Who were your bullies in life?

 I suppose everyone has a bully in their life even if you were a giant like me.  Now the question is: did they make me a better person or a worse person, secure or insecure?  

It always seemed to me that the big kids and especially those older than me were bullies including my brother, Larry.  Especially when I went to Shidler in the 8th grade there were a lot of folks older who wanted to push me around because I was big for my age.  Luckily a lot of folks caught up with me in size by the time I got into high school.  But one event stands out to me that is outside of this topic.  One of those upper classmen wanted to fight me and kept pushing for a fight during a basketball game.  But my hero was a fellow classmate and a lot smaller guy than me.  It was Ricky Cottle who stopped the person and told the bully to step outside with him and fight.  Well, it did happen, and Rick won the fight.  I was not bothered again by that bully.  I think Rick became the tallest person to me, tall in character.

Back to the point of the story.  I am going to propose to you that being bullied and being intimidated can actually turn out to be a good thing.  I was never one to pick a fight nor did I want to.  But out of those times I learned to persevere and that bullies have a self-image problem bigger than mine.  When I say persevere, I mean that I learned how to win without a physical fight.  In fact, this reminds me of a friend that was extremely short and got bullied a lot.  One of his bullies was being aggressive and my friend told him to pile up his money and stand on it and he would do the same.  He then told the bully let's see who is taller now.  I thought that was hilarious, but it made a point.  Now I am not saying money is everything, but I am saying that you do not measure a man by his self-centered bully pulpit.

Sure bullies are not a good thing, but overcoming is what counts.  It does not matter in life how many times you get knocked down, it only matters how many times you get back up.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Character is what counts in a person
• Doing the right thing is the right thing
• Persevere, get up one more time than you get knocked down and you will be a winner

Thanks for listening,

gary.olson@finaciti.com

thepioneerman.blogspot.com

Why run a marathon?

 When I was in high school, I really never gave a thought to running a marathon, but I did make some attempt in track while at good old Shidler High School.  

The first strange thing I did in track that made a lasting impression on me and my life was on the way home from a track meet in Newkirk.  I was in the 9th grade, freshman, and I had a lot of friends in the Osage who chewed tobacco (tobacca) including my Uncle Don Lane, mom's brother.  In fact, a lot of school buddies dipped Skoal or Garrett's Sweet Snuff or the old hard chew where you bit it off of a square chunk of tobacco.  Back to the bus ride.  I decided I would give my first and LAST attempt at chewing Red Man.  By the time I got back to Shidler I was throwing up my guts and the other end was not a whole lot better.  After that I never had a desire to partake in having a small amount between tongue and cheek.

As a side note I have to tell you about Uncle Don, who never could be seen without a big wad in the side of his mouth.  He could spit a huge amount all the time.  Anyway, my brother Larry got stung by a bee and Uncle Don had the remedy right there to stop the swelling which was started immediately.  He took that big wad out of his mouth and slapped it on the side of Larry's head behind his ear.  IT WORKED, although I would say it was gross and dripped down the side of his head.

Back to the topic.  Two times I made a great mistake and decided I could compete in running.  Again, at the track meet in Newkirk, Oklahoma, I entered the 640-yard race.  I don't think they ever have that race today.  I did get a bronze medal which was a huge surprise to me and probably everybody else except I don't think there were more than 3 in the race, but if there were, they had to be the slowest people in the area. 

My second running event was another day, and I was in the sophomore year of high school.  It was 12 miles from Shidler to Grainola and I decided I could make that run pretty easily as I was in great shape from basketball.  What I did not know is that running on blacktop with the wrong shoes could give you serious shin splits.  I did make it about 10 or 11 miles, and someone gave me a ride home.  The pain and memory of that has been a great reward.  I have never even considered running like that again.

Now one last running opportunity.  As an adult working downtown Oklahoma City there was a triathlon corporate event that I entered.  It was run a mile, and 100 pushups.  and swim 1/4 mile.  It was no problem with the running, and I never made it to pushups.  You see I was never a good swimmer and I hyperventilated, and 3 girls had to pull me out of the pool.  I could not even stand up and I laid on the side of the pool for a long time, embarrassing!

