don't agree that the farmer who doesn't purchase the insurance should get bailed out by the tax payer.

Another injustice happened to a fellow Osage person who lost their house in a tornado.  They had insurance and when they showed up at the FEMA office they told him and her they could not help them because they had INSURANCE.   ARE YOU KIDDING ME!  What happened to responsibility of buying insurance?  Why  buy insurance if the government (make no mistake here and assume the government is paying because it is the tax payers not the government) is going bail out those who do not take responsibility.  I thought FEMA  was to help folks get back on their feet and have always been a supporter until I heard this story.  If you own a business and you take the risk you lose it unless the government (tax payers) bail you out like GM, CITIbank and AGI.    Where did we go wrong?  What did I do or not do that allowed free enterprise to start a slow death?

Bad things do happen to good people but why is MY HOME / YOUR HOME / OUR HOME seem so different today?  Change is good and you can ask my mom and she will tell you the "good old days" were pretty rough and she is glad they are gone.  But what happened to pride?  What happened to caring?  I remember it never took a committee to figure out if something needed fixed at the old Grainola Methodist Church.  If something needed fixed you just fix it and NOW.  It was the same way at home.  If something needed paint we painted and we did not wait nor procrastinate.  I think that is my Mom and Dad's strongest attribute, they did things NOW.

I remember when I was a kid, if a neighbors yard needed mowed (neighbor was measured in miles) we loaded up and got it done.  My sister cleaned and cooked for every old person in Grainola for years without being paid or asked to help.  She did it because it was the right thing to do.

I was just telling my nephew, Richard Crow of Groundzero fame, that I want more every day to be like my dad and that is to be a friend to everyone and help folks when they needed help.    

Well I guess I should stop but I am not perfect and not even close but I would like to experience some of that Osage Pride but most of all that Osage Do It Now stuff.

Thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneerman.com
                                

Teaching and not knowing

I found myself thinking about how often I was being taught by my parents, friends and neighbors during my growing up years in the Osage.  Did you ever consider that when you asked your parents if it was alright to go fishing or hunting that they were teaching you?

Many times over the years when Dad and Mom did not have a list of things to do or at least felt like giving us a little freedom Larry and I would ask if it was alright to go fishing or hunting and they would just say, "sure".  No questions asked, no warnings given, no hurry back, no "be careful" remarks, just questions like, "will you be back for lunch?".  Actually that was a question never ever needed as we were boys and lunch was always on the agenda.  By the way it was DINNER not lunch and SUPPER not dinner.  We never packed a meal that I remember but we were late getting back many a time.

Think about it.  They let us go somewhere without a cell phone or any other ability to contact us.  They allowed us to be responsible and quite frankly they expected it.  They expected us to follow the laws and be smart about what we were doing.  They taught us to be responsible by EXPECTING us to be responsible. They allowed us to make decisions and do things and they knew there were consequences and consequences were the responsibility of US and our family.  We were responsible for preparing, going and then clean up.  Let me break that down.

If going fishing we had to  not only think about what to wear but we had to gather our equipment and think about what to use for bait.  Back in those days bait was not man made.  If we wanted worms we had to go dig them and we had to figure out how to find where the best worms were.  If we wanted grasshoppers we had to figure out how to catch them and store them.  If we wanted to use minnows we would take a seine and catch them.  We learned to think ahead, anticipate what might be the need or obstacle along our trip.  No one told us where to go so we had to decide to go pond fishing, creek fishing or even lake fishing.  We never had a boat so it was always about how far do we have to walk and do we need shoes for mudding.  My entire point is we were forced to think, reason and anticipate.  Once again my parents taught us not only how to think but how to raise children all in simple things.

My parents taught me how to fail and how not to want to fail  but desire to get ahead.  They provided me an opportunity.  OK let me say it one more time but in an example.  They taught me HOW TO FISH and they never gave me the fish.

Well what do you learn in the Osage?

• Teaching and learning is not always hearing and regurgitating information
• Teaching can sneak up on  a person and learning happens even when you do not try
• If it is free somebody else paid for it.
• and one last point that will surprise you.  I think Obamacare is a great idea because now everyone knows someone is paying for it even if it is only the 50% who pay taxes.  
• Nothing is free - freedom is expensive, capitalism is expensive, socialism is expensive and communism is expensive

Thanks for reading,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Swimming in the old pond

Nowadays (that has to be a word) folks just don't swim unless they can see the bottom of the pool but in the days growing up in the Osage we swam with the fishes.  In particular I remember in the heat of summer mom would rally the troops and we took off through the pasture to the pond east of the house.  It was a catfish pond because it was too muddy for a bass pond and when you walked into the pond you could feel the mud squeeze up between your toes.  In fact I bet the mud was over a foot deep because when you would take a step there was a suction around your feet making it hard to walk much less run into the water.  This is the same pond I wrote about where Larry and I went to play hockey during the winter.  Anyway generally Debbie, Larry, Mom and I would go but it seemed more often than not another family would be with us or at least their kids.  I can remember Mom would always be wearing a brown swim suit and Dad never went swimming.  Many times you could feel the fish bumping into your legs and occasionally trying to nip at your toes and fingers.  Maybe we were noodlers and did not know it, HUM?  The other great part of the swim was the water was soooooooo cool but the cool water was generally about 1 to 2 feet below the surface.  The surface water was quit warm like bath water and the air temperature was normally in the 90's.  Isn't  is interesting how water just a few feet below the surface can be so cold to down right cold?  I don't know why but I guess it was just that I trusted my folks judgement but I never had a fear of swimming in that muddy water and I gave little thought to when I saw a water moccasin (snake) in the pond.  

