Bob Cotham - what a coach

Everyone has a mentor and a hero and one of mine is Coach Bob Cotham of Shidler High School.  He was short but the broadest shoulders you could ever find.  A person grows up with stories and sometimes those stories are myths, meaning not so true, but here is my memory of Coach Cotham.  

I believe he grew up in the Shidler area and then played college football somewhere and as I recall (note my hesitancy as I have never been able to confirm) he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers.  I know he had a giant scar on his knee from surgery and what I always understood was that the scar was what kept him from playing professional football.  Anyway, we were lucky and blessed to have him in Shidler.  

It was the start of my junior year and I had been hauling hay all summer for Paul Jones, Don Kelsey and the Mullendore Ranch (read the book about the Mullendore murder and yes we all knew E.C.).  In fact if anyone of you know Boog Williams or Kenny Kelsey you can get some good stories from them.  Anyway, back to the story.  It was at the end of the summer and Paul Jones wanted me to keep working until the last minute so he promised to fly me home for football practice (the Mullendore Ranch was near Copan, Ok).  There are a couple of things you should know about that trip.  First, Paul Jones was very ornery and he tried to scare the crap out of me while flying.  Second, it was my first airplane ride.  He made me carry a bucket in case I tossed my cookies up in his plane.  He actually would have deserved it but that is another story.  

Well he flew me home and I went straight to football practice.  I was in the best shape of my life.  The coach had been told that I was a lineman but when he saw me, he immediately moved me to fullback where I worked with Harold (Chuckles) Codding.  Harold had multiple knee surgeries and wore two knee braces and he was still faster than I was.  So I got to play fullback and defensive end for my junior and senior year.  What I loved about Coach was he would make us work exceptionally hard and he would just laugh at us, especially when Steve Chrisco tossed his chunks while running in the hot summer of Oklahoma.  It was funny that I was really not a fast runner but in the beginning of summer practice I was one of the fastest because I showed up in such good shape while most of the other guys needed to get in shape.  The sad thing was after a few weeks they could almost all out run me.  I honestly don't know why he let me play the position except that I would sacrifice my entire body to take out the opposing players for Harold.  I loved counting my bruises.  OK, back to Coach.  

He was tough as nails and pushed us hard everyday and he loved defense but he had a giant heart as well.  He never hesitated to punish us for the least little thing but you could depend on him to stand up for you.  You had to respect him but he was a great friend to all of us.  Once we went to an OSU football game and he told us where he would be before the game and during the game and that we should stay out of trouble and not go trying to drink beer.  Then he told us again where he would be and that he would not be looking for us.  We knew what that meant and I hope I don't get in trouble for this but we did get a hold of some beer and the fact is I did not like beer, but I enjoyed the mystery and risk of getting in a bar while being under age and drinking a few and then sneaking a few beers into the game.  I am not going to tell on AJ or Rick or Jim or Steve or any of the other guys but we had a good time until Monday rolled around.

ON Monday Coach said he smelled beer on us and decided that we deserved to run a lot to get it out of our systems.  I don't believe for a minute that he smelled beer but he, just like always, laughed and made us work harder than ever.  I think everyone truly loves discipline and structure so that you know what to expect and you have hope of what you might gain.  I personally loved it and loved Coach.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• What you lack in one area you can make up in another, like speed for sacrificing your body
• Someone that loves you cares enough to discipline you and sometimes they laugh at you
• Now that I think about it, isn't that what Jesus does,  He allows us to go through trials so that we might become more righteous

Well, thanks for listening,

gary

gary@mylifelegacy.co

yes, I do have another email address..... 

Pneumonia and just how smart of a boy are you?

 Well as I recall I was in about the 5th grade and we had one of those spelling tests from Mrs. Beth Shumate in Grainola.  I don't know about you but a couple of things I just dreaded, one was a spelling test on paper and the other was a spelling test where you lined up in front of the class to be humiliated by my lack of spelling acumen.  Debbie Jones who was and still is one year older than me and Joy Frank which is number 6 of the Grainola 5 and sometimes 6 club (you have to go read the older stories to get it) both could spell everything correctly.  It was not a fair fight/contest.    Luckily we did not all get trophies for participation and I should mention that Jimmy Heath could spell everything as well.  But what really hacked me off was when I was asked to spell NEWMONIA or Pneumonia.  Sure I got it wrong and Jimmy got it right.  HOW?  It was not fair.  Who ever heard of having a P at the beginning of a word that has no sound?  The great thing about those spelling contests was learning about humility and how to lose with grace.  I do believe I can honestly say I never won a spelling contest.

Today I heard a friend (a lady) speak that left home when she was 12 because her step-father was an alcoholic and abusive and then she lived in a laundromat for 6 months.  She shared that what she learned was what she did not want in life.   She also shared that her 3 siblings were all drug attics (for those of you who did not catch it, attics is in the ceiling and addicts is the other)  and in and out of jail.  She got her GED and became a nurse for 16 years, had 3 failed marriages, six children and contributes where she is today is because of God's protection and leading in her life.  Her story went on but it was one of the most inspiring stories.  I loved this item she shared:  There is a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven.  Another way to say it is, "you can go to hell in a hurry or take the challenging way and go to heaven".  How about the old poem:  yard by yard is hard and inch by inch is a cinch.

I find a lot of wisdom in all this.  When we make things to easy it is easy to be lazy and apathetic and in fact there becomes a reliance on others to take up the slack.  I guess folks around Shidler and Grainola never gave much thought to relying on the outside to take care of them.  They persevered and depended on themselves.  I am thankful for not getting a trophy.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• The best things come from overcoming
• Winners never quit and quitters never win
• God promises us only one thing in life, problems or should I say a stairway with the knowledge that we get to chose a highway to hell or a stairway to heaven

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@mylifelegacy.co

Madelon Hart Fisher letter on Carter Nine

 

I am always delighted to receive letters like the one from Madelon Hart Fisher who grew up in the Osage.  In fact I am going to ask anyone who reads my blog to please write me a letter including pictures that you are willing for me to include in my blog or book.  And Yes, I am planning on another book but this one is going to be your stories.  I would ask that you write as many stories as you like knowing that they may not get published or saved for later and that you are not going to get any compensation other than knowing you shared your story and it might get published on the blog or in a book.  I know all of you have great stories and I want to hear them, so please write:

send to 

    Gary Olson 

    12501 Dutch Forest Place

    Edmond, OK 73013

I know many of you personally and it would be an honor for me to have you participate.  Here are just a few things you might consider but the list is endless:

    what I remember about my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, teachers, coaches, etc....

    who was the biggest impact on my life and why

    what unusual thing happened as an adult or child or while in college (all must be reasonably PG)

    what were my greatest fears and why

    what was it like being in the military and why I served 

    what was your biggest mistake in life, or biggest success or both

    what wisdom would you want to share

    the list goes on and on but you get the picture

Now back to Carter Nine and Madelon:  (you could write about your home town and what you remember about it just like Madelon and don't forget to tell a little about where you are now and just your life story.)  One more thing:  try to make each story one or two pages and feel free to give multiple stories and if you have to, make it long).

Carter Nine:

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• things change
• little things mean a lot and memories are what make relationships
• invest in others and they will invest in you

thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

you are welcome to send your story email to gary@mylifelegacy.co

Dick and June Johnson - Dee and the Twins and little sis (Jan) (and I can't remember the names but there is an older son? and Marvin?)

