Home on The Range by thepioneerman.com

I bought a car once and then the dealer wanted to buy one of my cows!

2026-04-08T17:59:00.000-05:00

So take a close look at the attached photo:

I found this in my brother's stuff and thought it pretty funny.

Have you ever wanted to get a little even? I remember my dad and John Murphy as two of the best story tellers and jokers and this certainly reminds me of them.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

a little orneriness is good for the sole
treat others how you want to be treated
be thankful Jesus does not get even for our sins

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

IF you are going to fight why not use rocks?

2026-04-04T13:24:00.001-05:00

Living on a gravel road which dead ends at 1 mile north and 3 west from Grainola was a great privilege. First off when you see a little dust in the air, that means you have a visitor coming and we would watch them from the front porch coming. It was about 1/2 mile from the top of the first hill from our house to the front porch. I should also mention it was a great place to sit and watch the storms and an occasional tornado coming. Yep, we would sit on the front porch and watch the storm. The second great thing about living on the dead end of a gravel road is that you could ride your back as fast and as hard as you can muster. The only bad part is if you fall which Larry Wayne did once and it scun (slang for scratched the heck out of his leg, arms and body and even his face) him up something awful.

The third thing that was great about living on a gravel road is there were plenty of rocks and when you were having fun or even having a fight because you are mad, there are plenty of rocks. Yes, you can have a rock fight and not be mad. You do have to admit it is better throwing rocks at each other than shooting a gun at each other.

So I remember one time Kenny Kelsey was at our house and he was on one side of the car and I was on the other. We were tossing rocks like hand-grenades. At least that way you would not get hurt as bad as a hard thrown rock. EXCEPT, when one of those rocks is a little too big and sharp. Kenny's head decided it was too large and too sharp. It busted his head wide open and he bled like a stuck hog (that means it really bled a lot). Now, the good news is Kenny lived and it was only a few stitches, plus we did not get in trouble.

That is our house which you can barely see, and the barns are to the left.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but ROCKS can still hurt
A little too much fun can hurt, but you can laugh about it later
If you can't take the pain don't play the game

Thanks for listening,

gary

Golson21@hotmail.com

Rotten Egg fights

2026-04-01T13:22:00.000-05:00

Some folks from the city think there is nothing to do in the country. Contrary to their thinking, there is an unlimited number of things to do, like finding rotten eggs. Sometimes it was the boy scouts which included Larry Wayne and his buddies but not me, but that is another story. Other times it was just some friends from church, Grainola Methodist, but we would find things to do. Living on the farm with multiple barns and lots of chickens you could always find a few eggs that had been laying around a little too long.

This story is about the time the boy scouts and I should remind you that Mom/Opal was the scout mother, were having an egg fights, rotten egg fights. Mom did not endorse it. I included myself in the hunt, but what we did was go through all the hay barns looking for abandoned eggs. Sure, enough there were plenty. As I was sneaking around the hay barn next to the milk barn I ran into Kenny Kelsey, who had an incredible ornery laugh, and I laid one on him and took off running. Then there was Pat Conwell who had peeled off the shell and just the thin film held the egg together. He tossed it toward the rafters in the barn just as Debbie Sue (my sister) walked out and it splatted right on top of her head. It was a very rotten egg. Basically, if you do not know it, rotten eggs are like Sulphur on steroids. I bet mom washed Deb's hair a dozen times that day just to get the smell out. As I recall she also used milk and even tomato juice to get rid of the smell. I don't know all the criminals involved but I believe Larry Stephens, Billy Don Head, Bill Snyder, Harvey Harrington, Glen Jones and Joe Conner were involved in the war. I can assure you that most of those boys are in this picture from 1956 but they all grew up.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

it is probably better not to look up as there might be a falling rotten egg
now when you are in trouble it is a good idea to look up to Jesus for some forgiveness
Forgiveness comes from Jesus, but consequences come from MOM
Boy scouts were fun but as we all got older, we became girl scouts, go figure

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

Folks call me an entrepreneur and I would tell you I was full-a-manure.