Now back to Dad, it was interesting that he never learned to swim but what folks did not know is Dad's oldest brother (Arvin as I recall) had drown when he was about 18 years old and my grandad was so torn up about it that he never let the boys go swimming again and the young ones never even got a chance to learn.  I guess it might have been Grandma Olson that stopped the swimming but after losing one son they were not going to take a chance again..  Tragedy can change a families life.  Speaking of being over protective there were five sons still living and all five were in WWII at the same time.  Now that is what I would call stressful.

Back to swimming.  We also would go swimming in the creek behind the house (west of the house) but generally it was too shallow of water to swim in but you certainly could go wading and there were a few small pools of water but not enough room to swim in.  Now that was true for Beaver Creek but the old Salt Creek had plenty of places to swim and when in high school we boys found ourselves in the creek often.  In fact there was always a contest to see who would go swimming first after the new year.  As I recall it was either Rick Cottle or Steve Chrisco who generally would win this one.  If I had to pick the most daring person it would have to be Hugh Allen Jones as he could never risk a dare and in fact if you wanted to suck him into some deal all you would have to do is challenge him by suggesting that he was chicken (scared).  He always had guts and again that is why he was a Marine.

Oh well, I gotta go as I am on the way to Texas for a little work.  Yes I still work and if you want to know more look at www.garylolson.net.  

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Fear exists if someone around you teaches you fear - 
• Sometimes there is a snake in the grass metaphorically speaking 
• Tragedy is not what defines you/me but how you react is what defines a person

Thanks for listening,

Gary@thepioneerman.com

T-Ball and how it changed my life

I have told many a story about Preston, our son with Down Syndrome, but there is a story I would love to share because it will show you how you can make a big difference in more than one person's life.

When Preston was about 7 years old and really behind kids his age in physical and mental ability there was a lot going on in our lives raising two other children and trying to make a living.  We had noticed that Preston did not get some of the luxuries other children got like playing T-ball and thinking about playing football and wrestling with his buddies and getting into fights with his big sister and big brother.  He did not get some of the independence other children get automatically in life.  He especially missed out on having "buddies", friends who asked him to play.  Now of course Wynter and Chase his sister and brother played with him but he did not have that pier group of friends at school and church.  He was not invited over to kids houses to play nor was he invited to their birthday parties and especially he was not wanted on the regular kids sports teams.  But there was one exception which will resonate in my entire being for the rest of my life.

One evening I got a call from a friend from church named Dennis Hale (wife Shelly).  They had a son who was about 5 years old and Dennis was one of those dads who had a passion for life and a passion for sports.  Dennis loved to hunt and fish and do about anything for his wife and son.  He had and has an enthusiasm for life that is tremendous.  I remember when it was time for trick or treat, he was one of those who really got out there and decorated and got ready to have a great time.  But this one time he did something that just brought me literally to tears.  He asked me if Preston could play on his baseball team!  I was speechless and of course we said yes.  But that is not the end of the story.

Dennis worked with Preston over and over again.  Preston would hit the ball and take off running and you could not be sure which direction he would go but he knew to go somewhere.  Everyone would be yelling and Preston would smile and run but he might run to 3rd then home or to 2nd then first.  It was wild.  And when Preston was playing in the field (always the outfield) Dennis would stand proudly with Preston even though there was tremendous lack of understanding on both of their parts on what the other was thinking.  Somehow Dennis's expectations were not to score runs or catch the ball but his was about including a kid who was never asked to be friends with normal kids.  Dennis talked to the other kids about encouraging and helping Preston.  The game was about the person and not the rules.  It was not about winning the game but winning the game of life.

Again the story does not end there.  When we played other teams I saw kids intentionally not tag Preston out or intentionally drop the ball and I saw opposing coaches go to the umpire and tell them Preston was not struck out or tagged on a base.  Did you hear me?  The coaches of the OTHER team.  On top of that I saw fans who typically would be screaming at their children or their own coaches cheer for Preston.  I saw stands full of folks standing and cheering as Preston would cross home plate.  Preston is now 26 and it still makes my eyes water as I recall the stories of heroism of the fans, coaches, umpires, and players from the OTHER teams cheer for the success of a 7 year old boy with down syndrome.

I wish I could say it has always been that encouraging and no one ever hurt our feelings on how they treated our son but I can say that Dennis Hale got his Angels Wings a little early and that God blessed him in a special way that no other person can replace.  I doubt that Dennis will ever see this as we have lost touch with them but there will always be a special place in my heart for a guy that filled my son with joy.  I could say it another way and that is Preston might not realize what a special deal this was but Dennis blessed my family like no other.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• An act of total unselfish love is absolutely unmeasurable
• An act of kindness resonates far beyond the one simple act
• Do something for somebody without any selfish motive and you might earn your Angels Wings a little before it is time

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Mrs. Whitt

Mrs. Whitt was always very nice to me and I never had her in class but she really had class.  She cared about people and you could feel it when you were around her.  She would always ask questions of you and speak like you were important.  But most of all I have to give Mrs. Whitt and "A" for her legacy and that would be her boys Jim and Mark.  Of course there was another brother which I never really knew and then Mr. Whitt who always garnered your respect but Mrs. Whitt was something very special.

She had class both figuratively and literally meaning she was a lady of ladies.  I really liked what Virginia Chrisco Springer said, "I learned so much from the woman she was. She taught me how to be a liberated woman without being a women libber. You could have your independence and still be a wonderful Christian, mother and wife."   When Mrs. Whitt found out about my blogging she began to write me and send me her kind thoughts of encouragement and material which I might give thought to and write about.  You will find sprinkles of her inspiration in my writings (only the good ones).  She was a teacher to the very end and what I would call a REAL teacher because she taught you/me by mentoring not criticism.  The interesting thing is she was never my teacher in school but by her example and by her most recent mentoring.  She taught you even through her boys.

