A little Dab will do you

 Now most of you older folks remember what "a little dab will do you" comes from but the younger folks have no idea.  Well, here it is: When my brother, Larry, was ill, I stayed with him for about 3 months until he passed.  During that time I realized that he still used Brylcream on his hair.  So just to remind myself each day I now use Brylcream.  It actually works really well on my hair and scalp, so it was a good thing.   The point in telling you about this is I have always wanted to keep in touch with my past, both good and bad.  Of course, Larry was a good thing to always remember.  We had a lot of great times:  quail hunting on Beaver Creek to fishing in the local ponds and creeks to showing cattle, sheep and hogs in 4-H, to traveling to cattle sales to judging contest.  He was always a challenge to me in that he was a perfectionist.  Honestly, I think he even used Brylcream on our show cattle to make their hair shine.  Larry would spend hours combing and primping the hair on the show cattle.  

So, what is most important about "a little dab will do you".  It reminds me every day how I was blessed to have a good brother.  He never had a nose ring, a tattoo, or long hair.  He never drank that I know of, and he did not darken the doors of church as an adult, but he did use a few foul words.  In fact, all of his Clemson friends/Edisto Beef Cattle Research were entertained when Larry would get mad at cattle or technology because he could lay a streak of words that are unpublishable.  Funny thing was that he never got mad at folks, but cattle and objects could get him riled.  

Now I do need to clarify one thing about his church history as if that were the important part.  A friend of Larry's, Kevin Yon, came visiting at the hospital when Larry was sick.  I shared with Kevin my concern for Larry's belief and trust in Jesus Christ.  Kevin did me a great favor.  First off, he said he was embarrassed that in all the years of their friendship (35 years, approximately) they had never discussed Larry's relationship with Christ.  Second, Kevin stood up and said, "I am going to take care of that right now".  He came back and shared with me that Larry for sure knew Christ as his personal savior.  

Well, now back to Brylcream and a little dab will do you.  I can't explain the pain of losing my brother or the hole it left, but I can be thankful in all things but not necessarily thankful for all things.  You might have to think about that last sentence to get the real meaning.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Memories are important and a little dab will help you remember the good
• A good friend is hard to find but easy to remember.
• Try every day to remember your history, the good and the bad and be thankful for ALL of it.

Thanks for listening,

gary.olson@finaciti.com

I didn't know it but I was raised to save a few bucks

 I was looking through some old pics and found this one of my daughter and youngest son at the the ripe old ages of 7 and 1.  You will notice that they are on a swing which was built by my dad, Clifford Olson.  He was always pretty smart about these kind of things.  He took an old tire (without the wire reinforcements in them) and made a swing by cutting most of it away and then turning it inside out.  This is the perfect swing at the most perfect price, free from dad.  PRICELESS!

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• the best things are made by dad
• memories are made best by smiles of those you love
• Count your blessings, One by One

thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Watch what you are chewing!

 Now I don't know about you but growing up in the Osage most folks had chickens.  We had hundreds and it seemed like thousands.  A few things always amazed me about chickens.   

First, that chickens could sleep sitting on a very thin board or wire and not fall off.  Also chickens sleep in their nests and they poop a lot, even while they sleep.  The second thing is they sleep when it is dark, not a certain number of hours.  In fact, that is why egg laying farms keep a light on part time during the long winter nights so that the chickens will lay more eggs.  Yep, that is correct, they will lay more eggs if you just keep them awake.

OK, back to the story.  One time I was chewing some Wrigley's Spearmint gum (I was not a fan of most other types) and was gathering eggs at the time.  I accidentally lost my gum and when I looked down, I picked it up and started chewing.  To my surprise, it was not my gum.  If you ever saw chicken poop, you would know what the problem was.  Sure enough I was chewing chicken shit.  That might be why my dad always said I was a chicken shit.  Well, the lesson I learned is to be careful what you are chewing.

Just to add to that story, one time I tried some Redman tobacco after a track meet in Newkirk.  On the way back to Shidler on the bus I got so sick it was ridicules.  As soon as I got off that bus, I was tossing up chunks (do I need to explain?).  I never did have a desire to chew tobacco after that.

Now, one more short story about chewing RedMan tobacco.  Shouna and I were invited to a Western style party at Bill and Barbra Adams house in Oklahoma City.  We dressed up in western attire.  I even wore my old chaps from hauling hay and of course cowboy hat and the rest.  But I added a little flavor.  I had some RedMan sticking out of my back pocket to look very country.  I also had a big wad in my mouth/cheek.  I brought a pop bottle (for you dumb city folks, that is a soda bottle) with me to spit in just to look the part.  Everyone was grossed out as I would periodically spit in the bottle and finally after someone said something I shared that if you would swallow the wad, it would cure any worms and some other ailments.  I did just that right in front of everyone and they got really grossed out again.  The funny thing is what I had was the old black raisins in my mouth and that is what I swallowed.  The joke was on them.

Well, what do you learn in the Osage?

• watch what you chew.
• and don't believe everything you hear; I really did not drop my gum in the chicken house, but I loved the story.
• I did get sick the first and last time I tried chewing tobacco.
• A good joke can lead to a lot of laughter and is good for the soul.

Thanks for listening,

Gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com