Mike Moser

I know many of you remember the Moser family of which Nancy plus an older sister and then Mike were their 3 children.  I am asking for your help in a few things for some very good reasons.

I want to collect some stories of Mike for his son Nathan.  Mike went to college at Weatherford for one or two years before going to ophthalmology school in Houston at the same time I was there.  I should make a correction just in case you made a mistake.  I went to Weatherford not Houston as I was not so smart like Mike.  After school he married and located to Louisiana where he had a family and I believe it was one or two children.  Mike was later killed in an auto accident when his son was 9 years old.  Nathan is now interested in finding more about his dad so I am going to share a few stories and I want you to fill in some holes.

At Southwestern State College (later to become Southwestern Oklahoma State University SWOSU)Mike set the curve in every class I was in and I think he always thought it was easy.  He always had a dry sense of humor and few words to say but he would laugh a lot when he got tickled.  I had the pleasure of getting to know Mike while there and visited his home.  His dad and mom moved to Weatherford when he was starting his junior year in high school.  Mike's dad made or ground glass lens for eye doctors in those days after work as a second income.  I think it was Phillips Petroleum during the day.  It was really cool to watch.  He had a special room that was very small where he made the lenses. 

The other thing I remember about Mike was he was very close to Harold Codding and I think Mike Benton.  Mike grew up in the Webb City Methodist Church and was an avid baseball player.  As I recall he was a side arm pitcher that no one could hit off very easily.  He was also a talented basketball player with great shooting and dribbling ability. 

Most of all I remember Mike as a quiet leader who was humble but incredibly smart.  Julian Codding shared a story with me:

Mike was such a smart guy.  He & Harold were always best pals.  I sat next to mike in several classes.  He laughed a lot.  He was funny & he liked fun.  Great guy!  Great guy!!!  He was there when our math teacher, your Aunt Gladys walked up to me reading a library book in class (as I did everywhere ) stuck her hand out like a salute (with that ram rod posture she had form being a WAC drill Sargent and took the book, staring into my eyes and said "Mr. Codding! That will never happen again!"  She was right, it never happened again. Mike was almost bent over in his chair biting his tongue to keep from laughing.  He was brilliant at every subject!

If you can help me it would be a tribute to Mike and most of all helpful to Nathan a United States Marine whom we should be thankful for because he is serving you and me and our families.

Thanks for listening.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• to be a leader does not mean you have to yell or demand
• a quite and humble spirit have long lasting meaning
• be thankful for those who served else we might be speaking German or Japanese today.

Thanks again,

gary@thepioneerman.com

It has been too long

I apologize that it has been so long since I wrote to my friends and family.  I truly enjoy knowing that so many of you read this stuff, even Mrs. Helen Head who I deeply admire.  I hope this finds her well.  Recently Alidane McConaghy passed and I found myself considering that life is just a fleeting moment.  Mom and Dad so loved Carl and Alidane.  We will miss them.

So here we go:

I sit here listening to those old time hymns we use to sing in the Grainola Methodist Church and they remind me of a solid family life in the Osage.  Just think back to when you use to sit in church even when you did not want to sit there.  STOP and THINK.  Why was it such a great feeling thinking back about those days?  I believe it is because I heard something then that never left me, "Oh what a friend we have in Jesus".  I admit I went a lot of directions but there was always that PIVOT POINT in my life that I never got so far away from that I could not see it.  That PIVOT POINT was the old cross or was it the old bell that hung outside or was it just the idea that Jesus loved me even when I was out there taring things up with Eddie Harris and Jon Tanny Olsen and Hugh Allen Jones and Jimmy Heath or was it later when I became friends with AJ and Dave Jacques or was it Johnny Payne, David Howell and the list goes on and on.  If you would like your names added to this send me an email with a short story of what we did.  Anyway, life was really good in the Osage and Grainola and especially good old Shidler. 

Of course we all get nostalgic, but what really mattered is the question.  I think it was the values that our parents had about God and country and the time we gave to each other in our families and friends.  If I was ever prejudice against anyone I don't know who it was or is today.  It might be against someone who offended me intentionally or it might be a democrat (just kidding) but it was not a person of color or even sexual orientation (hope it was ok to say that).  I don't agree with everyone or probably anyone 100% but I am not the judge.  I learned that in the Osage from people like my Mom, Vea Harris, Gladys Snyder and Mrs. Shumate and others.  One of the things I find today which actually is a reflection of myself up until I was about 30 years old is that I could quote the Bible and what it said without even reading it.  Even after I accepted Christ's free gift I could quote the Bible without reading it.  I guess that is like writing a book report for Mrs. Head without actually reading the entire book.  I would never have done that!  Somewhere about 22 years old I did start reading and studying the Bible just to find out it said very little of the things I thought I knew.  Do you know anyone like me?  or that was like me back then?

Well I have to tell you that today I find great joy in knowing more of what it says and I absolutely do not recall everything I have read accurately but the one thing I do know is, "God loves everyone" and it is up to me to decide to accept what He says in His book as truth.  By the way we can argue about Romans and what it says about ELECTION but there is no doubt in my mind God loves everyone and gave us a choice.  I chose to accept His gift.

Well that was fun and I am glad I am back.

So what did I learn in the Osage?

• Don't quote something you never read
• Don't judge a book by its cover, people too
• If you reject something or someone, get to know them first

I just love all of you for reading my STUFF,

gary@thepioneerman.com

p.s. and thanks to Sue as she always lets me know when I mess up in my spelling and grammaticism and occasionally my facts.