What was it like living through Covid, 2020 to 2024?

 Wow!  Suddenly the country was shut down basically by our government.  Between the government and the media, we were frightened for our family and friends.  

Family life became closer nit due to lockdowns and remote work.  We spent more time together and played more games and we watched a lot of TV to know what was going on in the world.  Probably one of worst aspects was out of fear the schools were closed.  Kids did not learn, and they lost time in all their activities.  We were almost in a prison, locked up and even the groceries were either delivered to the door or we ordered online, and our cars were loaded, but no walking the isles.  

Restaurants were shut down and drive throughs and outside deliveries were common.  No sit-down eating was allowed.  Think of the owners and the employees who both lost their incomes. Many businesses never reopened.  Amazon became a huge thing as it was totally online and door to door delivery of everything.  Government aid programs helped some businesses to stay afloat.

Social life was turned upside down.  Friends and even churches could only meet via the internet and Zoom became a huge help during that time.  Drive by birthdays were normal.  Our oldest son, a fireman, was constantly exposed to the virus and yet he survived.  He also shared that there were dramatic increases of medical issues and deaths.  Mental health skyrocketed with anxiety, depression, and loneliness.  As churches started to meet again we had every-other row marked off to help keep distance between folks.  Choir was canceled.  Sunday School or community groups went to online meetings.  

So it has been over five years and what lasting effects remain?

• remote and hybrid work remains - lots of automation to replace workers
• millions of folks retired and have never returned to the work force, some due to age but some just found another way to live and get by
• Dramatic inflation and availability of goods and services drastically reduced and/or changed
• Cities saw a mass migration to rural areas and lost tax revenue due to the shift
• We finally could get medical help/docs over the phone or via internet chats
• lots of lingering Covid related health issues remain
• delayed weddings and funerals especially were changed 
• some folks never returned to church gatherings
• online education is forever here

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Be careful in over-reacting and even under-reacting 
• Life is short and knowing Jesus is much more important when you understand that the end is potentially nearer than you once believed.
• God and family are much more important than I once thought

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

How did the depression make a difference in your life?

 I know that I did not grow up in the depression, but it certainly made a difference in my life.  Mom and dad grew up during those times including the Dust Bowls, Depression, WWI and mostly WWII plus lots of presidents and lots of politics.  

Did it make a difference in my life?  Certainly, because mom became extremely thrifty, and she worked like a dog every day providing for the family.  Dad wanted to own land and raise a family that he could be proud of.  They both worked long hours 7 days a week from before daylight to after dark.  They both wanted their children (Larry, Debbie and me) to go to college and they taught us hard work, discipline and respect. They gave us values, honor and faith.  We virtually never missed church and knowing about the life of Christ.

Let me be specific:  We always had a huge garden and literally hundreds of chickens and I would guess over 100 hogs, and milk cows (a dairy for many years) plus beef cattle and even a few sheep.  Every year we put up (canned) hundreds of jars of vegetables for the winter.  We butchered chickens for meat and harvested eggs for the kitchen plus we traded eggs at Dale's Feed Seed and Fertilizer store for groceries.  We separated the whole milk and sold off the cream and then the milk for income.  We even made our own butter for years and to tell you the truth, I was glad to see those sticks of butter in the store and then our kitchen.  It saved a lot of work.  All of this was a reflection of mom's thrifty ways.  She made clothes for the entire family, except for the Levi's and even those were patched many times to make them last.  

Another reflection of the lasting effects of the depression is that being the youngest, I got to wear the used clothes of Larry, my brother, and Billy Snyder, my first cousin.  That is, until I outgrew them and that was about the time I hit 12 or 13.  Debbie, my sister, and the Shumate girls all learned to sew and make their own clothes.  Mom was a great teacher.

Another thing my parents did, and I believe it was due to the depression, was giving or I could say sharing what we had with others.  They gave even when it hurt as they saw others in need more than us.  I would say they happily gave, and they never asked the government to take their place in that giving.  They did not require something in return, because they understood the law of giving was a gift in itself.

Leftovers were never wasted with the one exception of liver.  Dad hated liver, so we got to use it for fish bait, so maybe it was not wasted either.  Vehicles were driven for years and were totally repaired and maintained by us.  Even the tractors were maintained and never traded for a newer model.  We used everything until it could be used no more.  

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• A great life is made by the values you learn, the hard way or should I say hard work
• Without a good example of a father and mother, growing up can be very difficult
• Give and give until you can give no more and give some more, you will be richer for it

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Honey Bees in your face -

 I never knew why but Mr. and Mrs. Fulsom seemed to really like me and insisted on hiring me to do any job they needed at their house.  When you are kid, folks always seemed old, and Mr. and Mrs. Fulsom were always old.  They lived in Grainola just east of Aunt Gladys (Mrs. Snyder) in a wonderful house with a giant wrap around porch and a detached garage with living quarters above the garage.  They had a crawl space under the house bigger than I have ever seen.  I could actually stand up in it.  Also, I should mention it was a rock house and, in my mind, the prettiest house in Grainola.  One last note before I get back to the story.  One of their daughters married Jack Heath (brother to my uncle Bill who married Aunt Peggy-mom's sister), father of Jim and Clarissa, and she could play basketball with the best of them.  In fact, she could play tennis as well.  Deanie was her name, and I have no idea if that is how you spell it.  Her sister was also on the team, and I hear she was a great player as well.  I believe Mildred Kelly was on this team as well.  They were the 1950 state champion girl basketball team. OK, back to the story.

Honeybees:  Mr. Fulsom asked me to repair the roof on his house and it was two stories tall, so we had to set up some scaffolds (dad, me and my brother Larry).  I know Mr. Fulsom knew that I would need dad, but he always asked me, and I never knew why.  So here we are on top of the scaffolds repairing the roof and some honeybees start coming out of the attic of the two-story house.  The more we hammered those nails the more bees came out until there were literally thousands.  Larry jumped down and ran to the pickup as he did not want to be stung.  Dad just said ignore them and keep on putting up shingles and hammering those nails.  I could see the bees were landing all over him and crawling in his hair and across his face.  There were hundreds landing on me as well and finally they were walking across my face.  I drew a steady hand until one of them walked across my eyelid.  I looked at dad and said I am done.  I slapped that bee and jumped down about 10 feet to the ground and took off running.  The bees were chasing me, and dad was just laughing at me.  I ran to get in the pickup with Larry, but he LOCKED the door.  I have no idea how far or how long I ran but I was stung at least 9 times!  I guess I was just too sweet to resist.  Finally, they stopped, and I rolled in the grass to keep them off until they were gone.  

The cool thing was we finally completed the roof, and dad knew how to smoke out the bees so they would not swarm, and we could get the honey.  I really do not remember how much honey there was, but it was huge, and I would bet it was at least 10 lbs. of honey.  

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• When there is something sweet, there is always a bite to it, especially with girls.
• Every job has its challenges, but some have a sweet ending.
• You do not need to lock the pickup to keep out the bees.

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com