Christmas Candy

It has to do something with how you are raised but mom's Christmas fudge was the best ever.  Every year mom  would fill the house with the smell of chocolate and the truth is Debbie helped her every year.  They would cook up a storm during the holidays.  It always seemed to start with Thanksgiving and then it was just continued through Christmas.

Like I said my favorite was the milk chocolate fudge filled excessively with pecans, from Uncle Don Lane's of course.  For some reason they never cooked the divinity with pecans but I sure loved it as well.  But they also made Uncle Bill's candy which was almost like a praline filled with pecans but better.  Man!, that was good eat'n!

It is funny how things change over time but back in the "good old days"  we did not have those little pretzels shaped like folding your hands across your chest.  Try doing that and you will see what I mean.  In fact if you did not know it that is where the design came from and it was done by the Amish to symbolize prayer.  Anyway, what we did have was the large pretzels and straight pretzels.  Now during the Christmas season as I remember it Debbie came up with the idea of dipping those pretzels in chocolate and again, that was some good eat'n.  

Another interesting adventure that came along later in life and has nothing to do with our topic was my good buddies Joe Bowie and Rollin Nash and I decided we should diversify and get into the Auntie Anne's Pretzel business.  We thought it was a great idea and a great product so we purchased eight stores in Oklahoma.  In fact I went to Pretzel University in Pennsylvania where Auntie Anne's home office is.  And you should know there really is an Auntie Anne and I really did make pretzels.  This was a great learning opportunity for a lawyer (Rollin), an investment advisor (Joe) and a computer geek (me).  We learned you should never purchase a company that you are not going to be intimately involved in on a day to day basis.  In fact we learned a lot about what not to do when you diversify into things you know nothing about but that is another story.

Well back to the story of Christmas Candy.  I don't know what it is about Christmas Candy that makes Christmas so special or if it is Christmas that makes Christmas Candy so special.   But I do know one thing and that is memories of Christmas are special.  Mom and Debbie made the warmest and merriest house in the Osage.  They still do today and I am thankful for them both.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• Christmas is more than a holiday
• Candy does not make a holiday
• Christ made Christmas
• Mom and Debbie made memories, good ones

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

"37 years" Ain't it great

four wonderful girls in my life, Kathryn, Shouna, Wynter, MOM/Opal

I cannot help but take the time to tell you what Shouna has put up with over 37 years as of December 21st.  First off lets give a time line or outline:
  * Married just before my last semester at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, OK
 * Moved to Dallas to work for EDS/Ross Perot
 * Moved to Chicago suburbs to work downtown for EDS
    - got into Amway like almost everyone we knew
 * Had first and favorite girl child in Chicago, Wynter
 * Moved to Oklahoma City to be close to family and worked for what became Fiserv
 * Had oldest son, Chase, now a fireman in Edmond
 * Moved to Colorado for one year while at Fiserv
 * Moved to OKC
 * Moved to Dallas for one year for Fiserv
    - had youngest son, Preston (that is three total)
 * Started company (VAR for IBM) --some good some bad
 * Four years later back to Fiserv
 * While in the data processing business started buying real estate and investing
    - built and owned a chain of day care centers  (early 80's - bad idea)
    - bought more real estate (bad idea - early 80's)
    - "the fat lady sang in Oklahoma and just about everything closed down" 1980's
    - bought land and built a farm/ The Pumpkin Patch in north Edmond (while working for Fiserv)
    - built first house (one of three for our family but who knows how many for others)
    - started a development company and built Clifford Farms in north Edmond
    - started an ATM / money machine leasing company
    - started an armored car company (bad idea)
    - started a meat processing company (bad idea)
    - built lots of houses and more developments
    - lost millions invested  in a development company and started over
    - built more houses and developments to try to recover
    - bought Auntie Anne's Pretzel stores for an investment in Oklahoma (8 stores)
    - built more houses
    - moved two more times
    - built a 2.5 acre garden around our house
    - started numerous companies, some good ideas and some bad
 * Founded a non-profit to serve adults with special needs
 * taught Sunday School for 35 years
 * Finally slowed down and closed almost every company to focus on helping others with their financial planning and retirement planning.