If you have never met Jim or Mark you are really missing out.  Jim is a motivational writer and speaker and if you don't have his books you should find them or contact me and I will tell you how to find them.  Mark is a decorated and retired servant of the America we love, he was and is always a Green Beret (I stand corrected) who served until just a couple of years ago when he finally retired after serving in Iraq a number of times.

Finally if you have to ask, "what did Mrs. Whitt accomplish in life?"  The answers are easy.

• She was a lady
• A teacher 
• A mentor
• An example
• A wife
• A servant
• A mother
• She raised two successful young men  and when I say successful I am speaking of men of character and principle and honor

I suggest each of us ask ourselves, "what matters most?"  and each of us will come up with answers that describe the life of Mrs. Peggy Whitt Asher and her legacy.

Thanks to you for listening but most of all thanks to, as Jim Gaskell says, Mrs. Whitt!

A life well lived, by Mrs. Whitt.

gary@thepioneerman.com

1950 State Champion Basketball Team

I guess there are times in your life, especially mine, when you find that something you thought you knew was not precisely correct.  Well here is the real story about the 1950 not 1952 State Champion Girls Basketball team from Grainola.

First they are listed in the top 100 sporting highlights in the state of Oklahoma.
Second I had two aunts on the team, Lois Lane (super woman) and Erlene although I understand that Lois was the super star of the team.  In fact I heard that she was one if not the best basketball player in the state at that time.  Uncle Mike (her husband) likes to brag on her a little and so does my mom.

Attached is a picture of the students at Grainola High School and I do not know which person is which but I am open to getting some help.  Here are the names I got from Aunt Lois a couple of weeks ago when I was at her house in Prairie Village, Kansas.  Her and Uncle Mike are in their 90's.

Elsie Johnston
Buela May Barton
Lovella Cartwright (I think she and Aunt Lois are the only two living out of this class.
Lois Lane (Del Priorie)
Erlene Lane (Patterson)
_______ Bargis
Dorothy Robinson
Marguarette Carol
__________ Johnson
Dorothy Weaver
I would welcome input on which person is which and what order plus stories about each person.  I remember the moms in Grainola put together a team and played the Grainola kids in high school at Shidler and the women kicked their rears.  Mildred Kelly could dribble and shoot a ball better than any of the boys.  She could even dribble behind her back.

Now for a little love story.  Uncle Mike who is from NEW YORK CITY was in the military during WWII and stationed in Ft. Riley, Kansas and later in Oklahoma where he met Aunt Lois.  They began to write each other and the love bug bit.  It was fun hearing about how they fell in love and it was fun knowing they still felt that way somewhere around 60 years later.   A Yankee city boy marries a country farm girl.  They lived in Kansas City or really Prairie Village and Uncle Mike managed the men's department at the Jone's Store downtown for many years.  I always thought it was kind of cool having an uncle who knew how to dress so sharp and business like and Aunt Lois always seemed like an elegant city girl even though I knew she could slop the hogs, raise a garden, cook and do anything a man could do.  She was and is one tough lady, kind of like the rest of the Lane girls. If you don't know Gladys Snyder, Opal Olson, Peggy Heath, Erlene Patterson you have no idea what tough is.  These girls could kick about any man's butt in a fight.  The funny thing is they were always a pretty good looking group of girls.  Good looking and tough acting and tough talking, all are true.

Well what do you learn in the Osage?

• Yankees have heart too
• Watch out for country girls they are tricky 
• Watch out for good looking ladies they might kick your butt.

Thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneerman.com

The old Clothes Line

I sure wish I had a picture of the old close line and I am sure very few folks even know what that is but let me tell you a few memories about clothes lines.  But first let me tell you where the term in football "clotheslined" someone comes from.  You see a clothesline is a wire between two posts and typically it comes in threes but if someone is running and for some reason they don't see the clothesline they will almost get their head taken off.  The correlation to football is when someone is running along and you stick out your arm and catch them right under the chin or on the neck their feet will come out from under them and they will land flat on their back, thus clotheslined.  It is an awful thing to happen to a person but as a past football player I thought it was cool seeing it done or doing it to someone.  I never wanted to hurt them but it was fun seeing them land flat on their back.  Boys are different than girls, at least it seems that way to me.

Back to the story.

washing machine with wringer, electric even

First you have to know that a clothes line is where in your back yard there are two steel posts, T shaped,   painted silver about 40 feet or more apart with three smooth steel wires between them all spaced evenly apart.  That is where we hung our clothes once they were washed and put through the wringer.  If you don't know what a ringer is take a look at the attached picture.  We use to call them Maytag's and they originally were not electric like this one.  If you look at the top left of the picture you will see two rollers which you place shirts and pants and everything else through to squeeze out the water, thus a wringer because it wrings out the water.  Get it?  Now when you hear someone say that they got their butt in a wringer you know that they are in serious trouble because the wringer can break an arm or hurt like crazy at the least if you get caught in it.  The next step once you have a basket full of clothes you take them outside in hot or freezing cold weather and hang them on the wires between the two posts to dry out.  If it is raining outside don't be stupid and ask what do you do then.  OK, YOU WAIT.  Anyway the clothes pen at the left was for attaching the clothes to the wire so they would not fall.

The second picture is the modern day clothespin which was a wonderful improvement over the old one.  

I don't know about you but I thought clothes smelled better when dried outside prior to the clothes dryer.  I remember how excited Dad was when he purchased a clothes dryer for Mom so she would not have to go outside in all kinds of weather to either gather the clothes or put them out, especially in freezing weather or even just cold weather during the winter.  Dad just loved Mom and I think his greatest joy was when he thought he could do something for her.  It was a good lesson on how to treat a lady.  I think they call that mentoring or teaching a son how to treat a lady.  Kind of cool if you ask me.