That is my running history.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• do a little research to know what you are getting into.
• there is absolutely nothing good comes from tobacco except maybe losing some weight or fixing a bee sting.
• all decisions have consequences, some good and some bad
• the moral of the story is THINK and give some time before making some of those stupid decisions like a tattoo or nose ring that you might regret later.

Thanks for listening,

gary.olson@finaciti.com

 

Who were you idols/heroes?

 I am sure everyone had somebody that they admired and aspired to be like.  Well, I sure did, and there were several which I have already mentioned but today I want to mention a few more that are not so obvious.

Uncle Bill Heath was a reasonably quiet man, but I sure was motivated by him because he was smart but most of all, he seemed to care about me.  He would teach me chess and take me to his office and show me the computers and he talked to me like I was important.  Of course, his wife, Aunt Peggy, was wonderful and she just allowed me to have fun when I was at their house.  She also made cinnamon rolls for me, my favorite food.  We always played games at their house, but Joe and I also got to have peach fights and play in the ditches when there were huge rains, and the ditches were full of water.  In fact, Joe and his sisters are the ones I wanted to share about today.

Joe was an incredible athlete, and he threw the ball so hard that I was scared to catch for him.  He played football and I just wanted to be good like him.  His sister Cathy was so dog-gone smart, and I wanted to be smart like her.  Marie was fun and talented (she was in the band) but most of all she was kind to me as I was by far the youngest nephew on our side of the family.  She even made me think I was good looking and that was a surprise to me as I was so self-conscience.  They seemed to have the perfect life.  They had a color TV and a water cooler in the living area (that is what folks had before air conditioners), and they lived in a big city, Ponca, and they went on vacations every year.  You might say I was even jealous or envious.  Every year I got to spend a week at their house, and it was a delight.

For a kid like me those were important people in my life, and it took me some time to realize that I also had a wonderful life growing up on the farm in Grainola and going to Shidler.  I was privileged to have a country life with open skies and loving parents and a brother and sister and no color TV or water cooler and not even a riding lawn mower even though we had the biggest yard you can imagine.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• I was blessed and I know they made a difference in my life
• The grass is always greener away from where you stand
• Little things and especially kind words can make a big difference in a person's life
• don't underestimate your influence on others

Thanks for listening and check out my video, hope it works.

https://riverside.fm/dashboard/studios/the-pioneerman/recordings/72050dba-94b8-45ff-bb69-8f266ea63ee8?share-token=36bafca3384e25874571&content-shared=recording

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Dangit or damnit, what is the difference?

 Well, I don't know about you but some things are hard to understand.  When I was growing up there were three words used around my house:  hell, shit and damn, that were acceptable by my folks and just about everyone else.  Another thing about those words is that I used dang-it and dad-gum-it and heck and crap without hesitation.  And as I got older I remember my brother, Larry, coming home from college and he started using those big 3 words plus some new ones.  In fact I remember Janie and Sally and Billy all coming home using some of those words.  Being somewhat judgmental about it, I suggested that their college vocabularies were not impressive.  Of course I was the runt of the family and they paid no mind to me or my opinions.

Now that I have aged, like a good bottle of wine, I have figured out that those words are not a reflection of the real character of the person.  In fact sometimes just for effect I will through in one of those BIG 3 to get a reaction.  Maybe that is why folks wear those tattoos all over their bodies and rings in their noses and eyebrows, just to get a little more attention.  I suppose it is alright to have those things, after-all we put rings in the nose of hogs and we tattooed cattle in the ear to help identify each one.  In fact I was watching the NFL football games and I was amazed how dominate those items were on the players.  With those helmet's on, the long hair hanging out the helmet and the tattoos made it easier to distinguish who was who.  I don't see why they even need numbers on their shirts.