There are cornerstones of a building and there are cornerstones of a community and the Johnsons are certainly one of those.  I stopped by not too long ago (BEFORE COVID) and Mrs. Johnson came out and we talked for a long time about the kids and what everyone was doing.  Mr. Johnson was on his tractor mowing.  Now I know they are in their 90's and still gardening and keeping the place in shape.  I wish everyone had the pride they do.  That is probably what keeps them going, staying active.  But what was most amazing is their minds were clear as a bell ringing in your ear.  They still live in the house cattycorner from the old Dale's Feed Seed and Grain Storage commonly known as the grocery store, not to be confused with the grain elevator operations further south by the railroad tracks.   The same store we traded eggs for groceries at and the one with the outhouse we turned over every Halloween.

I suppose we all lose track of old friends and neighbors but my memory of the Johnsons is anchored in Dee and the Twins and Marvin.  Why?  Well let me tell you why.  I think everyone in the family were extraordinarily smart and especially those twins and I hear Jan was too.  But what stands out is that I was at their house one time and the boys (Dee and the twins) were eating white bread with the old fashioned mustard spread all over it and made into a two sliced sandwich!  You gotta be kidding me!  Yea!  Who would have thought of that?  Something seemed really wrong with that.  But once you tried it, it was not so bad especially when you are young and growing and hungry.  

The other thing I remember is how they always knew all the answers no matter the topic.  I bet none of them ever missed a question on a test.  I never knew but I bet they had perfect scores on the ACT and SAT tests.  

It is funny but I really never knew what Mr. Johnson did for a living other than farming and I really don't remember them having any farm land although Dee stuck around and bought some land including our old homestead on Beaver Creek and farmed and raised cattle.  

Well, what I have to say about the Johnsons is that they were very kind hearted folks and easy to talk to and always willing to share a little bread and mustard.  People were important to them.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• don't get grossed out about something you have not tried, like mustard sandwiches
• hard work and good folks go together
• Pride in keeping things looking good is good pride and the Johnsons should be proud

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@mylifelegacy.co

Olaf Olson and what I found

 

My grandfather Olaf came to America in 1887 at the ripe old age of 16!  yep, 16.... What I did not know is that he was 94 years old when he passed in 1964 when I was 12 years old and he was married in 1903 to Mary Katherine Fustrum at Dwight, Kansas then to Anoka, Minnesota in 1905 where he had a dairy and grew sweet potatoes.  My Dad was born in Anoka and here is the most unusual thing ever:  dad's birth certificate and his legal name his entire life was "the 6th son of Olaf and Mary Olson".  Dad found out his real legal name when he was 84 years old.  Dad went to school during the winter on a sleigh pulled by a horse with sleigh bells from Sweden.  We still have those bells today or I should say, my nephew Richard Crow has them in his office (Ground Zero Storm Shelters)  in Perry, Oklahoma.  When he did not ride the sleigh in winter he skied to school on skis he and Uncle Olie (Rollien) made by hand.  They boiled the wood in water and shaped the wood into skis.  One pair of those skis is located in Minnesota with my cousin David.  Another strange thing I learned was when there was a giant party at Don Conner's house with a giant bond fire and everyone came from all around to ICE SKATE!  For the first time I learned that my dad had a pair of strap on ice skates and could skate.  Don had a large lake behind his house where we had the party.  I think my dad was about 16 when they moved to Wamego, Kansas where he ultimately graduated high school.

Grandad moved to America because his father told him if he stayed in Sweden he would raise potatoes and become an alcoholic because taxes were too high and you would never be able to get ahead.  America was the land of opportunity.  Grandpa didn't know anyone here and none of his relatives were here but as he made some money he paid for the trans-Atlantic voyage of most of his brothers and sisters.  Now I don't know about you but I cannot imagine letting one of my kids leave me for ever at the age of 16, no matter what the circumstances were.  That is correct, grandad never saw his father or mother again.  Two sisters moved to the Seattle area and the only brother I knew moved to Kansas near Cedar Vale and lived with the Johnson family who were relatives.  He was an expert stone mason.  Actually I think there were two brothers but just not sure.

Grandad was my buddy and I tried to spend every Saturday with him.  We would sit by his pot bellied stove and play checkers and eat cinnamon rolls and drink Nehi pop (strawberry and grape).  Of course Granddad would drink coffee which he drank from a saucer and he smoked a pipe which I loved the smell of.  I loved the way he would smoke his pipe and blow his mustache when he released the smoke.  Sweet memories.

Well, thanks for listening and What do you learn in the Osage?

• Family is more important than any money
• Time given to a child pays back for a life time
• Cinnamon rolls are still my favorite food group

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

Another Most Embarrassing Moment

 

Another most embarrassing moment or two:

 

When I was working for EDS/Ross Perot in Chicago from 1975 to 1980 we had a contract with Central National Bank which was just west of Northern Trust in downtown Chicago.  Northern Trust was on the northeast corner and we were on the northwest corner and the L-train was between us.  In fact, my office was at eye level with the train which I remember being on the 3^rd floor of the CNB building and very noisy.  Conveniently enough there was a Burger King on the bottom floor, so I ate there often.  We were about one block east of First National Bank of Chicago and a couple of blocks from Continental Bank which failed due to Penn Square Bank in Oklahoma in 1982 (July 5^th as I recall).  We were in the shadow of the Sears Building a few blocks south and one west and I walked by it every day from the train station.  We originally lived in Palatine in the suburbs and later Elk Grove Village.  OK, you get the idea.

There were four of us who moved from Dallas to be on this team:  Janet Green who was from back east and Eileen Kanoff from New York City, David Goldenberg from New York and of course myself.  The two girls ASSUMED that since I was from the Oklahoma I must be a chauvinist and a bigot which could be no further from the truth.  In fact they thought we still had wild Indians and virtually no roads and were basically like the Beverly Hillbillies.  Well, I could not resist the opportunity to fulfill their assumptions!  Every time they would walk by my cubical and I was talking to Shouna on the phone I would say something like this, “Now Shouna, I want those floors cleaned before I get home.”  They would through stuff at me and literally think it was true.  Shouna was on the other end laughing and saying I bet Janet or Eileen was walking by.  Once Janet got mad at me for opening the door for her.  I expressed to her that I would stand there all day if necessary and she finally gave in but of course she had to give me a lesson on how she could open her own doors.  After some period of time they finally figured out I was not what they thought although they did call me cowboy and ornery rather than Gary.  They were entertainment for me and visa versa.

Now to the embarrassing part:  Janet just went crazy laughing as I came out of the restroom with toilet paper hanging out the back of my slacks.  What she never knew was that I was playing her once again. 

Now my next embarrassing moment and it was for real:  Bob and Nancy Scott invited Shouna and I over for dinner.  They were pretty uptown folks and Bob was my boss, kind of, on the team that developed the demand deposit system for CNB and in fact for all of EDS at the time.  We had banking customers all over the US and in fact Iran as well.  I worked on the Iran deal while in Dallas and of course you can read the book on that event.  “On Wings of Eagles” by Ken Follett.  While eating with Bob and Nancy we were having our salad and it included some of those little round red tomatoes.  Now I don’t know about you but when I was a kid we never had those kind of tomatoes.  I was trying to figure out how I was going to eat it and finally I figured I would just put in my mouth and bite it.   WRONG!!  It did not work!  That thing exploded and went everywhere.  Whew!  You get the picture, don’t you?