Well I have one last story about clotheslines and if you like cats or don't like cruelty to animals you might want to stop reading. 

I am not going to mention names so there will be no ramifications on "who dun it".  Anyway one time there was a couple of young boys who tied two cats together and threw them over the clothesline.  Fur was flying and it was an awful sight to behold.  All I can say about this is that we are lucky God is a loving and forgiving God because those boys lost every chance of making it into heaven based on works because there is no way to make up for such a horrible deed.  Before you argue with me you should read the Bible and then ask questions.  I am always amazed at how folks are experts on something they do not read.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Respect and love for a lady
• Change can be good but memories of the good old days are what gives spice to this life
• I really love cats 

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Entrapreneur vs. Fullamanure

For some folks things just seem to always come easy and then there is the real story behind what makes a person.  Folks have made many a remark about what an entrepreneur I have been but what they don't know is how I got there.

First off I was not an entrepreneur in that I was just motivated to go out and start new business ventures or try something new but it was that things happened along the way to make me choose which opportunities to take.  In fact one of my favorite things to tell folks is, " I am not an entrepreneur but I am Fullamanure".  If you have never seen that word let me break it down for you, Full-a-manure.  Does that clear it up for you?  OK, back to the story.  At an early age my folks EXPECTED me to invest money in sheep and practice DISCIPLINE in keeping or taking care of them while keeping DETAILED RECORDS of what it cost to raise those sheep.  Dad (see previous story) took me to the bank at about 9 years old to ask the president of the bank, Windal Andrews, to loan me $60. For more details read the other story.  You see it was not a choice to be a business person and take responsibility but it was an EXPECTATION.  In fact there were consequences for not taking responsibility.  If I did not water and feed the sheep obviously the animals would not do very well and it would cost me money.  However there were much greater consequences from Mom and Dad.  I would be grounded or if I forgot to feed the animals I would miss a meal so that I would understand how the animals felt.  CONSEQUENCES for my action or lack of action.

As I grew older the money invested got larger and the cost and profits were bigger but so were the losses.  My folks NEVER told me to depend on someone else or the government if I failed.  They taught me consequences and responsibility.

Now you may ask, "why did I think of this story?" and I am telling you it was a phone bill I received last week.  I had added a new telephone line for my business and I was absolutely floored at what I found out.  If you want a business line it costs extra because it is assumed that you would use it more.  Use your logic here and think.  If the phone company knows how much you use the line then why wouldn't it be the same price per minute of use for a person or business?  The primary reason is that businesses cannot complain and vote but people do so the politicians suck up to the voters and stick it to the business person.  Now if you think it is ok then ask yourself this, "do you use your cell phone for business or just personal?"  Of course you use it both so you pay the same regardless and you pay for the usage amount even if it is one of those convoluted package deals.  BUT this is still not the point.
 
My new phone line was $25.20 per month and all the fees and taxes on it were $17.65 which is 70% !!!!!  Who is kidding who?  This is highway robbery and they don't call hardly any of it taxes and it is all on top of the other taxes you pay:

Property Tax,                                      Sales Tax
Income Tax                                         SSN Tax
Medicare Tax                                     Obama care tax
Excise Tax                                          Property Tax
Capital Gains Tax                                and many more  but what about the FEES you pay every time you turn around?

License Tag fees                                  Builders license fees
Filing fees                                            and a lot more
Oklahoma is one of only two states that still have ABSTRACT Companies which are political monopolies to maintain the title to your house and then they sell INSURANCE on the same title everytime it changes hands.

Now we have required health care insurance which I will have to tell you is not all bad because we have had it for many years but now it is in the form of 26 new taxes and penalties and the GOVERNMENT is going to HELP.

The government has made it so burdensome that doctors are getting out of the business faster than we can get new ones and the ones still working are becoming part of the hospital organizations to lower the burden of government documentation requirements.  DOES ANYONE OUT THERE GET IT?  The government is preventing the small business owner from being able to compete so they are going out of business and/or never starting because the cost to enter is so high and difficult due to government regulations?  Banks don't make small loans because the burden is so HIGH and this prevents people from borrowing and starting new businesses.  HAS ANYONE NOTICED THAT SMALL BANKS ARE DISAPPEARING AND SMALL LOANS ARE GONE?  Do you wonder why?

People gripe about unions but licensing of so many professions is the same as unionizing because it prevents competition.  Yes it does protect the consumer from someone who does not know what they are doing but it also makes the cost of everything very high.  Sure protecting eagles is a high priority but feeding your children and creating jobs is important.  Up until the government got involved we had a FREE society and we had the competition where the winner wins but now we cannot speak freely because we can get fined by the government.  If you don't believe me ask any person involved in Medicare supplemental insurance or the securities business.  You cannot hardly go take a leak without the government involved.  Come to think of it just about everything in the restroom is controlled by the government as well.  What happened to buyer be ware?

This whole thing started with one topic and ended with another.  God bless America! I love this country but I want some help getting it fixed and now is the time to get involved in fixing it.  If you are like me and believe that Christians are being prejudiced against please call your political officers and tell them you are tired of government regulations and government protecting you against every little thing.  Every time a law is passed someone loses and someone wins.  It seems to me that we make laws too often and without a cost / reward benefit analysis.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• Entrepreneurs are not born they are EXPECTED
• RESPONSIBILITY is for everyone 
• Discipline must be restored

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

What do you do when you are tired tells a lot about how you are raised.

The last few days I have been doing something I have wanted to do for some time, build a paver based patio at our cottage where my new office will be.  Well it is now 99% complete but I wondered where I got this desire to do these projects and to do what it takes to get them done.  You must know it came from the Osage and most importantly from my Dad and Mom, Cliff and Opal Olson.