2026-03-28T15:17:00.000-05:00

I cannot explain why it happened, but I figured out early that to make money I had to multiply my time and find something other folks wanted. So, when I was about 7 I started competing in the Grainola District Fair. The first thing I should tell you is I was always way too big for my age. (see pic of our basketball team, Mr. Morris was the only person taller and the three littlest guys were the only ones my age, the others were up to 3 years older) The first thing I remember competing in was riding in bicycle rases during the fair and then I tried to learn canning from my mom so I could enter the canning contest. Then there was the horseshoe contest and the greased pig contest and the big one for me was turtle racing.

Now here is where it got good, I figured that winning depended on the turtle and not on my ability. So, I decided to collect turtles and sell them to fellows wanting to race during the fair. That was very profitable and I would attempt to keep the fastest turtle for myself but that did not always work.

My next full-a-manure venture was when I decided to borrow money from the bank ($70) to buy two ewe lambs. That is another story but I should mention I was 9 yrs. old when I went to the bank and asked Mr. Andrews for a loan. Alright, I will tell the rest of the story. He asked me how I was going to pay back the loan and I gold him we would have baby lambs and wool to generate money for the loan. He asked me how we would have baby lambs if I did not purchase a ram. I told him they were already pregnant. He said, "then I will make you the loan". I should also mention that dad never came in the bank with me but sat in the pickup. I should also mention that I sold one of the first lambs to my sister and I thought I kept the best lamb for myself. She won the Osage County Spring Livestock show, I did not.

This is getting long so I will tell more in the next story.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

Hard work and a little risk taking can get you ahead in life
Being the biggest guy in the school was not cool, until later
A college education can hinder a person from reaching their best
Hard work and tenacity can overcome

Thanks for listening,

gary

Golson21@hotmail.com

Soups fishing hole

2026-03-25T22:26:00.001-05:00

When you grow up in the Osage you learn about where to go fishing. Larry and I fished mostly about 1/4 mile behind the house on Beaver Creek. We would sein for minnows in the creek or grab some liver out of the freezer and head out. Interesting enough we never brought water or food, and mom never seemed to worry about us. She always said, "when they get hungry, they will come home".

Now if you walk about another half mile west and a little south there was a deep water hole called Soups fishing hole. Now Soup Wade was his name, and his wife was Letha and she was a schoolteacher in Shidler, and I don't know what Soup ever did besides tell stories. Letha was a full blood Osage and sweet to me, always. Just past Soups fishing hole was a beaver damn, and it was fun to watch the beavers working. It was a great hole, and I caught many a bass there. My brother Larry always caught more than me. He fished with a fancy real and mine was an inexpensive Zebco (manufactured in Tulsa). One time I caught but not landed the biggest bass ever. I am guessing it was well over 5 lbs. and maybe up to 8. The other outstanding thing I caught one time was a rod and reel, yep, a rod and reel.

I have to admit that if the fishing was not going well, we would start shooting turtles with a 22 rifle. One of the best times shooting was David Goldenberg (my second most favorite Jewish boy) was with me and he had never shot a gun. He grew up in Queens, New York. I guess they did not live on a creek.

He was also surprised when he saw mom's crocks full of cucumbers turning into pickles. He had not given much thought to cucumbers make pickles. He was also surprised that I did not know what a bagel was. He also was surprised that I was not aware he was Jewish. I told him that where I came from, we just had three types of folks, black and white and red. It was strange to me that I never really cared what color a person was.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

everyone likes to fish
not everyone has a creek
the color of the skin or the ethnicity of a person does not make the man
character is what makes a man

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

How did the depression make a difference in your life?

2026-03-24T13:06:00.000-05:00

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

golson21@hotmail.com

Array Manufacturing - a great idea is not always a great idea!

2026-03-17T13:25:49.619-05:00

A great idea is not always a great idea, Array Manufacturing.

Remember when we had continuous feed printers and it was a hassle getting paper to feed to the printer? Well, Bruce Milner and Kevin McAfee and I started a company called Array Manufacturing (around 1983) to solve this problem and make millions. IBM had one and it was a lot like ours but different (see pic below). We actually sold a lot of these, but we also had a lot of left over inventory.