One story about Bob or two.  While he was in Dallas one time and I was still in Chicago the banking system crashed in the middle of the night.  Actually, that part happened often but this time Bob had me drive downtown in the middle of the night to fix the problem.  Basically, we had a Canadian check come through the system and it crashed the system.  We had a utility called IAMASUPERZAP (I am a super zap) that we were told if we ever got caught using it, I would be fired.  Bob told me to use it.  Now Bob was much older and probably one of the smartest system engineers in the US.  I told him NO.  He yelled and cursed me until I relented.  I fixed the problem and the banking system worked like a charm.  I was sure I would be fired but instead I think I became famous because folks from all over the US would call me to fix certain types of problems using IAMASUPERZAP.  I got so good at it that I could solve problems in my sleep.  Just ask Shouna.  Fun times.

 

Next time I will tell you about WAAPDASUT (waap da sut).

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• ·       Slice your cherry tomatoes before you put it in your mouth
• ·       The most fun you can have is: at someone else’s expense (don’t try it)
• ·       When you get cussed out, it is time to re-evaluate what you are doing.
• Thanks for listening,

Gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

He was tougher than nails and had the biggest heart

 

Clifford Olson, Dad and of course when I was young I called him Daddy.  It always amazed me how he could solve a problem and typically it was during the night.  He would take a problem and go to bed and in the mornings he would wake up and he would have the answer.  The real problem is he would wake up like a storm meaning he would be so focused on fixing what was broken or doing whatever was on his mind.  He was also funny in that he never got mad a me or any other person but he could use choice words at an object or situation (that means he could cuss a blue streak).  Let me give you a few ideas of what I am talking about when I say he was so tough as nails but had a big heart.

One time we were out cutting firewood as our house was mostly warmed by the fireplace and we burnt a lot of wood every year.  The tree fell the wrong direction and a limb flipped up and hit him in the ribs.  He could hardly breath so we took him to the house where he told mom to wrap him in those tan colored ace bandages.  He told her to pull them tight.  If you have ever had a broken rib you know that it feels better to have a tight wrap  around your chest.  It just makes it where you can breath a little easier.  I personally have experienced broken ribs and a punctured lung and it is not fun.  Well, after dad got wrapped up he turned to Larry and me and said Let's to back to work cutting wood.  We did and I would say he moved a little slower but we kept cutting wood.

On another occasion we were working on some farm equipment and he cut his hand.  the cut was almost a slice in that the back of his hand about two inches wide and an inch wide the skin was peeled back where you could see the tendons and muscle in his hand.  I took him to the house and he told Shouna (my wife) to pour hydrogen peroxide on it.  He just gritted his false teeth and told her to keep pouring.  Then we said we need to go to the doctor and get it sewn up.  He said just put that old skin back on and tape it down.  We did and he said, "let's go do something, even if it is wrong".  

Then there was the time before I was even born but I know the story.  He got his teeth kicked out by a mule.  Or I should say he got his mouth crushed by that mule.  The story is that it was a disaster and he had to go to Tulsa for a dental surgeon to repair everything.  He stayed with the relatives at Oologah after the surgery.  They removed all of his teeth and his mouth was infected so they had to scrape the top of his mouth and put new skin on the roof of his mouth.  He told me that the only pain killer he got was some whiskey before and after the surgery.  He said he paid one of my relatives a $1 to keep him supplied with ice that he could use to keep the swelling down and the pain at a minimum.  

Oh, there are more stories and I always wished I was that tough.  And now his heart.  I remember a time that he assisted a family that needed their clothes washer repaired.  He found the parts and made multiple trips to fix the machine and then mom purchased Christmas gifts for their three girls and they waived any charges.  

The stories go on and I don't believe that a person goes to heaven by doing good or works but Mom and Dad were poster children for good neighbors and good people.  Their hearts were always serving others.  They did believe in Christ just so you don't get the wrong idea.

Well, what do you Learn in the Osage?

• character of a man or woman shows
• You don't judge a person by their color or their tattoos (well maybe) 
• You do judge a person by their work ethic and their honesty
• But you don't judge a book by its cover

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

If the shoe fits, wear it

 

I know that none of you would ever do this and especially those who are ultra conservative like me.  I went to work for Ross Perot at EDS right out of college (read the book On Wings of Eagles) and we wore dark suits and white shirts, not to be white on white either, dark socks (solid colors only) and tie shoes (almost always wing-tipped) , not slip on, and your hair had to be cut well above the ear and no sideburns and no facial hair.  I also forgot, the shirts had to be long sleeve.  If you got up from your desk, you had to put on your coat even if you were going to the restroom.  It was pretty formal and business like but if you think about the reason behind it, it did make sense.  The philosophy was that you wanted to be over dressed and never under dressed so that your clients/customers knew you were professional.  Don't offend the customer.

I remember this one guy, Lanny Andrews, who was working on a contract with MGM in California and the airline lost his luggage.  I forgot to mention also that if you were traveling you were required to wear a suit then as well.  In fact, Lanny wore a light colored suit that was somewhere between tan and white, not a suit that was allowed in the office.  

In fact one time I asked if a suit I wore at my college graduation at SWOSU (Weatherford, OK) would work and they said, ware it one day.  I did, they laughed their heads off and sent me home and it was a very expensive suite!  Mom and dad bought me two suits for graduation knowing where I was going to work.  They were from JC Penny's (french for jac peni) and one was blue (dark blue) and one was brown.  Funny thing was they both had two pair of pants and vests that were reversible.  In fact the reverse side of the vest matched the extra pair of pants (small plaid).  I think both suits would never absorb water and in fact were like a ducks back, they shed.  I bet those suits were made of an oil based product with virtually no wool or cotton in them.  On Sundays I wore the suit with the reverse vest and extra pants.  Those suits could not wrinkle if they had to.  You never needed a raincoat.

Back to Lanny, he had no choice but to go to that meeting with his almost white suit on and it made him an icon in the EDS circles.  It also made it mandatory to never travel in a suit not acceptable to the dress code.  We all got a good laugh out of it but Lanny got chewed out.  He was lucky in that he was a valuable employee with a good track record, else he would have been gone.

Well, finally, here is my shoe story.  I was always early to work and generally always up before Shouna and it was almost always dark outside when I was getting ready for work.  Once while working in Dallas at the old Forest Lane office I was at work very early.  The challenge is when you have two pair of tie shoes, black and brown, they look alike in the dark.  Sure enough I wore one black and one brown but no one really noticed but when one person did, they all knew.  They thought it was pretty funny and I did not get sent home but I was given a hard time for months.  I think those shoes were made of indestructible naugahide.  Does anyone remember when naugahide came out?  I don't know if that is how we spelled it but you would have thought it was the most indestructible material ever made and would take over America.  The joke was they had to kill a lot of baby naugas.  Those shoes were so slick you never had to polish them.  For a while everything new seemed to be made of naugahide, like car seats and furniture and everyone was proud of it, kind of like leisure suits, but that is another story.

Well, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Nauga's are like snipes, you just cannot hardly find them except at night when you are wanting to tease the girls
• What at one time seemed like tall cotton (like polyester suits) is just a passing thing so don't get your underwear in a wad or your pride hung a little high cause it will get knocked down a notch or two
• If the focus is on you and not Christ your self esteem is gonna get smacked when you realize how silly you looked in those naugahide shoes or polyester suits
• Live life for the better days not for the past

Thanks for listening,

gary 

gary@thepioneerman.com

.

