Those two cedar trees

Growing up on Beaver Creek in the Osage (1 mile north and 3 west past Vea's house) our house had two giant cedar trees in front of the house about 30 feet apart.  I remember during one of those HOT summers Wayne Patterson (my cousin and mom's sister's oldest child and a veteran) and dad and Larry tied a rope between those two trees and put a giant military looking tarp over the rope then tied the sides down to make a tent.  That is right, no floor and no protection from the two ends being open and all the bugs that wanted to come in.  As I recall there were a few cots but mostly just bedding on the ground to sleep on.  One of the great things about being the youngest and the most naive is that I did not realize the potential for bugs and snakes and anything else that might wonder into our tent.  All I can remember is that it was an adventure with Dad, Larry, Big Wayne (we called him Big Wayne because Larry's middle name was Wayne) and I believe Billy Snyder (another cousin and he was the son of Gladys Snyder, mom's sister). 

What was really important about that adventure was not the tent, not the lack of a floor or protection from wildlife and bugs but being together as family and we were friends as well. 

Well what else was important about those cedar trees:  For one, that is where I got a little shade from the sun and heat and took a nap on rare occasion.  Second, it was where my  dad, Clifford Olson, set up a device he created so that I could learn to ride my bike when he was not around to help me.  They way it worked is that he nailed a few boards to the tree so that I could place the back tire of my bicycle between the tree and the boards allowing me to get on the bike without falling.  Then I would take off peddling my bike with the hopes I could stay balanced and ride.  FREEDOM!  Yes, I learned to ride the bike and of course ultimately I had to learn to get on the bike without falling.  It was truly a great invention.

Dad was an engineer without match.  He could always figure things out, just amazing.

Well, that is my story and I am sticking to it.

so what do you learn in the Osage?

• It is all about the good memories and not the hardships
• A little ingenuity can go a long way in helping a kid enjoy life
• God gave us trees for a lot of reasons and we need to make the best of it

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

Please go buy my book!!!!!!!!  It is on Amazon, Home on The Range by gary olson and ALL proceeds go to Wings, www.wingsok.org

#2 yellow pencil

Did you ever see or even know what a #2 yellow pencil is?  I have not seen one in years but the other day someone gave me a #2 white pencil and it reminded me of growing up in the Osage.  So, here goes another.

Every year when school started I got a new #2 yellow pencil and a new Big Chief Tablet (bet they don't even make those anymore).  Hugh Allen Jones could make a pencil last longer than anyone.  I think it was a pride thing in that he would sharpen that pencil until it was so short I could not even hold it, much less write legibly which I still cannot do today.

Speaking of that subject Mrs. Shumate, my 4th, 5th and 6th grade teacher always gave me bad grades on penmanship. Yes, we had three classes together for a total of about 16, 5 in Debbie's class above me and 6 in Jay Olsen's class above her)  If you have read many of my stories you know she is about the sweetest and shortest lady ever (about 4 foot 10 inches).  She was an incredible influence in my life and I was invited to speak at the Grainola Methodist Church in her honor. I was pleased to point out that you DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE GREAT PENMANSHIP to be successful in life.  I know I love to poke fun at folks but she was a magnificent lady.  Back to the #2 pencil.

Those pencils were always a good thing and we used them for many purposes like:  when Mr. Lewis Morris (teacher) left the room we could take rubber bands and launch them toward the 14 foot high ceilings and penetrate the ceiling tiles.  So Cool!  The ceiling had many a hole and actually a lot of pencils just dangling.  We also could use them as projectiles across the room and it was never a safe thing.  In fact many a folk got injured but luckily not permanently and no eye injuries.  Another good use was defending your papers and desk as Jon Tanny Olsen attempted to grab something off my desk I jammed the #2 into his hand/finger.  The lead broke off in his finger and remained there for many years until surgery to remove it.  

Another fine use of those pencils was relief of stress or an outlet for those of us with ADD squared which included Jon Tanny, Hugh Allen and I really don't think Jimmy or Denise or Joy were in that category.  In fact I would say Joy probably was incredibly organized and would never have chewed on her pencil.  Did I mention that chewing on the pencil was the stress relief?


As I remember those pencils were 5 cents or maybe 2 cents, not sure.


So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• look up, you might find a hole in your ceiling if one of the Grainola 5 sometime 6 show up at your house
• don't take things from folks that don't belong to you, you might get lead poisoning
• it is better to chew on a #2 than chew on another person (great marital advice)

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

I would love you to support Wings (a community for adults with special needs) by purchasing my book, "Home on the Range"  found on Amazon or send a check to me made out to Wings for $25 or more and I will donate the book and mail it to you (in the US as I am not sure what it would cost to ship overseas).

Toys, what were your favorites?

Now I don't know about you but my favorite things to play with as a child might surprise you and again they may not.   First off, there were not a lot of toys and in particular absolutely no electronic games, cell phones, play stations, etc..  In fact here is a list of my top 5:

1. my toy truck
2. rocks
3. dirt
4. nails and boards
5. bow and arrows

So let me tell you how this worked.  

The toy truck was used in the dirt and rocks where I made small tracks to run my truck on.  The best dirt was very fine and dry as you can make very smooth roads with.  Of course the rocks helped build up obstacles and small hills and just added to the adventures.

The nails and boards were probably the best and maybe the most often used.  When dad and I tore down old houses or barns for folks we would remove the old nails by putting them in Folgers Coffee cans.  Did I mention that my mom used to always get asked if she was the Folgers lady on TV?  If you are too young the story is Folgers used a Mrs. Olson to do all their advertising.  My mom would always answer their comment which I am sure was a joke by the person asking, "not me, but it is my sister".  She would never correct them.  Back to the nails and boards.  Any boards we could use for a later project, like when we built our new house on Beaver Creek, were saved and placed in the barn/Quonset.  I though you might not know what a Quonset was so here is a pic.  Anyway, any extra boards I would take and build something with my imagination.  One of my favorite projects was in the tree outside my window where I slept.  We had a huge elm tree and I built a tree house where I spent many hours playing and expanding.  The great thing about those boards and nails is I could build anything I could think up.  Like, airplanes, a club house, and I especially liked to take those boards and build tunnels in the hay barn.  Great times!

Bow and Arrows which I have previously written about was a Christmas present from my folks.  I believe it was opportunities to learn incredible skills.  One of the very first things I had to do was learn about leverage to bend the bow every time I used it so that I could get the string placed correctly on the bow.  You probably cannot imagine the problem but it was huge for a little guy (that is a relative term as I was always big).  Then I had to learn how to place the arrow on the bow and pull back the string to maximize the force and distance plus the accuracy of the arrow and of course I had to aim it as well.  The hard part or the painful part was when you let go of the arrow and string and the string would whip your arm if you did not hold the bow properly.  Man, it really hurt!

So what is the point?  or what do you learn in the Osage?

1. expensive toys don't create the fun and innovation, it is the boy
2. little things and simple things teach great lessons in life like logic, innovation, confidence, endurance and ultimately character
3. give a child tools to create and imagination will be created
4. The greatest gift you can give a child is his imagination and creativity (not counting his knowledge of the goodness of God)

Well, thanks for listening,

gary 

gary@thepioneerman.com

If you would like a copy of my book it is available on Amazon and all profits go to Wings (www.wingsok.org) to support adults with special needs.  Get a copy and make me happy.

thanks,

gary