It was fun but, it was a great idea at a great price, for the consumer anyway. I was in the computer industry and saw the need as personal computers were new and dot matrix printers were the cool new thing. Those computers were desktop only and had 8 to 16k memory with floppy drives using cassettes which had 32 to 64k. YEP, that is k as in 1000 bytes. Did you know it takes 8 bits to make a bite? And then there was ASCII and EBCDIC, try that on for size! I was an EBCIDIC person with heavy experience in assembler language and banking programs, but those are another story.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

Great ideas are great ideas only if you execute on them, but it can still fail.
Time moves on, so you better seize the day and get it done, NOW
Profit margins do not mean a thing if you cannot put a little change/cash in your pocket
* Fun can be expensive

Thanks for listening,

Gary

Golson21@hotmail.com

do me a favor and share my blog with your friends.

Never thought I was a baby boomer

2026-02-04T15:33:00.002-06:00

Growing up in the Osage, I never heard of Baby Boomers, but I am one. Here is a list of things I never thought about:

Gay Marriage - well maybe I did think about that, but it was focused on HAPPY Marriage
Woke - never thought about it other than I needed to Woke up and do my chores, in fact we used the word Wake.
when would I stop working - 65? you have to be kidding me, all farmers I knew worked until they passed away
GPS guided tractors and certainly not pickups or cars that would guide you. If we got lost, we just had to figure it out and as a boy in the Osage I needed to know North, South, East and West. I remember Billy Snyder telling dad where to run when going to see Grandma Annie in Oologah, Ok. (yep, that is the real name of a town). Billy told dad to turn where the chicken was in the road.
How about a telephone in your pocket? and you can talk to it, and it will talk back and there was never a twisted cord to hassle with. Who would have thought?
I never thought you could not store your gun in the back seat window of the pickup and certainly I never thought you would have to LOCK your pickup.
An HP calculator? why would I ever need that? I knew how to multiply and divide, add and subtract and the rules to do math. We called it Algebra and my folks thought it looked crazy.
Online? what the heck!! The only thing online were the clothes drying in the back yard or maybe a chicken hawk on the telephone wire.
Smart phones, you gotta be kidding me? A smart aleck maybe like Jon Tanny or John Murphy, just kidding. In fact that is what they were always doing, kidding. I should through in Eddy Harris and he was closer to a smart aleck.
Work Safety or helmets for riding a bicycle. Naw! Parents assumed you had enough sense to not do stupid things, like playing with dynamite (you might want to go read that story), hunting from the back of the pickup while someone was driving or trying to hoist Jim Heath up the flagpole. Naw, never.
There could ever be anything better than an AM/FM radio with an 8 Track
That putting a ring in the nose of a hog to stop digging would become common in people's noses.

maybe people are digging in the dirt, and I just missed that as well.

Well, what did I learn in the Osage?

A simple life in a small town is as good as it gets on this earth.
A good book and The Good Book and the lack of technology is a good thing.
People are more forgiving of mistakes in a small town.
Hogs are not the only animal with nose rings.

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

Funny things Dad would say

2025-03-18T14:13:00.002-05:00

I am one lucky guy. My dad had a great since of humor and was a great storyteller. But here are some of the things that I loved and yes, some of them are off color.

1. yesterday, one of my close friends (Rich K.) told me I needed to drink more water. Now I should preface this with it was a gathering of 11 guys for weekly fellowship that meet at Mike Cunningham's office (my old office before I retired). Mike and Steve and staff are wonderful hosts. Rather than make it such a long sentence which I used to get in trouble for with Mrs. Head, let's just say it is a bible study/prayer group. Anyway, after R. Kanaly smarted off, I gave him one of my dad's sayings, "Piss on you". Most folks would get their underwear in a wad saying something like that at a bible study, but I figure even if I don't say it, God knows what I am thinking. Well, it got a good chuckle, kind of like Chuckles Codding more normally known as Harold.