Ed Sullivan - on TV he was a giant of a man but in real life he was something else

 Most folks do not know who Ed Sullivan is or was but those who grew up in the 60's know him as the Johnny Carson of Sunday evening.  He was the guy who brought the Beatles to America.  I remember the uproar about their long hair and crazy music.  Today their music seems calm compared to some of the stuff I hear on the radio.  I will have to admit that when I say on the radio, I mean while passing through the stations.  And quit frankly with radios today jumping direct to stations we don't even dial through those stations.  Who remembers that?  Well anyway, things have sure changed and some for the better and some for the worse.  I always loved my mom's perspective, "I am glad the good old days are gone".  She grew up during the depression and remembers how tough life was living out on the hill west of Grainola where I think Bob Jackson lives today.  I have always joked about mom saying she walked to school barefoot and uphill both ways to school which was about 2 or 3 miles.  I should point out that Margie Jackson lived on that hill while I was growing up and she was babysitting us while mom went to the doctor.  I ran away and Margie caught me about 1/2 mile from her house.  

OK, back to Ed.  Well, I was taking my first big trip of my life and was 17 years old flying to Amsterdam on a 747!!! (a really big deal for a farm kid) to live for about 4 months and I was in the New York airport eating and at the table next to us was Ed Sullivan.  I did not recognize him but he heard us talking (us was a group of 4-H kids, 10 of us) and asked me where we were from.  Of course I told him Oklahoma and we proceeded to have a discussion.  He was very inquisitive and asked me a lot of questions about where we were going and who we were.  He seemed very interested in our lives and was very encouraging to me.  To say the least I liked him but what surprised me was how nice he was but most of all how small he was.  He was 5'7" and even smaller than my dad.  I did recognize him when he started talking because his voice was so familiar, he just did not look the same in real life as on TV.  By the way, our TV was always black and white.  We never had a color TV even though after I was gone from home mom and dad purchased a TV and appliance store in Perkins, Oklahoma.  I have always thought that strange but if you knew my folks or about any farmer or rancher you know they are risk takers.  You may have heard the phrase 'to make money farming and ranching you need a good oil well'.  

I guess Ed was about the most famous person I had met at this point in my life.  It was between my junior and senior year of high school.  I left immediately after school was out and came back almost to the day that school started.  I worked on two different farms in Holland or the Netherlands.  You may not know it but Holland is part of the Netherlands not all of it.  Actually I worked in what is known as Friesland and in Holland.  One of the farms I worked on was in the polders which is reclaimed land from the North Sea.  It was a farm with a small dairy and we had neighbors that raised tulips but our focus was onions and barley and the dairy.

Well, (you know what is funny to me is that I write pretty much like I talk and think and Mrs. Head my English and literature teacher from Shidler says that is ok, so leave me alone on my writing skills) I love writing these little stories and hope that some day my kids will read them.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• big people can come in small packages, like Ed Sullivan and Hugh Allen and Jon Tanny and Jimmy ( you gotta read the old stories to get it)
• what you choose to do with your experiences and memories can give you a wonderful life or a life of being down in the mouth, I choose to feel blessed and thankful
• being poor or wanting more can make a person a better person, adversity is good for the soul

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

Corona vs. Corona - germs can kill you but so can bad attitudes ---

 

Cliff and Opal Olson in Grainola, Oklahoma on the farm 1 mile north and 3 west on Beaver Creek.

It was rough growing up in all that filth in the barn yards, hauling hay with all that dust flying around, digging in the dirt, feeding the hogs and drinking from the creek and the list goes on and on.  Germs were everywhere and we hardly ever got sick.  I wonder why?  Do you suppose it was because we built up immunities by being exposed to so much?  Maybe it was the hard work that made it so difficult to get sick.  My dad was 87 and smoked cigarettes at about 2 packs per day starting when he was about 16.  But he worked so hard and so long every day of his life.  I honestly don't think he knew how to play and actually work was play to him.  

I remember my brother in law (not mentioning his name) went to work with dad, Larry and me and stated that dad needed all of us.  By noon he was complaining how hard we had worked and wanted to quit.  Dad just laughed and kept right on going.  Dad could out work any person I have ever met.  The only people I know who come close to him is his grandsons, Richard Crow and Cliff Crow.  They are both pretty special in my eyes and dad just loved them to death.  

Dad had a sense of humor like no other and he never got mad at people (a few exceptions) but he sure could get really angry at things.  Wow!  Dad was never over about 147 pounds when he was sopping wet and fully clothed.  For the most part he was about 135 pounds his entire life.  One of his favorite sayings was, "let's go do something even if it is wrong".  I am certain that he had A.D.D., he could not sit still.  I remember when the Dallas Cowboys were playing the Green Bay Packers and it was in the fourth quarter and the score was going back and forth and he decided we needed to go do something productive, like sweep the dirt floors in the barn or clean up the junk pile.  Those never made sense to me but we sure did them every year at least once and sometimes more, especially sweeping the dirt floor in the barn.

My dads favorite words were:  Hell, shit and damn and not necessarily in that order.  But they were never directed at me, just stuff and situations like when he hit his finger with a hammer while building one of the many barns we built.  Dad had an engineer mindset even though he never went past high school.  He could fix anything and he could figure any situation out.  I was always amazed how he could go to bed one night and wake up early with a solution to a problem.  Now that reminds me of my oldest son, Chase, who can solve and fix about anything.  He is a real thinker, just like his granddad.  

Now that I think about it Dad's legacy is his children's work ethic and integrity and I would have to say he planted those traits in his grandchildren.  Have you ever given thought to what your legacy is?  What are you saying to your children and grandchildren by your actions and priorities?  Even if you don't realize it you are leaving a legacy.  Think of it this way, if you are willing to have a government that spends more than they bring in and support a government that tolerates bad behavior in individuals then that is what you will leave as a legacy.  You will be known by the seeds you plant.  Just something to think about.  The other day I took a homeless person to eat and got to know him a little.  I don't have to say a thing to my children or family about that.  They see by my actions, not my mouth.  Now don't think I do that every time because I do not.  I am not perfect and neither are you or anyone else except Jesus Christ.  I just want to be remembered by my children as doing the right thing, not the easiest and certainly not at their expense.  

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• walk tall and do the right thing, not the easiest and what looks politically correct
• give and forgive but always strive to do the right thing
• I have to say forgive again as probably the thing I see most troubling is the inability to forgive someone that has wronged me or you

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

One more of my EDS/ Ross Perot stories --

 I started out working in Dallas, Texas in the spring of 1975 for EDS as a grunt in the banking division.  Now if you don't know what a grunt is, that means you were the lowest person on the totem pole.  Every person in my office was a retired military person so they were not only my seniors but they were all older adults with a history of being in serious situations during war.   In fact the head person in the group was Jerry Welch a retired Navel person.  I always loved my first interview with him because he was very proper and stiff except that behind his navy blue coat was a napkin barely sticking out.  I had to ask and he readily showed me what the napkin was for, his ink pen had leaked and he had the biggest blue spot on his white starched shirt.  Let's just say it broke the ice.  Then there was Keene Taylor a decorated Marine and Phil Sutphen who was a master at breaking into things but I only know that he was undercover during the Vietnam War.  In fact he told me about how he would be dropped behind enemy lines to survey what they were doing and what were the military targets that needed to be reduced.  He said his biggest mission was getting out without being caught and of course being alive.  I always loved to hear his stories and one of my favorites was when he was stationed in Turkey with a mission to count soldiers.  Charlie Veithe was my direct supervisor and the thing I remember most is he gave me my first review.  He said I was a little immature but don't grow up too fast and you deserve a raise for working so diligently. He told me I was probably the fastest person to graduate from the phase one program and also get a raise which never happens.  To say the least I felt very priviledged.  Oh ya, I cannot forget Phil Cunningham who recruited me to go to Chicago on an EDS project in downtown Chicago.  Well there were others (Bill ?? cannot remember yet).  OK, back to the story.