I guess it is ok for everyone to have all those markings on their faces and arms and wherever so we can tell them apart.  But the one good thing is I can undo the BIG 3 from my vocabulary but I cannot undo those tats and piercing without some scars being left behind. I suppose I would also like to think that my children and grandchildren would not be idolizing those folks.  Well, hell fire and damn those tats, they are the shits. (that was a joke for you judgmental folk) I think I might go get a nose ring so it will remind me of those days when we had hogs.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• your character is more important than your piercing or markings or bad words
• your deeds and how you treat people really says who your are
• you/me may have preferences but if we just strive to be like Christ is more important 
• BUT to know Christ is the most important of all

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Does it pay to hurry?

 I don't know about you but I guess I got it from my dad, Cliff Olson, in that I am always in a hurry.  In fact when I was about 12 years old I was in such a hurry to get out the back door that I stuck my hand right through a glass window.  Basically is cut the left side of my little finger off so much that I could see the bone and of course mom, Opal Olson, gave me a ride to Dr. Cecil Snyder in Winfield, Kansas.  

Now just a side note:  Dr. Snyder was the same doc that delivered me, and dad and mom paid the bill with a side of beef.  It is also worth noting that Doc told mom and dad that I would never grow very much because of my allergies to milk.  Every time I went to the doc he and the nurses would talk about how much I had grown.  In case you have not read in my stories, by the time I was in the second grade I was taller than my teacher.  Even when Doc Snyder passed away his son, Johnny, became our family doctor.

OK, back to the finger.  As it turned out they had to do something I had never heard of, they grafted skin off my arm and put it on my finger.  Today you can see where they took the skin more than the scar on my finger.  Pretty good job I would say.

Along the same line of hurry, I remember dad wanted me to take the hay rake to him using the Ford tractor.  Being in a hurry, I assumed he was across the creek cutting hay and needed it right away.  Bad mistake!  After about an hour of fighting with getting the rake across the creek and through the trees and narrow road, dad was pretty frustrated with where was I.  Of course I was frustrated because he was not where I thought he was.  In fact he was about 100 yards from the house where I started.  Luckily dad was pretty good at laughing at my mistake.

All this to say that my ADHD got in the way of getting things done too many times.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• sometimes it is cheaper/less expensive to SLOW DOWN
• be thankful for a dad who can laugh at your mistakes.
• Stop, listen, ask questions and then execute.  
• Slow down, aim first then fire.

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Box cars, what can you do with one?

 I remember watching the Midland Valley Railroad cars and counting them every time they would go by. Several of the folks around Shidler and Grainola had box cars (railroad cars) to store cattle cake (that means cattle feed) in them, but one story that is amazing but true I want to share.

I am blessed to have the best mother-in-law you could ever ask for, Naomi Davis, and she LIVED in a box car in North Texas around what use to be called Georgetown which is now under water in Lake Texhoma.  I don't think her kids, including my wife, knew that until the last year.  She was from a large family, 9 children, and before all of those kids were born her folks and at least 4 children lived in a box car.  Now I don't know about you but that sounds pretty rough.  Think about it, no bathroom in doors, no running water, no electricity and who knows what else.  No nice cushy beds?  No air conditioner and no heater?  During the summer they would sleep outside to beat the heat and at night they would sit under the trees and talk, play cards, dominos, and checkers and eat.  She watched the stars a lot and her grandparents lived down the road about 1/2 mile and they lived in a box car.  But you know what?  She enjoyed life and school and loved her family and they all worked hard and respected each other.  Did I mention she walked to school 1.5 miles each way?  She was a serious student and that might be because she wanted to get ahead in life.  Perhaps if we let folks struggle a little, they might work harder to get ahead.  Don't know, just thinking.

My mom, Opal Olson lived on the hill 1.5 miles from school in Grainola with a large family (8 children), but they did live in a house.  But still, no running water, no toilet, no electricity and no air conditioner or heater but they were happy, and they all prospered.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Not everyone gets a trophy, and they turned out very well, both families
• No TV, cell phone or even a phone or a video game and they were all well-adjusted.
• Hard work and a hard life allow you to grow up to be good citizens.
• Question:  what is wrong with having a little adversity in your life?
• I feel blessed!

Well, thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

thepioneerman.blogspot.com if you want to read more stories.