Well I am sure I left a lot out and let me tell you there were lots of ups and downs both emotionally and financially but the one thing that never changed is Shouna.  She has always been:
    * flexible (had to in order to live with me),
    * supportive of everything I did (she always worked side by side in every endeavor),
    *  prayed for me when I thought it could not get worse and it did get worse,
    *  was patient when I was like my dad and had no patience (still that way),
    *  raised our children to be Godly children and then spouses,
    *  reminded me to remember Christ had it a lot worse than me when I would focus on my problems,
    * and most of all she loved me in spite of my faults.

It don't get any better than that.

What do you learn in the Osage?
 * If you find a good one keep her
 * If you think you have a bad one look in the mirror first
 * Rough times are not near so rough when you know you have a partner who is behind you all the way

And one last thing which will get me in trouble.  As the old timer who had a three legged pig once said when a city folk asked him what happened to his pig and he replied, "he was such a good pig I did not want to eat him all at one time".

So one more for "what did you learn in the Osage?"
   *If you get a good pig, KEEP HER.

Thanks for your time,
gary@thepioneerman.com

Throw pillows

I remember when throw pillows came to our house and now I wonder how many children are having emotional problems today because of it. You see I thought throw pillows were to be thrown. Remember what Helen Head and Mrs. steabler and all those English teachers taught us about word tenses and how to speak clearly and then along comes THROW PILLOWS. that threw me for loop, get it?

You guessed it! We threw those pillows at each other and beat each other over the head. When we were done we had thrown them down. And then the wrath of my mother and probably yours came down because we were doing what we were supposed to do with THROW PILLOWS. MAN, I WAS CONFUSED FOR YEARS. can someone explain to me how come a person can be in trouble for taking action which was implied by the name of the pillow introduced by my very own mother? I trusted her beyond a shadow of a doubt. Why would she buy THROW PILLOWS to sit there?

Now all that psychology we learned did not mean a hill of beans because if my mom or dad told me to do something I knew the consequences. So when I assumed by good logic that THROW PILLOWS meant I could use them as weapons against my brother and sister I was in deep trouble. No excuses, just poor judgement in assuming throw pillows meant what it was designed for.

Is that an oxymoron?

So what do your learn in the Osage?

* just because it seems correct it may not be
* physics work - for each action there is an equal and opposite action, like throw a throw pillow and a swat on the bottom comes back
* logic does not always work but common sense would have saved me, I knew better
* There is no excuse for bad behavior

Thanks for your time.
Gary@thepioneerman.com
P.s. Steve Broughton wants to know what was Grainola's mascot and does anyone know of someone who has a Grainola class ring as he is collecting them.

Pecan Pie

Well I told you about picking up pecans and cleaning them so now I want to share with you my Mom's Pecan Pie.  Mom has always been a great cook and her Pecan Pie is about as good as it gets.  I will say that Elaine Davis, my sister in law, is pretty dang good at pecan pie making.  She adds a little Cherokee flavoring to it.

So here it is:
 4 tablespoons melted butter (the real thing)
3 eggs - not those cheap little things but big ones
1 cup white syrup (Karo is what I like)
1 cup white sugar (Cains was what we always had)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 and 1/4 cups pecans (Mom likes her chopped)
  some folks like them whole

Beat eggs slightly ( do I need to explain)
add rest of ingredients- mix well
Stir in pecans

Bake 375 degrees 40 to 50 minutes

It may kill you but you will die happy.

What did you learn from the Osage?

• Thanksgiving and Christmas are made for Pecan Pie
• Work brings great rewards (pick pecans and get PIE)
• Has anyone asked you what's a PIEWAY?
• about a pound or two

Thanks for listening,

Merry Christmas and bologna on that political correctness CRAP

gary@thepioneerman.com

Pecans

Another Grainola graduate --  guess who?

I love pecans and it is not with a long e so you say it like pecans.  Anyway every year we use to sit around the television (black and white and I don't mean the color of the TV but the lack of color on the picture) at night during the winter months and pick out pecans.  We usually watched "the Beverly Hillbilly's" and not "Dick Van Dyke" at our house while picking.  I think Jed Clampit was hilarious but Granny was the best.  In fact I think Granny looked like my dad.  Here is a picture and what do you think?

Well we would sit there and with hand crackers until we got automated and bought one of those manual lever cracking devices.  It cracked one at a time but it saved your fingers from getting pinched and having blood blisters.  When you pick out pecans the shells are very hard and your fingers get eaten up and tender after hours and hours of picking.  Generally we picked out about 100 lbs. per year.  Mom loved pecans and actually we all did.  Does anyone remember how if you put your finger in your mouth after picking pecans it seemed like yo put lime on your lips?  The dust from pecan shells would make you pucker.