My beginning at EDS was the seed for every job I ever had working for a company.  Those men and women recruited me for many years but the one job I worked on that stood out was the Bank of Iran contract.  I don't know how many long hours I worked on it but it was intense and Ross and his army of direct reports were the folks we had to present and defend our proposal for the Bank of Iran.  They were tough but once you had their approval you never had to second guess yourself.  They always had your back.  We won that contract and Shouna and I signed up to go to Tehran for a couple of years.  We never made it because it was slow to develop and I was needed in Chicago.  If you are curious there is a book and movie about what happened to our EDS employees and what Ross did for them.

But now let me tell you what Ross and company did for me, even before I was barely in Dallas.  One morning I was working and Charlie asked me if something was wrong.  I told him that my dad was in surgery at that moment with a tumor in his colon.  Charlie immediately told me to get out of there and go back to Oklahoma.  In fact everyone of about 15 men and women basically pushed me out the door and before I would get Shouna and get to Oklahoma there were flowers in the room and notes saying get well to my dad and mom.  I was and still am overwhelmed at what they did that day.  If you think this is an exception you would be wrong.  Ross taught his people that the employees are what make a company great and to take care of them.  I saw story after story much greater than mine but one thing I remember most of all was Ross signing a book and giving it plus flowers to my wife and telling her, "Thank you for letting your husband work for us".  Shouna always says, don't get him started telling his EDS stories as they do not end.  She is correct.

Well, thanks for listening and of course, "what do you learn in the Osage?":

• how to work and give it your best including 110%
• have a great attitude and it will pay off 
• perform first and rewards will not be far behind
• expect more of yourself than of others

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

Corona or Corona or Covid

Growing up I never heard of Corona or Covid, just Falstaff, Coors, Stag (bet not many know this one), and the flu.  I never was much of a drinker in high school or college and when I did it was not a successful adventure.  I remember in the 8th grade David Howell figured out how to make beer and whiskey in his club house.  David was about as smart as they come.  His curiosity was empowering in that he studied and then took action.  He built his own club house which as I recall was about 12 feet by 12 feet and filled with his projects.  I don't know how anyone would ever dislike David as he was always friendly and helpful.  He carried around Life Savers and gave them to everyone who would take one but of course he kept the cherry ones for himself.  

David could fix or build anything including a still, a house and a contraption to stimulate a heart which he removed from a dog.  I guess that is kind of gross.  He could fix any lawn mower or engine of any kind and he would mow your lawn for a few bucks or just fix about anything that needed a little repairs.  Aunt Gladys Snyder, teach of math and science, really liked David and he was loyal to her.  I think David got special treatment from her since his mother had passed away when he was young.  

At the beginning of each year David would take his books from school and read them and put them away for the rest of the year.  He could still pass about any test and he read all the time.  I bet you that if David was here still he would figure out how to make Corona and treat for Covid.  

Speaking about David reminds me of a story about a man who was very successful and wealthy.  The business person was traveling on vacation and found this man fishing on the beach.  He noticed that the man was a successful fisherman and cooked his fish right there on the beach.  The business man was inspired so he approached the fisherman and suggested that since he was so good at fishing and cooking the fish that the fisherman could be very successful if he purchased a boat and caught more fish and started a restaurant where he could sell his fish and then he could start a chain of fish restaurants and become wealthy and successful.  The fisherman asked the businessman why?  The businessman said so that you can do whatever you want whenever you want.  The fisherman said, why should I do all that because I am doing what I want now, when I want and how I want.  The fisherman asked the businessman why he was working so hard so that he could someday do what the fisherman did every day.

I know some folks look at David and his idiosyncrasies and wonder if David could solve all of todays problems but you know I think David was like the fisherman.  David was doing what he wanted, when he wanted, and how he wanted.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• sometimes we work too hard to get somewhere when we were already there before we started
• if we look hard enough we will find all the riches in life right in front of us
• maybe the real life saver was David himself

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

 

 

Coyote Hunting on Sundays

 

Paul and David Jones

Growing up in Grainola had some fun and interesting times and in particular there was a craze for years about coyote hunting and typically all the farmers and ranchers did it on Sunday.  I am going to tell you that this story should be at least 80% true and 20% just was what I perceived as a young boy growing up in the tall grass country of Osage County.  In particular Paul Jones flew an airplane to hunt coyotes and he was more than a spotter as he carried a gun and shot from the plane.  It was the wild west for sure.  Paul raised greyhound dogs and I think a lot of folks did as well.  Don Kelsey (my hay hauling boss) and I think Clyde Jackson (Bob's dad) raised greyhounds as well.  Anyway, on Sundays while sitting in the Grainola Methodist Church you could hear Paul flying around looking for coyotes.  

In fact I think Ernie Eaton was a coyote hunter as well since it was his fence that had so many coyotes hung on the post.  If you cannot picture it, let me explain.  The state of Oklahoma paid $4 for a pair of coyote ears since the population got out of hand as an incentive to find and eliminate some of the over population.  When they killed one they would hang the coyote on the fencepost as a badge of honor.  I am not sure if it was Ernie's but one time I counted over 40 coyotes on a fence.  You could find fences everywhere with coyotes hung on them.  It was a wild sport.

Now I am not sure of the accuracy of this but I understood that Bob Jackson got a new Dodge pickup and was chasing coyotes when he ran into a ditch and moved his front axle back about a foot totally his pickup.  Luckily no one was killed.  After church you could see the trucks running across the prairies chasing their greyhounds who were chasing coyotes.  In fact one time A.J. Jacques and a few of us retrieved a dead coyote from someone's pickup and strung it up the Shidler High School flagpole.  It made the front page of the paper and luckily our principle had a since of humor and we did not get in trouble.  

Come to think of it, country boys and men could think up fun, like coyote hunting.  I know some of you think we were crazy but those coyotes killed your cattle and many a time our dogs would come home all chewed up from fighting a coyote and sometimes they just never came home.  

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Sundays are for worship 
• what some think is danger, to others is excitement
• It is hard to get a coyote up a flagpole

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

Coach Gilbreth - he gave me a goal and confidence which I lacked

 Little boys need encouraged and even though I don't believe I ever got to be a little boy in size, I was a little boy in spirit.  Some folks just seemed to be born with self confidence and some earned it the hard way.  Now I am not saying that learning the hard way is bad as I believe everyone needs challenges in their life to assist them in learning to overcome obstacles.  As many of you know I was huge for my age starting in the first grade when Geneva Snyder was still teaching and they brought down one of the 8th grade chairs for me to sit in while all the others got to sit in those tiny little wood desks.  Mrs. Casselman took over Aung Geve's teaching when she got sick with the brain tumor and she always had a place by the door where you could be measured for height.  I was always the tallest ever in her class and in fact during the second grade I was almost as tall as she was.  In fact Mrs. Shumate, the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teacher was short and I was taller than her.  So you probably get the picture of why I was somewhat shy and reserved.  