I recall when we would prepared the fields for planting once it started there was no stopping until the fields were planted.  We awoke before daylight and made sure the tractor was fueled and the implement was greased.  We drank while we drove the tractor and generally we would stop for lunch and supper was brought to the field so we could keep going until it was dark.  You may think riding/driving a tractor is easy work but I bet you never road on an older tractor that had very little spring in the seat and there was no cab to protect you from the heat and the wind and dust and in fact we did not have a radio on ours.  By the end of the day your body was worn slick from bouncing and constantly turning your head to check on things.  I mean to tell you once you put in those many hours (bad English but that is the way it was) on a tractor your body was so spent you did not care to eat, only a bed would suffice and it would only last for a few hours before you were back on the tractor.

Hay season occurred often during the summer starting with straw hay from the wheat fields then we would have a cutting of alfalfa, generally there were 5 cuttings a summer, then hay grazer which was the worst and once a year we would cut and bail prairie hay.  So you can see why about every kid, even if you lived in Shidler like Steve Chrisco and many more, hauled hay to make money.  There was always work to do and the help was always needed.  Back to the hay grazer, it looked a lot lot johnson grass or corn stalks but better for cattle and worse for workers like me.  It was always heavier and it took longer to dry and longer and more difficult to bail and was more difficult to stack in the barn.  In the winter it was the most difficult to get out of the barn because it would kind of melt down to almost stick together and when you removed it from the barn it was more difficult to handle and it was hot from all the moisture in it.  The cattle loved it as I think it was sweeter and  had more energy in it, thus the heat.  Well haying season almost never ended and it was another start before daylight and end after dark kind of job.  The rule was get it done especially before it rained.

One last example of why laying pavers is a job and a joy.

My folks were one of the first I can remember to insist on landscaping around the house with shrubs along the foundation and sidewalks to give shape to the gardens and a nice path to the parked cars on the East and South side of the house.  I remember Steve Dowell, the county agent who lived in Fairfax, coming by to visit with Dad and Mom about what to plant and how to plant those shrubs around our new house.  If you look close in the picture you will see that old house we built and I believe it was about 40 feet long and 30 feet wide for about 1200 square feet and it was a perfect rectangle, not like all the houses today.  It did not have a garage as that was always detached in those days.  Anyway my folks seemed to have a passion for making things look nice.  Before gas weed eaters we had idiot sticks (at least that is what we called them) which had a blade on the end of stick but both sides of the blade was sharp so that when you swung it both ways it would cut weeds or grass.  Anyway, Dad and Mom did not like weeds around anything and Mom really liked flowers so we had marigolds and zinnias every year plus a few tulips and daffodils.  I assume their motivation was looks but sometimes I think it was to make sure we had something to do.  We even cut the weeds in the coral area just so it would look nice.  We even cut the weeds in the junk pile and yes every farmer had a junk pile where they could get parts from old equipment to repair the newer stuff.

Well what these three stores have to do with pavers explains why my hands hurt and ache and my muscles are tight.  In fact I got tickled at an Edmond person telling me how tired they were after working from 8 to 12 outside in the 105 degree heat last weekend.  I worked Friday after work at my office until after dark plus Saturday from 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. barely stopping for lunch and a limited supper then going to church on Sunday and finishing up my project Sunday afternoon till dark plus Monday 7 to 9 and I don't mean two hours.  The idea is to get it done and don't count the pain.  Oh ya!  It was 105% outside where I was working and the bricks were hotter than H___.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• When you have a job to do you do it until it is done/complete.  As my Dad would say, "Getter done"
• No pain No gain, people don't pay you for the easy stuff
• I like to make things look nice.
• What kind of person do you want working for you?  

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Coach Gilbreth - small things make a big difference

Growing up in Grainola it is clear from my other stories that I was always a rather large person for my age but luckily  a lot of folks caught up with me in high school like Frank Ball, AJ Jacques, Dave Jacques, Jody Price, Julian Codding, and I am sure several more but one time when Coach Gilbreth was at Grainola with one of the Shidler teams he made one of those comments to me that made a big difference.

We were probably in the 6th or 7th grade and he had a Shidler team playing Grainola and I would have to admit we were outmatched.  In fact I remember PeeWee Robinson, Steve Chrisco, AJ Jacques, Jim Whitt, Ricky Cottle and more who just ran circles around us to the point it was embarrassing.  The only good thing going was that I was about 18 inches taller than all of them and I could bully myself on them and block shots and physically knock them down.  Yes they beat us and they always beat us as far as I can remember.  Their team was made up of kids in one grade where our team was made up of kids from the 6th, 7th and 8th grade and maybe even the 5th and 4th grade, it was not fair and LIFE IS ALWAYS FAIR, just kidding.  Anyway after the game Coach Gilbreth came up to me and told me I should play football for him.  I did not know much about football but I knew I liked to compete and I liked to hit folks in sports as it was my best weapon.  You see I was never fast enough to out run anyone but I was taller and bigger so I could push folks around like Hugh Allen Jones.  The good thin about Hugh is he liked to fight and not in a mean way but he loved the conflict.  I guess that is why he became a great United States Marine.

Well that conversation stuck with me.  I started thinking I could be good at something and I started watching football on TV and occasionally going to Shidler for a high school football game.  One of my fondest early memories was Ronnie West who was like greased lightning as a running back and what seemed like a really nice guy.  That is something to think about.  Here he did not even know my name but I was four years or five younger than he and I was watching how he acted on the field and off the field.  He was my mentor and did not even know it.  Somehow we need to let young people know they are mentoring someone even when they do not know it.