2. Since I had shared one of my dad's little sayings, I figured on sharing another. Dad use to say he was a FART KNOCKER and then he would double up one of his fists and knock on my shoulder or arm. Do you get it? Well, I did that to you know who yesterday.

3. This is the last one today, but there are many more: Dad would take his index finger and make it look like a hook. Then he would say, "do you know what this is?". And if you did not know, he would say it is a shit hook. Then he would proceed to hook you one the arm or somewhere to let you know you were the shits.

He always laughed and I cannot thank him enough for the great times. I hope you can remember some great times with your dad. If you do, check out the free invite below, where you can start writing or telling your stories and record them for your kids and grandkids.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

laughter is great medicine
when you use words that are not especially acceptable by folks, just remember, God knows what you were thinking
Words can hurt and they can heal but only Jesus forgives and does not judge, if only you put your trust in HIM.

Thanks for listening,

gary

here is my special invite: gary.olson@finaciti.com

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Gary L. Olson

10m

Shared with Public

well, here is a new one and i need your help. I think many of you know I have an app called Finaciti and if you would like to try it out for FREE (always free to you up to 1000 of my friends, family etc.). All I need is for you to try it and give me feedback to gary.olson@finaciti.com

so, here is what you need to get it free: download the app and when it asks for an AID number use srem8z

let me know you signed up and try it out. there are two things we are doing, and it will be expanding rapidly as we get a few things adjusted.

1. if you would like to get some education and organize your personal information secured on your phone, not on our files, so that is something happens to you, your family or spouse will know what to do.

2. if you go back to the main menu on the app you can start writing your story for your family and children and grandchildren. I personally have written a lot of stories about growing up in the Osage and especially stories of mom and dad and our ancestry.

And it is all FREE to you if you use the code srem8z

tell me of any problems you might have or suggestions. we are going to add end of life planning as well.

thanks for helping,

Gary L. Olson

gary.olson@finaciti.com

What should I not do when I lose a family member?

2025-03-13T17:44:00.003-05:00

I found this to be an interesting problem for folks, not because I am smart, but because I had some friends tell me what happened to them.

One of my friends and financial clients (I am a retired financial advisor) lost their husband suddenly. She immediately notified the credit card companies and her banks. She shared that they immediately shut down / locked her accounts and she was not able to buy gas without cash or travel or even purchase groceries. Wow!! What did she do?

Well, the first thing is she had to get some friends to loan her some dough/cash until she could reapply for a credit card. It took a couple of weeks, and she was stressed out by more than just the sudden loss of her husband.

What about the checking account? If things are done correctly there is generally no problem as long as the account has "right of survivorship". You better go check with your bank. There are other ways of handling, but this is the most common. The bank may ask for a copy of the death certificate and/or identification proving you are the surviving account holder (depends on the bank's policies). BUT, and there is always a but, if the deceased was the primary account holder, and you were listed only as an authorized user (not a co-owner), the bank may freeze the account. This is a possible probate problem.

Well, I hope this helps a little, but!

So what do you learn in the Osage

check with your bank on what your options are
check with your credit card company on are you a joint or authorized holder and ask how they would handle it
on the credit card you will want to verify (by state) if you are liable for the debt and how they would handle the notification.
talk to your financial advisor and lawyer

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Facebook

Gary L. Olson

10m

Shared with Public

so here is what you need to get it free: download the app and when it asks for an AID number use srem8z

let me know you signed up and try it out. there are two things we are doing and it will be expanding rapidly as we get a few things adjusted. 1. if you would like to get some education and organize your personal information secured on your phone, not on our files, so that is something happens to you, your family or spouse will know what to do. 2. if you go back to the main menu on the app you can start writing your story for your family and children and grandchildren. I personally have written a lot of stories about growing up in the Osage and expecially stories of mom and dad and our ancestry.