If it were not for recess and games and a small class of 5 sometimes 6 when Joy Frank showed up or Ralph and I think at one time we did have 7 but it was short lived, I would have never come out of the shell I was in.  And I would have to give a shout out to Hugh Allen Jones for assisting as he never noticed I was about three times his size because he always was trying to beat me at sports and once he and I had a contest in the second grade to see who could count to 1000 on one page of paper by writing the smallest and fastest.  I think that is the one thing he won at.  Dodge ball was brutal and Hugh Allen was always on the other side and I would throw that ball as hard as I could at him or anyone else.  My idea was that if I missed someone the ball would hit off the back wall and come all the way back to me.  Softball and alligators were our other favorite sports and Hugh Allen was about the only person willing to stand in my way during alligators because I would just run straight over anyone in my way.  It was Hugh Allen about every time and he would just roll over backwards and get up and run after me to get knocked down again.  I guess that is why he turned out to be a great U.S. Marine and I am proud to say I made him what he became, just kidding.  He was and still is tough as nails.

I could name off more heroes in my life but Jack Gilbreth just gave me the vision.  I did not even know a thing about football but when he was coaching in Shidler and played in Grainola (basketball) he saw me and how big I was and encouraged me to come to Shidler and play football for him.  Between him and Aunt Gladys Snyder I got so much encouragement that I could become more than I had dreamed about that I wanted to perform to please them.  Maybe by nature I am just a pleaser, but they were like people reaching down to pull someone up who needed help getting over a tall wall.  I am sure they got a laugh out of me because I had no idea what I was doing but I gave it 110% because they believed in me.  

I did not believe in myself so much as I believed them.  I truly loved them for being a mentor to the biggest clumsiest guy to ever come out of Grainola.  They put gasoline in my tank.

Well, I just had to give a shout out to those folks. 

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• small kids hear those small words so choose them wisely and spread them around
• overcoming your negative thoughts is critical and then listening to those of encouragement
• if you want to be a winner you have to overcome something and sometimes it is losing first 

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

My Most Embarrassing Moment

Ernie on the left and Larry Lippel is the tall guy, the other two are from Kentucky in 1988 and I have more stories to tell on all four of these jokers.

 Well, I guess everyone has at least one and I sure have a lot more than one but here is my worst and it is long, so be warned.

I could blame this on Clay Moore as in Clay and Cindy Moore but he probably doesn't even know he was part of this mess.  Clay and Cindy lived in Yukon in the Westbury addition right down the street from us.  They had three boys and went to church with us at Council Road Baptist Church and of course Chase, our oldest son, was close to their boys.  Well, here is the deal.  Clay was in the car business and working for Bob Moore at one of his dealerships and was on his way to buy some used vehicles.  I think he was heading to Dallas on Southwest Airlines.  

Anyway, Ernie Upton and I were working for FDMC, First Data Management Company, based in Oklahoma, downtown in the First National Bank Building.  We were headed to St. Joseph, Missouri on Southwest Airlines.  Can you see where this is going?  Of course seeing Clay at the airport in OKC, I had to say hello and chat a little.  I noticed the area seemed like the number of folks was thinning out so I looked over to see if my plane was boarding.  IT WAS!  I ran over to get on and the Southwest person shut the door right in front of me and said you were too late.  I argued that I had a ticket and they had not announced they were boarding and he had to let me on and that Ernie was already on the plane.  He refused.

Ernie thought I was playing a joke on him and once they got up in the air he started looking for me as he had saved me a seat.  I had been known to be a little ornery on occasion.  In fact when I worked in Chicago for EDS (the old Ross Perot company) my nickname was Ornery and sometimes Cowboy.  Well, I called ahead and told them to inform Ernie I was on the next plain and I had our meeting in St. Joseph delayed a couple of hours as I caught the next plane to Kansas City where we had a rental car to drive to St. Joseph.  We did not have cell phones back then a cassette tapes and floppy drives were common.  If you don't know what those are then you are too young.  

I met up with Ernie and we had our meeting in St. Joseph.  From there we had a few choices.  We were supposed to meet with a large data processing company in Des Moines, Iowa the next morning.  We could drive back to Kansas City and catch a plane which was easy to do in those days or we could drive.  I asked a lady at the bank in St. Joseph how far to Des Moines and she said about 3 hours or at least I thought that is what she said.  So I informed Ernie and we decided to drive.  After being on the road a while I noticed a sign that said something like 300 miles to Des Moines.  Ernie was not pleased but being good natured as he was and is we laughed and went on.  We checked into the hotel where we were planning to stay and I called our contact and asked where he wanted to meet for breakfast.  He asked where we were staying and I informed him we were at a Holiday Inn by the airport.  He suggested I was incorrect on the location.  I said, no, I am a country boy and know my directions.  Then he asked me the big question, "what city are you in?"  I told him Des Moines and then informed me that the bank was in Des Moines but his office was in Sioux City, Iowa.  I gasped and asked how far that was and he said about thee to four hours.  We rescheduled for later the next morning.  I dreaded calling Ernie in his room and telling him the situation.

One good thing about Ernie is that if you feed him really good and buy him a big piece of pie he will always be happy.  He was one of those lucky folks that never gained a pound and ate like a horse.  So I fed him real good and broke the news.  He was roaring with laughter and as always called me "Olson" and then laughed some more.  Well, the next day we made it to Sioux City, driving, and when we were done I asked him about how far back to Kansas City.  He said about five hours.

To say the least Ernie has told that story on me a few times and still seems to enjoy it.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• a couple of big shot executives can screw up sometimes
• a little humility is good for your ego, it keeps you in check
• sometimes a few more questions can be real beneficial before you make your next move
• traveling with someone you like is very important

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

Lewis Morris - we gave him a hard time but he was a great man

 

 The old Grainola School

Lewis Morris of Foraker, Oklahoma was my principle and teacher in Grainola and then at Shidler he was a principle again.  I always liked him because he was fair and listened even when he was real mad.  In fact I remember two times he was pretty mad at me.

The first one is when we were playing basketball during recess in the Grainola gym and Denise Logue snuck up behind me and hit me in the middle of the back.  She was probably after me because I was so big and there was no other way for her to stop me.  Well, I did not know it was her, much less a girl that hit me.  I immediately swung around and grabbed at her but only got her dress as she was trying to run away.  Yep, you guessed it, she left her dress behind.  I have no idea how it happened but suddenly Mr. Morris had ahold of me by my arm and was almost carrying me to his office.  When he was mad his nose which was quit long got really red and part of his cheeks went really white.  I knew he was steaming.  His office was real long and narrow with a chest freezer in it where he would have folks bend over while he took down his giant paddle and gave 3 swats on your rear.  I don't know how I got the courage but I said to him that this was not right in that she hit me in the back without cause and I simply in self defense swung around and grabbed at her.  She took off running and her dress ripped right off of her and therefore was not my fault but hers for making such a bad decision.  Surprise surprise!  He listened and then gathered some evidence and came back and told me I could go.

The second time he got really mad at me was when during recess we always played softball right out the front door of the school.  It was always everyone who wanted to participate including girls and guys of all ages.  In case you don't remember there were 8 grades in Grainola.  The first and second met in one room, the third, fourth and fifth met in another room and the 7th and 8th were in another.  Mr. Morris taught 7th and 8th.  Mrs. Casselman (not sure how to spell it) taught first and second.  And my favorite, Mrs. Beth Shumate (Auntie Beth but not my real aunt) taught 3rd, 4th and 5th.  Well, during one of those softball games I was typically a home run hitter because I was so much bigger and stronger than everyone in the school.  In fact I was bigger than all of the teachers and especially bigger than Bob Scott, our bus driver, and Lizzy, our school cook.  I was very self conscience about my size and quit frankly introverted at the time because of it.  I was running the bases just like normal and someone yelled out something which I never really heard.  Mrs. Shumate was monitoring the kids and she thought she heard someone use God's name in vain.  She assumed it was me and sure enough off to Mr. Morris's office I went again.  I told him I did not say a thing and Mrs. Shumate admitted that she just assumed it was me.  Off the hook I went again.