Also consider that Coach Gilbreth was a mentor and he made a big difference in my life with just a little bit of encouragement.  Also when I went to Shidler and played for him I thoroughly enjoyed how he would always put me up against different people in one-on-one drills and let us go after it.  He would just laugh and as I remember there was a coach Bouer (not sure how to spell it) who particularly enjoyed watching us young rascals fight it out in those uniforms.  They probably should not have been paid to have so much fun, just kidding.  I loved the pep talks where he would challenge us to do our best and push us to run faster and longer than I thought was humanly possible.  To be truthful going to football practice was actually a relief from work and I would gain weight each year when football practice started because I was already in shape from the farm work.  I would also say that the running all the time is what was hard for me.  I could haul hay all day or run a tractor but running was a different sort of pain and suffering.  In the end I learned a lot about myself and working as a team.

Well I just have to say thanks to all the coaches and especially Coach Gilbreth for taking a little extra note of a big insecure boy and encouraging him he could be good at something.

So what do you learn in the Osage?  This is really a long list but I will keep it short.

• Persevere, you can always do more than you think you can

•  Mentoring someone is not a big deal to do but it is a big deal to do for someone 

• YOu are always mentoring someone, even if you do not know it, even if you are a bad mentor.  If you want your kids and kids friends to grow up to be good citizens take a look in the mirror first.

•  Small talk is big talk when a child is listening

Thanks for your time and thanks for all those who quietly and not so quietly mentored me in the Osage,
gary@thepioneerman.com

The lost check

Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful!!!!!

This is one of those things Dad would say when something funny but shameful would happen and this is one of those times, the time we lost a check.

I use to have a Shetland pony and a surrey which I could ride up and down the gravel roads at high speed.  It was a lot of fun and I was probably in the 11 or 12 year old timeframe when I got her.  She had an attitude but when you hooked her up to the cart she could get up and go. 

Speaking of "get up and go", I will never forget the time Janie Shumate did a 4-H skit at the Osage County talent show over in Pawhuska and the name of her skit was "When my get up and go had got up and went".  I thought it was one of the funniest things I had ever seen.  She had a real talent for the acting and she was one of the sweetest people out of Grainola and the oldest daughter of Beth Shumate (the cherry pie lady and my 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teacher).  As I recall she did another single person skit a year or so later and it was called "George and Martha ".  The only words in the skit were George and Martha but she said those words with many different voice inflections and you could see how George and Martha first met, got to know each other and finally fell in love.  You could hear it in their voices as their love grew deeper and deeper and as I recall it right threw the aging process to the end of a long life together.  I suppose it was one of the most moving skits I had ever seen to this day.  In my mind she should have won the contest.

OK, back to the lost check.  I bet you cannot wait for this? 

Well racing up and down that gravel road was a lot of fun but one day I had taken my favorite sister, Debbie, for a ride and disaster struck.  The Shetland Pony got its front left leg on the outside of the guide rails on the surrey and as it poked into her flank she got wild and wilder.  Finally she took off to the left toward the bar ditch and gravel was flyer because we were going so fast.  I could see we were running straight into the barbed wire fence and if you don't know what that is let me tell you.  It is wired twisted together with barbs every four or so inches to help keep animals from going through the fence as the barbs would dig into their hide.  Well let me tell you I could see what was coming and I yelled "Geronimo, get off of this cart".  Being the brave man I am, I jumped and Debbie did not!  It was a grave mistake.  Debbie must have gotten a hundred stitches in the back of her leg and I would say she was blessed it was not any worse.  She was cut up bad.  It was such a traumatic mess that I have no idea what happened to the horse other than Dad got her untangled and back safe to the barn yard.  The cart was not even damaged at all.

Yes, there is a check in here somewhere. 

After that I decided to sell the cart and yes I got a check for $40 from some folks over in Bartlesville.  Mom put the check in a safe place until we could go to the bank and I could deposit it.  Of course it would be deposited at the Shidler State Bank where Mr. Wendal Andrews was president (remember he was my first banker) except for one problem.  Mom put the check up so we would not lose it and we could not find it.  In fact it was at least one year and maybe two or three before we found it.  The sad thing is when we found it.

Have you ever dusted your house and furniture and not picked something up but just scooted it around until you got the surface dusted?  Well Mom put that check under the BIBLE and sadly it was not picked up for a long long time.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• you ought to read your Bible once in a while
• Have a Bible in your house protects NO ONE from the tragedy of HELL
• Don't be critical of folks who have a Bible because they may not know what is in it, it might have a check in it
• What if it had a check which said, "this is your ticket to heaven so bring it when you come, John 3:16"?  Would you be ready to meet your maker?

Thanks for your time,
gary@thepioneerman.com


lsot $40 dollar check for a couple years.

Broom corn and cotton picking

I ran in to Stan kelly of Edmond who is just a little older than me and he was telling me he grew up on the farm and use to pick cotton and cut broom corn.  Now I know in the Osage we did not do those crops back then although I hear Lebby Williams (LEB) is now raising cotton in the Osage.  Anyway I am really glad we did not have these two crops as I have heard too many stories about having to hand pick cotton and how it would cut  your fingers.  And broom corn is just about the nastiest thing to cut because you have to do it with a strangely made knife that was curved and was tied to your index finger and then you would use your thumb and index finger to cut the broom corn with the knife.  The trick is to not stick yourself with the knife which was always easy to do.  You see I did raise broom corn and it really is nasty.

The problem is broom corn is grown for the sticks or stubble on the top of the stalk which can be higher than your head.  What this means is you are always cutting over your head or at head level and the dust is getting all over your face and neck and down your shirt.  It itches terribly.  In my opinion the only way to cut it is with a bare back, no shirt.  Most folks prefer long sleeve shirts and pants to protect them as much as possible.