And it is all FREE to you if you use the code srem8z

tell me of any problems you might have or suggestions. we are going to add end of life planning as well.

thanks for helping,

Gary L. Olson

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Listen to Learn or Listen to Respond

2025-03-06T17:09:00.002-06:00

I don't know about you but as a child we were to listen to the adults and speak when spoken to. However, somewhere along the way there was a transition to listening to respond. I think it started when I entered school (1st grade with Aunt Geneva and then Mrs. Casselman and of course later was Miss Shumate). Just as a side note, when you grow up in the Osage and especially Grainola and Shidler you can always remember your teachers.

The only reason I had two first grade teachers is Aunt Give (long e) commonly known as Miss Snyder got sick and had a brain tumor. She did pass away after a period of trying to recover. Mrs. Casselman took over and she taught 1st and 2nd grade and both classes together had 11 until Ralph showed up for a short time, then we had 12 but only 5 and sometimes 6 in the 1st grade. The 3rd, 4th and 5th grade was taught by Miss Shumate and we had 5 and sometimes 6 in my class depending on Joy Frank changing from Shidler to Grainola and then back to Shidler. I never did know why she changed. Seventh and eighth grade was taught by Mr. Morris and then we had 5 in the 7th but I left early to go to Shidler and that left just 4 (Jim, Jon, Hugh Allen and Denise) for the 8th grade.

OK, back to the listen and learn vs listen to respond. I guess I was fairly aggressive in that I always wanted to be first in getting the answers to questions from the teachers except when it came to spelling. Thank goodness for spell check for me. This continued through high school and pretty much disappeared in college as it was mostly just listening to a professor/teacher talk (I hesitate to say teach as many teachers/professors just want to tell you their opinions). As you can probably tell, I don't think too highly of college and what it does for a person's career. But that is another story.

So here is where listening to learn vs listening to respond became important, Career and MARRIAGE! I was amazed when I went to work for EDS in Dallas and the emphasis, they put on learning how to develop programs/systems for banks but first learning what the customer wanted, not what I thought was more important. Later in my career I discovered many computer geeks thought they knew better than the customer what was needed. This kind of reminds me of government and how they pass laws and compliance issues on business without having the least bit of experience and understanding of what the impact on business would be. If you disagree, look around and see how many small towns and businesses have disappeared due to the burden of regulation (another story).

But then there is marriage. Men, listen to learn and you will be a better husband.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

it is cheaper to listen and learn than listen and respond
wisdom is the art of listening and learning
you can stay out of trouble a lot easier if you listen or watch and learn

Well, thanks for listening,

gary.olson@finaciti.com

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

2025-02-26T17:13:00.001-06:00

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

Honey Bees in your face -

2025-02-11T14:52:00.000-06:00

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

We just got water in the house!

2024-11-01T17:43:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but we always had water in the house, but mom (Opal (Lane is maiden name) Olson) did not. In fact, she had 5 sisters and 2 brothers and grew up about one mile west of Grainola on the first road north out of Grainola and then to the north on top of the hill which was about another quarter mile or more.

They had a water-well but you had a hand pump to get water in a bucket that you would have to carry to the house to wash dishes and then what about taking a bath or flushing the toilet. Not so fast: the bathroom was outside in a little room called an OUTHOUSE. An outhouse was a hole in the ground with a shed about 4 feet square built over the hole with a bench seat with a hole in it to let stuff fall through, if you know what I mean.

Now, what about that bath? Have you ever seen a galvanized tub? They would heat the water on the wood stove, yes - a wood stove. Now that is another problem as that meant you had to cut wood to put in the stove to cook. Right, no electricity and no running water and no gas in the early days. Back to the bath: now you might understand why folks back then they took a bath once a week. Who wanted to carry enough water to heat and fill up a tub to take a bath? Generally, Saturday evening or afternoon was bath time as Sunday there was church, and you had to be clean for church. Mom's parents were not particularly religious and in fact I don't believe Grandpa Jess (Poppie Jess as we called him) ever darkened the door except when he was carried in. But what is interesting about that is I have his father's bible, and it had a lot of written notes in it. Ok, OK, back to the bathing. Another item of interest is that the bath was taken outdoors even in summer and winter. How would you like that in winter?