Well, you learn a lot in the Osage, so what did I learn?

• In those days if you could not prove your innocence at school you got double trouble at home, no questions asked
• Small towns and small schools are where real heroes are born, like Lewis Morris, a real mentor
• You can trust adults especially if they can trust you

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

Financial Advisor or Money Manager at an early age 9/2/2020

 My first financial adventure was at the Grainola District Fair.  I watched as the women would bring baked pies and cakes and all kinds of canned vegetables and fruit to enter the fair.  The men would bring samples of their crops from wheat to milo to Alfalfa to prairie hay.  What intrigued me was that each winner and in fact the top 3 in each category would receive ribbons and money.  The great thing about those events is that all the local folks would gather from miles around to have a potluck lunch and play games all day.  The old men (not sure what old was since I was there every year as a child) would play horse shoes and the kids would have sack races, bicycle races, just running races and at least one year we had a greased pig contest but my favorite was the turtle races.

Now I would have to admit that being huge for my age was a good thing in some cases and this is one.  I don't think I ever lost a bicycle race or the greased pig contest.  I think the one reason we had only one greased pig contest is that everyone could see I was going to win it every year.  Prejudice!!!!! against big guys.  The only person I remember ever coming close on the bicycle race was Billy Snyder and he had a fancy 10 speed and I only had one speed but it was fast and I was competitive.

So back to my favorite sport, turtle racing.  Most everyone had a turtle and they would mark it with finger nail polish to tell them apart but some you could identify by their size or markings.  Anyway, everyone paid a dime to enter and the old men would bet on their kids with each other.  Yep, gambling, but we were Methodist and we were not so critical about those things.  Just kidding, kinda?  All the turtles would be put inside of a cardboard box or a bucket so they would start in the middle and a big chalk circle was made about 10 feet in diameter.  I should mention the box had no bottom and the bucket the same.  So they would lift the box or bucket and the turtles would take off but not always.  Some would never move and others would high tail it out of there.  The first to cross the chalk line would get half the money and the second and third would get some but I don't remember how they split it.  

I did not win all the contests but I always made the most money!  Dad was not only a farmer and rancher but also a rural route mail carrier for Grainola.  He would watch the gravel roads for about a week gathering turtles for me.  Then when the fair came I sold turtles!!!! The financial Advisor or Money Manager or you could call me an entrepreneur but really I was just full-a-manure was born.

Those were great memories and I learned a lot.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• In the retail business timing is everything
• If you look for an opportunity sooner or later you will find it
• I figure that I may not be the best at anything but I can outwork anyone and be a winner
• And to Quote Jon Tanny Olsen, "if you do something a little faster and cheaper than someone, you can make a lot of money".  He may not claim it but I am giving him credit for this bit of wisdom and he is from the Osage.

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

If I had a Hammer, I'd hammer in the morning

Aunt Gladys Snyder, niece to Snyd and Geneva

 Today, 9/01/2020, I am in Bennett Springs watching it rain but in my head is that old song "If I had a Hammer"  it brings back good old memories.

My dad, Cliff Olson, always said a kid could have all the fun they wanted with a hammer and a bucket of old used nails.  Many a time we tore down an old house or barn and we would collect the wood for building and the nails for whatever.  Our biggest project was when I was about 7 and we built our house down on Beaver Creek, 1 mile north of Grainola and 3 west past Vea Harris house.  In fact before you got to Vea's house you passed Jim Olsen's hay barn that dad and I built and Perry Stephens barn which dad and I built (with some help).  Back to the wood and nails.  

I always wondered when we tore down an old house, what memories would be gone.  Right here is where I should challenge you to write down all your old memories for your children and grandchildren.  Every time we tore down an old house I learned something or found something interesting.  One time we tore down an old house just to discover they had built the house  with plaster and wood laths, no insulation.  Can you imagine how cold that would be?  They typically had an old wood stove or as we called it, a pot bellied stove.  Uncle Snyd (the WWII hero and prisoner of war) and Aunt Geneva (my first-first grade teacher, there were two as Aunt Geneva had a brain tumor and passed) had one and they burned coal.  Another time I remember finding some old coins inside a wall.  I have no idea how they got there but there was an old nickel.  Most often the old houses did not have an indoor toilet.  Grandpa Olson had indoor twin toilets.  I should explain.

Grandpa Olson, who lived about 100 yards south of Jackson's gas station where we would get our strawberry pop and cinnamon rolls on Saturdays, had a pot bellied stove but he had the twin indoor toilets.  In fact I suspect this is where they got the name water closet.  You see in Grandpa and Grandma's bedroom in what we would think was a closet was a seat with two holes in it big enough for your rear-end.  Under the holes were two white porcelain buckets about 2 or 3 gallons each.  They were called slop buckets and that was where the waste went as you sat on the indoor toilet.  Now do I need to explain further?  OK, in plain English, those two buckets captured the poop and pea to be carried off each day.

Eureka, that was called indoor plumbing.

About those nails and boards.  Many a time I would take some of the scrap boards and those bucket of nails and make something.  I had one of the largest tree houses in the old elm tree right outside my widow made from those boards and nails.  I made airplanes and trucks and whatever I could think of.

Well, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Fun is what you make it
• A song can last your life through
• A dream can be reality if you put your mind to it

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

9/1/2020

Damn Building with Eddie Harris

 Eddie and me.. what year, heck if I know.

Not to be offensive and just for clarification, we are not cursing a building here.  In fact Eddie and I were wondering up and down the creek (small river with running water) and we decided to build a dam.  Now The Damn Building was not Eddie and me but was what David Harris called our efforts.  How do you spell ooppppsssss?  I guess I just told on David but we were probably around 12 years old and needing something to do and we were structural engineers at an early age.  Actually long before Dave got involved (Dave is short for David so I did not make a mistake) Eddie and I proceeded to gather up every rock we could find and some logs and proceeded to DAM up the creek.  Eureka, it worked.  

Vea and me at her back yard.  (right behind us is where the garden use to be)

The only problem is Dave had some cows down stream from our dam and he did not like that we cut off the running water supply.  Now the way I figured it, that as soon as the water filled up our newly created lake (that might be a stretch since it was about 12 feet wide and about one to two foot tall) there would be running water again.  Doesn't that make sense?  Well, Dave did not think so and when he figured it out he came and broke the dam and that was a DAMN shame as it was a structural success.  

Not to get too mature audience rated we will stop there but it seemed that every time Eddie and I were trying to have a little creative fun, Dave or Bob (Dave's brother) got involved.  Luckily Vea (their mom) had a better sense of humor and generally was supportive of our efforts.  Except the one time Eddie and I took all the mints and peanuts that were for the Home Demonstration Club party at Vea's house.  For those who don't remember, the Home Demonstration Club is where all the farm women would get together to talk about their husbands or their wonderful children, like Eddie and me.  Anyway, as you may know from previous stories, Eddie and I went to the garden and planted the mints and salted peanuts so we could have more later.  One time we planted a bunch of our toy trucks in the garden so we could grow more.  We were not popular for that either.   Oh well, shrug shrug.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• If you don't plant good seed you won't grow anything
• If you don't try you will miss all the HOPE in life, NEVER GIVE UP
• Be an optimist, there might be a truck in there somewhere
• Give a kid a break as long as they are trying to do something good even if it lacks a little bit of knowledge, after all, wisdom comes from experience

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

credit cards-- what happened to good old cash? 08 27 2020

Just FYI, Mom is the lady on the far right.  This pic is of her classmates reunion. 