Now just what do you do with this stuff? I am sure everyone knows what you do with cotton but just in case you or the manufacturers make thread which is made into cloth which makes into sheets, pillow cases, shirts, pants, underwear, etc.  But broom corn is not so well known for what it is made to do.  Well here it is, you make brooms just like the ones at your house used to sweep the floors.  Therefore broom corn.  The reason the name includes corn is that it looks like a corn stalk when it grows.

So what does this all have to do with the Osage?  NOT MUCH.  But I am glad we did not have to mess with these two crops when I was a kid.  One thing worth knowing is that Oklahoma use to be the center for broom corn for the US and it was grown down in the SW part of the state around Alex, Chickasha, Altus, Binger, and into the panhandle of Texas.  In fact if you know the Hough family (Hough Ear Institute) in Oklahoma City Mrs. Hough's family were some of the largest broom corn farmers in the country.  How about that for a little piece of information.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Not much about broom corn and cotton
• How to be a good worker and to give a good effort with hope of a good return, kind of like planting and reaping
• Where a broom comes from

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Skipping rocks

Where there is water and a few rocks and preferably flat rocks a boy has to do what he has to do, skip rocks.  I bet you I have skipped rocks thousands of times and in fact have shared the art with my children, even Preston can skip a rock.

So what is so exciting about skipping a rock?  Well, for one, if you cannot do it you have not tried and you have certainly not failed.  Skipping rocks is a lesson in success and overcoming disappointment.  It is also a lesson in geometry, physics and common sense.  Let me explain.

First to skip rocks you have to know that a flatter rock is easier to skip with than a round rock.  Also you learn that a heavy rock is not necessarily the best rock.  You see a round rock is more likely to not skip on water because it has less surface area when it hits the water which means the surface tension of the water is lower in a small spot and therefore more likely to sink.  Also if the rock is heavy it is more likely to break the surface tension of the water and sink.  That is PHYSICS and common sense.  Now for the geometry part of the equation.  It is very important that you throw the rock as close as possible to parallel with the surface of the water.  If you do this correctly you maximize the surface tension of the water, minimize the effect of a heavy rock and you maximize the number of skips on the water.  Once the rock hits the water the first time it will bounce off the water and arch into the air until its weight and momentum combined cause the rock to fall to the surface of the water again where the surface tension of the water and the weight of the stone plus its speed of descent to the water allow it to once again sink or skip.  Now with all that said surely it is plain to see the lower the angle or parallelity (my word) the more skips you get when combined with high throwing speed and a modest size rock.  I should also tell you that if you spin the rock when thrown it will also cause the surface tension of the water to have less impact on the speed of the rock and cause more skipping.

Well in the end our success is measured by how many skips you get and how far it goes.  A little understanding of physics and geometry are by products but the fact is, you learn by doing.  Now that brings up another thing and that is, Do you fail if you never try?  I contend that if you don't try you automatically fail and that if you try and fail you really WIN.  If for no other reason you win because you are a better person because you know that you tried.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• if you don't try you cannot succeed
• skipping rocks teaches folks to compete
• failure is never failure unless you chose it, it is a decision not an emotion

Thanks for reading and spending time with me,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Grasshoppers

I know that grasshoppers are not good for the crops but they are great fish bait.  We would catch a couple dozen and head for the creek, Beaver Creek.

I don't remember how often we got to go fishing but it seemed like we got to go plenty of times and it was especially convenient as the creek was just a few hundred yards behind the house.  Fishing is like anything you need to prepare to be successful.  We had two primary baits, worms and grasshoppers but on occasion we would take a seine and catch some minnows, shiners is what we called them.  Grasshoppers were pretty good for catching bass so we concentrated on grasshoppers most of the time.  Dad made it easier by making a special tool for catching grasshoppers.  Basically it was a pole about 10 feet long with a small net made of metal screen like you would get out of a screen porch door.  Come to think of it most of you have never seen a screen porch door.

Just about everyone had two doors at every entrance one of which would be a screen door with a regular door in front of it if you are standing on the inside of the house.  If that makes no sense to you then you had better call for some country logic.  It allowed the air to flow through the house and not let in the bugs.  You see we left all the windows and doors open and covered them with screens so the air could flow through the house and keep it cool or at least cooler than being outside in the sun.  Screen doors were automatically closed by a spring attached to the frame and the door.  When you would go through it in a hurry it would POP really loud and hopefully you would not experience the scorn of Mom for slamming the door so loudly.  For whatever reason I remember the back screen door was painted green.  It was really a shame but after a number of years we replaced all the screens with what we called storm doors and windows which were partially glass and screen but the screen could be closed to help stop air flow and make the house more comfortable in the winter.  The new screen doors stopped the slamming as they had an air filled cylinder to stop the slamming effect and allow the door to close slower.  Some day I will tell you the story about sticking my hand through the door and just about cutting my finger off.

Back to grasshoppers.  Some folks don't like how grasshoppers jump around and kind of stick to you and I will admit they are a little scary sometimes but the cool thing is they have their skeleton on the outside of their bodies unlike humans who have their skeletons on the inside.  Just take a look and you will see what I mean.  Anyway when you bait a hook with a grasshopper bass go crazy and it makes for good fishing and my favorite part CATCHING.  The truth is I don't really like to fish as much as I like to catch.

Now one more thing about grasshoppers that you may not know.  Some folks like to eat them but I am not one of them.  Uncle Snyd as you may recall was a WWII veteran and was a prisoner of war and in fact in the Death March in the Philippines.  One of the stories he told me was how they would catch grasshoppers to get protein and nourishment as the Japanese tried to starve them to death.  The worst part of being a prisoner was not the death march but the slave labor camp they took him to in northern China where the nights were freezing cold and many of his friends died from starvation and cruelty from the Japanese.  I just found it amazing to hear Uncle Snyd tell about catching grasshoppers and bugs to get protein to avoid getting beriberi.