All of this to say that when they got running water in the house and a hot water heater (which did come later so they still had to heat the water for a bath) it was a great day! I do mean a GREAT DAY! Did I mention that it was much later that the outhouse was replaced with a toilet and again running water? The first indoor toilet was actually what was called a water-closet where there was a board with a hole in it and a bucket (slop bucket) underneath to catch the stuff. It literally was a closet. Just a side note, they did not have closets in the bedrooms and there were originally only two bedrooms, meaning that all the children slept in the same room. Yep, boys and girls in the same room, like a dorm except for a while there was only one bed and a feather bed at that.

So, what do you learn growing up in the Osage?

Water in the house was a great invention
Being poor is relative and they were a very a happy family
hardships create character and character creates hope
Romans 5:4 Character creates hope (if you want hope come to Jesus)

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

First business adventure: Turtles

2024-09-25T08:29:00.001-05:00

I know this is from an older story but just to reminisce I want to share my first business adventure and then I am going to add in some stories about my business history .

Well, when i was about 7 years old and we had the Grainola District Fair going on I had experienced for a few years turtle races. The way it worked is I would find a terrapin and then use fingernail polish (red) to mark it with my name (don't worry, it was on the shell and would wear off easily and not harm the terrapin). Then one of the men would draw a large circle on the blacktop by the Grainola School (see pic of old school building) and then take a cardboard box and everyone would pay 10 cents to enter and then place your terrapin (turtle) in the box in the middle of the circle. The person in charge would raise the box (there was no bottom in the box) and the turtles would be off to the races. The first turtle reaching the outside of the circle would win (there usually was a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place).

This was a pretty fund gig, but I soon realized there was a better way to make money. I started with my dad's help gather turtles/terrapins a few weeks early and then at the Grainola District Fair I would sell turtles. Yep, I made a killing as most kids did not have a turtle and wanted to enter the races. Of course, the dads were very competitive and would pay the higher prices to get a good racing turtle. Another advantage I had was that I could test the turtles for speed and keep that one for me. Now I will have to tell you that turtles are unpredictable, and one might not even put its head out for the race, but I had no guarantees for performance, but I could sell you another turtle.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

a turtle in the hand is worth more than two in the bushes
Leverage your opportunity by finding what others don't see
Enjoy what you are doing, else find something that excites you

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

If you are interested in Finaciti and would like to join, send me an email and I will get you a code that allows you to have total access for $24/ year or $2 per month.

heebie-jeebies

2024-09-23T17:53:00.002-05:00

heebie-jeebies - yes, it is a real word, and it scares me to death.

Have you ever walked to a cliff or a balcony and looked down? Well, last week I was in the mountains (Yellowstone and Grand Tetons) and was hiking with Shouna and Preston. My entire life I have been scared of heights. Now, I don't avoid them, but they give me the heebie-jeebies. I can set and watch a movie and when they jump off a cliff I get the heebie-jeebies. OK, but here is what I learned in the national parks which also include Flaming Gorge and the National Dinosaur Monument:

the earth has gone through several hot and cold climate changes over millions of years
there were large floods that caused the dinosaurs to die off in a short period of time and due to the flood were piled up in a riverbed
large canyons and mountains formed by plates of rock pushing against each other and that water from floods caused a great deal of erosion
that our government and its agencies only show one possibility of how this occurred and not a single person lived to see this all happen

What interests me is that there is a possibility that a large flood like in the Bible could have been the cause of all of this. Also, that global warming has been happening over and over again but no one that we talked to considered that global warming today might be for the same reason it has happened in the past. In fact, based on the evidence they shared it sounds like we are in a normal cycle and man and animal has survived several of these cycles. Does anyone beside me find it amazing that only one point of view is given? I don't know and in fact was not there during creation even though I am getting old. It seems to me that it takes more faith to believe in the BIG BANG than it does to believe in creation.