I remember the first time my mom, Opal Olson, used a credit card.  In fact I remember the first time she needed one and we did not have one.  We were coming home from Winfield, KS after a doctor appointment (Dr. Cecil Snyder) and when we were about to Dexter, KS we realized we needed gas.  I should mention that Dexter is where they made candy canes and the O'Henry Bar was invented by the man who made the candy canes.  If you remember that hard candy we got at Christmas each year that had a Christmas tree or other design inside, that was from the same place.  Anyway, mom did not have much money with her and we had a farm tank at home where gas was cheaper as we bought in bulk.  Gas at the time was 11 cents a gallon in Dexter due to a gas war (who even knows what a gas war is?).  Mom wanted 25 cents worth of gas put in the pickup.  She gave me a quarter and told me to pump the gas, actually back then they pumped the gas for you.  I was embarrassed and did not want to do that, but I was not allowed a choice.  

Now for the credit card.  Mom and Dad and I went to Weatherford, OK to visit the college where I ultimately did attend and on the way back we stopped by Binger, OK (home of Johnny Bench, the great Cincinnati Reds catcher)  to visit some friends (my girlfriend at the time and her dad).  They filled up their gas tank and mom popped out her credit card which was declined.  She had it for a few years but had never used it.  With a phone call it went through but it was another of those embarrassing moments.  I don't know why I got embarrassed so easily but I did.  Can you imagine?  It was 1971 and it was the first time my mother had used a credit card?  

😊😊When was the last time you used cash?  Yesterday I tried to use cash and they told me they could not take it!  Are you kidding me?  Credit cards add about 2 to 3% additional expense for every item.  Do you ever wonder how we got in this situation?  Actually I know a little of how it happened.  Visa and Mastercard and probably all the other card issuing companies make the merchants/businesses sign agreements that they can not mark-up or charge extra for the added expense, therefore, they had to add it to the cost of the goods.  Strangely enough the government entities, like the tag agencies, do not follow those rules.  They have an up-charge for using a credit card.

Well, this is just another one of those moments in life we learn from.  I wonder why it would be legal for ALL credit card companies to limit the ability to charge extra, huummmmm?  If the two major card companies did the same thing, would you think they are monopolizing commerce?  Just thinking out loud, please forgive me.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Gas wars have nothing to do with Iran, Iraq, or Saudi Arabia.
• A little embarrassment can make a kid grow up just a little.
• Adversity is good for people if you learn from it

Thaks for listening,

Gary 

gary@thepioneerman.com

Hornets and wasp and mission impossible

I would say that sometimes a country boy can find something to do no matter the situation.  I use to love going out to the barns and finding wasp nests and the bigger the better.  Generally those nests were at the highest part of the barn and that was probably over 20 feet in the air.  I would say that some of those nests had over 100 wasps.  So what does a country boy do, he figures a way to disturb those nests and kill a few wasp.  The objective is to kill them before you get stung and sometimes things just go wrong.  

Now there are a number of ways of going about this mission.  For one, you can take a sprayer (the old fashion metal cans which are heavy) and get it pumped up as much as possible and fill it with diesel fuel (we did not have all these insecticides and wasp traps).  The good thing about this approach is you typically can run away more easily and the probability of getting stung is much less.  Now that I think about it, I guess I was pretty good at statistics at an early age, hummm?  Did you get it?  The second approach, is to climb up on the hay to get closer to the nest and still carrying the sprayer of diesel fuel.  This was pretty accurate and the good thing is you could be much more secure in getting most of the wasp on the first shot.  The bad side is you had to jump and run which gave them the advantage.  The third approach which I do not recommend and for sure don't try it when the folks are around, is take your 22 rifle and shoot them.  The good side is that you can be a long way away but the bad side is you are most likely going to put a hole in the tin roof.  Now I am not saying I did the third approach but I am just saying..... ? 

My results:  I killed a million wasp in my youth and did not mind getting stung a few times.  It was worth the excitement.

Yesterday, 8/24/2020 I was standing in my backyard visiting with Archie who was repairing my garage door springs or at least he had completed the repairs and was standing near some hidden wasp nest.  They came from behind him and he said one of those words you are not supposed to say, especially as a kid, when he got stung.  He took off and the swarm came after me!  What did I do?  I was innocent but I got hammered.  Mostly the stings just hurt but one was on my cheek bone (not my bottom cheek but my face cheek for you thoughtless folks).  It started swelling up and it burned and so did the other bites but the one on the face worried me.  I ran inside and took some good old Benadryl to stop the reaction.  

Well, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Statistics long before the classroom
• what heebeegees mean, go figure
• How to create fun
•  Everything has consequences, some good and some bad, but I am responsible for my actions not someone else

Well, thanks for listening,

Gary Olson

gary@thepioneerman.com

It's Friday and Sunday is Coming -- warning PG 13 or worse

I once heard a song titled "It's Friday and Sunday is Coming" and I thought it was one of the best ever.  I got to thinking, if the disciples knew what was going to happen Sunday and believed it, would things have been different?  We will never know but one thing is certain, He died on Friday and He arose on Sunday. 

Why is it so easy to believe George Washington crossed the Delaware or Ronald Reagan was an actor turned President of the United States but so many don't believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ when there are thousands of non-Christian documents about the life of Christ and in fact more writings about Christ than any other person in history? 

Well, I was one of those who was not sure either until during college a guy named Norman Voss who made me mad because he said I had to belong to the Church of Christ to be a Christian.  And there was another person, Paula Neal, who frustrated me to death because she thought I was not a believer.  Well, God works in mysterious ways.  I got mad enough that I decided I needed to know weather I believed in God because my parents were Methodist or if there was enough evidence supporting the life of Christ. 

What I found out was that I believed in God and always did but so did the devil and so did a lot of very bad folks and even more very good folks.  So, I found out that believing is not enough.  I also found out there were volumes of books about the life of Christ and most of the old ones were written by Jews who did not believe He was God on earth.  I also found out there is dramatic archaeological evidence supporting all of the bible. 

I also found smart folks have a tendency to believe more in themselves than in Christ but I heard a story the other day just for those folks.  I have to warn you it is off color by city standards but by farm standards it is just common language so don't get your underwear in a wad.  If you continue reading this, you were warned. 

So here goes:   There was this little girl riding on an airplane next to a sophisticated business man.  The little girl asked him if he believed in God and he responded, "no, I think it is silly".  He also told her that you cannot see God and therefore He does not exist.  So the little girl asked him:

If a cow shits and creates patties and horse shits and it creates these large round balls, and a rabbit shits and makes small little pellets can you explain why?  He laughed and said no.  Then she remarked, "why do you think God doesn't exist if you don't know shit?"

I wonder if any preacher has the guts to use that in a sermon. 

Well, I guess you figured it out, I became a believer, the hard way and even though I am not perfect I am forgiven because I transferred my faith from that which is easy to Jesus Christ.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• there is a lot of bullshit going around about what God is not
• Jesus died so that all my s___ don't matter
• Jesus loves me in spite of all my faults as long as I transfer my faith to Him and not myself

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com