Are we getting over protective or what?

 Growing up in the Osage, I remember Larry and I would take off to go fishing or hunting and basically Mom would assume we would come home when we were hungry.  Of course, things are different now, but are they really?  

When we went fishing, we would take our fishing seine and catch minnows and crawdads to fish with and sometimes we would go around the barns looking for worms hidden under old boards or around the sewer system.  We also went catching grasshoppers and crickets to fish with.  Now if we were going only after catfish, we would steal some liver from the freezer (actually we did not have to steal it because no one except mom liked cooked liver).  The next step in fishing was taking our bait and head for the creek, Beaver Creek.  Now there were two great places we focused on, and one was pretty close to the house where there was a bend in the creek and thus making a deep hole where there were plenty of fish.  The other place was Soup's fishing hole.  It was named after Soup Wade, but that is another story.  Typically, Larry would take one side of the creek and I would take the other.  I never knew why but Larry would almost always get more fish than me.  It was probably because I had a little more ADHD, and he was patient.  

Now hunting was a little different and it depended on what we were hunting for, quail or squirrel.  Larry typically carried a 410 and I carried a single shot 22.  Again, Larry outperformed me, but I think he liked the fact that I could spot quail and squirrels faster than anyone.  For some reason my dad (Cliff) and I had the ability to see with clarity great distances and we both had a very wide field of vision making it easier to catch things moving and a long way off.

So, what is the point?  We were allowed to be independent and make decisions including consequences for making bad ones.  Luckily, we did not drown or kill anyone, especially each other, but we had lots of fun and adventures.

So, what did we learn in the Osage?

• getting exercise was fun when you had a good purpose, we walked for miles and miles.
• we learned to play and work together, but most of all we learned about each other.
• you learn a lot by doing and living rather than sitting and watching.

thanks for listening,

gary.olson@finaciti.com