If a big bang would have happened, it seems that an explosion would create scattering of debris rather than organization. Well, I am not the sharpest rock in the pile, but it seems to me that the logic is flawed or at least biased based on what they are looking for.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

heebie-jeebies are a function of expectations, for me heights scare me
what you become is a function of what you are looking for
I chose to live by faith in Jesus Christ and that no matter what, He wins in the end
It is easier to trust in God than to trust in opinions of those looking for answers in the wrong places

Thanks for listening,

Gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Visiting the SWAMP

2024-07-03T12:31:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone remembers visiting Washington DC and what an incredible place it is. The history and what we stand for are everywhere except in the political arena, the SWAMP. I am not going to get too political but here is what resonates with me and how it ties back to Grainola, Shidler and the Osage.

I am actually here today (2024 07 03) and yesterday I visited Arlington Cemetary where 100's of thousands of soldiers are buried who gave their life for freedom. There were no black and white or red and yellow markers based on your skin tones. It was all about those who served and cared. I thought a lot about my family and particularly Uncle Snyd (Vernon) Snyder, Wayne and Stanley Patterson (on the Lane side of the family), Paul and Arnold Jones and my dad and many others.

So, my question for you and hopefully my children and grandchildren is, "why and what for?". I went to the FDR memorial which is quite beautiful and one of his quotes (not accurate but you will get the idea), was that "everyone should have food, shelter and not want". What he stated also was that all should work if capable and I believe that was excluding those who are handicapped not those that have self-inflicted problems. Even the handicapped can do something but the government/swamp folks are too stupid to figure out how to fix it. Perhaps they should ask the people. Let's do help those who cannot help themselves. Sorry, I got off subject.

I don't think that is why these folks went in the service. I think they went to preserve our freedom and way of life. I agree no one should be hungry but I think a WANT to do better and a WANT to get ahead and a WANT to change are good. I wanted to serve in the Marines and got drafted to only get turned down due to a back injury. I wanted to be witty and talented like Steve Chrisco and Jimmy Heath. I wanted to not drive on gravel roads. I wanted to not milk cows, I wanted to work in an air-conditioned building like Uncle Bill Heath. I can go on, but you get the idea, if you don't want for anything because it is handed to you then you will NEVER get over yourself or get out of the rut of complacency. I once heard it said that the only difference between a rut and a grave was the ENDS are closed up.

My grandpa Olson came to America at 16 and the first day he was robbed and did not speak English and did not know anyone. He WANTED a better life, and he came legally (yep, that is political). He did not want to be hungry, so he scrapped to get a little food and ultimately found a job and worked his way to Kansas. He did well because he WANTED.

About 50 years ago Susie Snyder said something to me that made a lot of sense and still makes sense today. She said all the government programs/giveaways and I do mean ALL should have an end. In fact, she stated that if you just decreased benefits every year by 5% then folks would have time to adjust. That is too simple, but you get the idea.

Warning, this is political. Would it be better for the government to NOT have the best pay and benefits so that there is an incentive to get a job outside of the government? I do want to make an exception for schoolteachers, not administrative folks or college professors and their admin. We all know that colleges have gotten out of hand on just about everything.

Well, I guess I better quit, but what do you learn in the Osage?

the government cannot fix anything
work and hard work is good for the sole
WANT and discipline are two of the most important aspects of a person's life
Jesus is coming and not soon enough in my opinion

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

Why men go hunting and why it should still be a holiday.

2024-03-07T14:30:00.002-06:00

This might get me and a lot of men in trouble, but it just might give some information to a woman into why men are like they are.

Have you ever wondered why a man goes and sits in a tree for a week in freezing cold weather? Sometimes it even rains and freezes ice on the man while sitting in a tree. Now there are men who just have more sophistication (that really means more money to burn) and sit in one of those nice boxes on top of a tower with a heater and windows to block the cold wind. There are also those with less sophistication (money) who sit in a 55-gallon metal drum sitting on top of a tripod about 15 feet in the air. Now I will have to tell you that barrel is cold, but it does stop the wind. The other bad thing is you have to stick your head out of the barrel where it is windy and cold to shoot. Of course, there is a seat in the barrel so you can at least relax a little but there is NO leg room in there and it is not made for tall or fat folks like ME.