I don't know why my sister, Debbie, didn't like to fish as much as I did but Larry, my brother, has never stopped fishing.  In fact he has been teaching and mentoring my family on the art of fishing even today.  He even emails the grand niece of Debbie as they are fishing buddies.  My oldest son and Larry are now engaged in the art of fishing as well.  It is really cool to see Larry mentoring these young fishermen and fisherwomen (somehow that does not sound right).  Can't fishermen mean boys and girls?

Oh well, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Grasshoppers are not just pests
• Don't feel sorry for yourself, some folks have to eat grasshoppers to stay alive
• The definition of HOPE is fishing with grasshoppers
• planning is good for fishing and everything in life

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

1950 Grainola State Basketball Team

Now who knew about this one?  Grainola had what is considered the 39th best sports teams in Oklahoma!

this is not the 1950 team but it is a Grainola team

I have been trying to figure out who was on that team and would love to have a picture so help me if you can.  Here is my best guess at the players.

Deanie Fulsom (Jim and Clarissa's mom) (Heath)
Mildred Kelly - actually I don't know her maiden name
Wessene  Fulsom (Heath)
Joan Woods (Mildred's sister)
Clara Fay Fulsom (Deanie's sister)
???? Bartgis (June Johnston's sister or cousin, Dee Johnson's aunt (also Marvin and the twin's))
Lois Lane (my aunt and not sure if she was on this team)
The coach was ?  Hartman who later was head coach at Kansas State

From the top 100 sports teams in Oklahoma:

39. 1950 Grainola girls basketball: 34-2
Step aside, Hoosiers. No story beats this defunct Osage County school, which sported only 14 students; all nine girls played hoops and won Class B state title. Three months later, school closed for good.

Read more: http://centennial.newsok.com/topteams#ixzz1FOUfBpZM

send your answers and responses to:
The Pioneer Man
12501 Dutch Forest Place
Edmond, OK 73013
or gary@thepioneerman.com

It was not fair!

Growing up on the farm and ranch in the Osage was great but looking back there were a few things that were not fair.  In particular we never had a color TV or air conditioner or riding lawn mower and we had a huge lawn.  In fact you would have thought a weed eater (gasoline powered) would have been a great thing and in some ways it was and in some ways it was not.

You see until the gas powered weed eater we had the Gary powered Idiot Stick which is a tool that had a blade on both sides so it would cut both ways.  You would swing it as hard as you could at weeds and grass and it would cut them down fairly easily.  The problem was that you got tired, hot and sweaty doing this around all the barns (see list of barns from a few weeks back) and after a while you could not pick up your arms because they were so tired.  But being a farm boy you never stopped and you endured the pain.  I suppose today we could say our parents abused us and get some government relief which basically meant the weeds would not get cut on a timely basis and it would take four more people to do the job.  Yes, I am saying the government is not only not a help but inhibits productivity and resourcefulness and the entrepreneurship that comes from a person doing a job and finding a faster and better way of doing things.  More government NEVER helps productivity or creativeness.  Anyway with the advent of a weed eater not only could we do the same job faster but Dad figured we could do more since we had time to spare so now we not only did the barns but the driveway.  For you city folks that may sound like a small add but at our house that was ONE MILE from our house to Eddy's house (home of Vea Harris, Janis, David and Bob and Gordon).  YES, we weed-eated a mile of driveway but luckily Dad and Mom did not insist we do it weekly but once or twice a summer and maybe three times max.  I am not sure if they liked the neatness of the work or if they were creating work to keep us busy and out of trouble or out of their hair.

One side story about weed eating.  When Dad was 87 and two days before he went into the hospital for gall bladder surgery he was at my house at daylight for a cup of coffee.  That may not sound like a big deal except that he and Mom lived at Perkins and it was an hour to our house in western Edmond (The Pumpkin Patch or Clifford Farms as it was later known) and Dad would drive to Edmond and have breakfast at Around the Corner in downtown Edmond and then be at our house close to daylight ready to do something.  Dad use to say, "let's do something even if it is wrong".  Anyway this day he said he was going to weed eat the driveway which was about 1/2 mile long and I told him I would get put in jail if they saw an 87 year old man weed eating my driveway.  He just stuck his tongue out at me and went to work after drinking his coffee.

Well here is the strange thing relative to the title of this story, Dad and Mom moved to Perkins, Oklahoma when Dad was about 61 years old so he could be a rural mail carrier full time and gain a retirement package.  They moved from Grainola and started a new life when Dad was 61 but the funny thing was Mom and Dad decided to purchase a TV and appliance store in Perkins and start selling color TVs and air conditioners and they even purchased a riding lawn mower.  We NEVER had any of these things when I was growing up in the Osage.  NOT FAIR.  Actually I am very proud that at that age they were very willing to start something new and go on a new adventure in life.

My folks made me proud.  Oh sure they made mistakes and everything was not easy but that sense of adventure and courage resonates with me.  Life is not about how much money we made or how popular we are with friends but it is what you leave behind that lasts for a long time which makes a positive difference.  They were pioneers in every aspect and they were free to take chances and free to fail.  They did not depend on the government to pay for their mistakes (Detroit bankruptcy, General Motors or AIG) but they depended on their own actions and best efforts to make it work.  I am so very thankful for a great example from my parents.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• the government does not give you opportunity but you create your own
• you will always feel better about yourself and your country when you work like everything depends on you and you take care of your country, not your country take care of you
• creative entrepreneurship comes from FREEDOM not dependency on government programs or regulations, LET FREEDOM RING

Thanks for your time,
gary@thepioneerman.com