Now there are men who actually hire/pay someone to take them up into the mountains on horseback where it is cold and windy and miserable by most folk's standards to hunt deer or elk. If you are more sophisticated (more money) moose. There on that mountain, you have paid more money to be more miserable and more sophisticated.

Well with all this said let’s examine the why of this sport.

Men are not like women – does that resonate with anyone?

Men dip, chew and scratch and women don’t like any of it normally.

Men pass gas (fart), tell off color jokes.

Believe it or not it is fun and refreshing to be outdoors.

I personally would rather take the pictures, but it is a thrill to hunt and kill just like our ancestors did years ago. Just to make it clear it is not that I don’t want to shoot the animal, but I don’t want to clean it and carry it and I really don’t like to eat it unless you are like Larry Travis or Rich Kanaly or Rich Jefferies who have the meat made into sausage or jerky.

Now there is one reason which is the motivation for this article and that is men need to get away from the women.

Let me explain why men need to get away from the women. First, if you stay home, they are going to tell you to do something. Second, if they don’t tell you to do something, they are going to make you feel guilty for not doing something. Third, if you don’t feel guilty and they are DOING while you are sitting you should feel guilty and therefore you are guilty. So, the number 1 reason for sitting in the cold and freezing weather is to get away from the women.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

Men like to relax and not get in trouble for it.

Hunting allows men to do what men do best, sit, spit, tell stories, pass gas etc.

Not 100%, but women don’t hunt.

Thanks for your time,

Gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

Are we getting over protective or what?

2024-03-01T16:10:00.002-06:00

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?

(David Olson, cousin)

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

Cherry Pie, can anything beat it?

2024-02-05T01:00:00.001-06:00

Miss Beth Shumate made the best cherry pie, and she made it for me so many times I cannot remember. She was my 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teacher plus a great friend of the family. In fact, I would say between her and Gladys Snyder (Aunt Gladys) and their kids, they were family.

I loved it when Sally, Janie, Larry and Debbie would have to go to Ponca City to the orthodontist because I would get to go home with Antie Beth (Miss Shumate). That was when she would make those cherry pies for me. There was one downside to all of this. When her sewer lines and sewer tanks got clogged or full, I was the designated HONEY DIPPER. That means I was the repair man. If you are too much of a city person to understand, let me explain.

In small towns and rural America folks did not have city sewer and water. They had water wells and sewer lines with a tank buried underground in their yards. It was common for those sewer lines to be made of clay pipes about 4 to 6 feet long connected but packed with led to seal them together. The problem was/is that over time tree roots would push that lead packing out and fill the lines so there would be no drainage. The other problem is sometimes the tanks would fill up with s__t and stuff. That is when the honey dipper got called into action. Luckily the only two folks I had to do this job for was Miss Shumate and Gladys Snyder. In fact, the only pay I ever got for either of these two ladies work was cherry pie. Now Aunt Gladys was never much of a cook, so I did not get any cherry pie from her. Basically, I think my folks thought we should do this work as an act of kindness. AT MY EXPENSE!

Actually, I did not mind as they were both great to me. They both were mentors to me and were mighty big in my life. I would have to say I got one dig (joke) in for Miss Shumate when she retired. They had this party at the Grainola Methodist Church, and they asked me to speak. Miss Shumate never liked my penmanship, and she knew I was terrible at spelling. I happily shared at her retirement that her cherry pies were a great reward and that you do not have to have good penmanship or be a great speller to be successful. I got a few good laughs.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

Cherry pie can make a man do anything for a woman, including dipping s___
Teachers and their words can make a difference in the lives of children
Hard work and dirty work can make a better person and build character for a lifetime

Thanks for listening,

gary.olson@finaciti.com

thepioneerman.blogspot.com

Who were your bullies in life?

2024-01-31T15:07:00.002-06:00

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?

2024-01-27T15:23:00.004-06:00

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?

2024-01-22T13:26:00.004-06:00

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?

2024-01-19T12:54:00.001-06:00

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?

2024-01-16T13:31:00.000-06:00

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