Another aspect of pecan picking is we always went down to the Oolagah and Claremore area to pick pecans where Jess and Annie Lane moved to from Grainola.  Their original house and farm down there is in the middle of Lake Oolagah.  Uncle Don Lane had a pecan orchard and he paid us $7 per hundred to pick pecans up off the ground.  That is right, on your hands and knees for hours, all day long picking up pecans.  Actually for an 8 to 14 year old boy that was pretty good money.  Grandma Annie who was always old could out pick everyone.  I think she weighed about 90 lbs. sopping wet.  She could pick with both hands and generally she would pick 3 to 5 - 100 lb. sacks a day.  Envision this, how long could you be on your knees dragging around a gunny sack filling with pecans?  This may seem strange but I always wanted to have a pecan orchard.

Now that I look back those were great times sitting as a family watching the ONE TV show together while doing something productive that we all enjoyed later.  Just to explain the "later", my mom and sister made the best cookies and candies WITH PECANS in the world.  If you don't believe me find Jon Tanny and ask if he liked my mom's cookies.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• a little work and a little play make for great memories
• $7 is $7 and when you don't have any money $7 dollars is a lot
• My folks would have killed me if I did not work, there never was an option for me to get something for nothing even from the government

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Indian Arrowheads

Cardinal not on the creek but in my back yard... too great of a pic to not add

I use to love walking up and down the creek, Beaver Creek, looking for Indian arrowheads.  On Beaver Creek there were sand bars or really gravel bars fairly often and there would be all kinds of rocks rounded off by rolling around in the creek for hundreds of years.  The great thing is occasionally you would find some old flint rock which was used to make arrowheads.  And of course if you were really careful you could find an arrowhead or two.

I spent hundreds of hours walking up and down the creek looking primarily for those arrowheads or other instruments made by the Indians.  I remember finding what was thought to be a hammer which was a rock that was fairly round on one end and a little sharper on the other but made so you could tie leather strapping around it and fasten it to a heavy piece of wood.  These items became prized possessions which could be traded between our peers for other valuables.  Billy Snyder had a particularly great selection and I believe it was Kenny Kelsey who had another really good collection.  But no one ever came close to what Aunt Helen Conner had.

Now I have to tell you Aunt Helen was not really my aunt but she was extremely close to our family and we farmed her land for years and years.  Aunt Helen had (at least this is what was told but never verified as far as I knew) the largest collection of arrowheads and other artifacts.  She had them framed in large glass covered panels and later she donated them to the Pawhuska Museum.  She always seemed like an elegant lady to me and she had a keen interest in painting as well.  In fact before she passed away she gave me one of her paintings which hangs in our house.  She inspired me to collect arrowheads and to be interested in painting.  It was because of her that I found myself visiting art museums over the years and taking art classes in college and again just a year or so ago I took water color and oil painting classes. And if you think I am a sissy for painting I want you to know Ray Vaughn was there with me but he has talent.

 The other thing she was my inspiration for was when I was in college (1971-1975) I decided to make a study of "why I was a Methodist".  There was also another person totally unrelated to her that helped push me over the edge on this course of action and it was a guy named Norman Voss who was a student at Oklahoma Christian in Edmond, Oklahoma.  Just a side note but Norman and I sold books together in Kentucky one summer and he just made me mad because he challenged me to know what I believed in.  So between the two of them I set out on a study to figure out why I was a Methodist and what I discovered was that "I was raised that way".  I want you to know that is not a bad answer but I do believe that on something so important a person  should do a little thinking on their own.  It was also during that time I was trying to figure out what I was going to do in life and who I was going to be with and it was NOT an easy time.  I know I am way off the subject but college was the best of times and the worst of times for me.  School was not hard for me but girls and relationships and who you run around with was changing about as often as the semester changed so coming to know Christ on a personal basis relieved me of a lot of pressure. I invite you to take a look like I did.  "Evidence that demands a verdict" was the book that helped me the most at that time.

OK, back to the creek.  The creek was the center of a lot of my activities growing up like: fishing, hunting, arrowhead hunting, day dreaming, shooting turtles which included taking my buddy David Goldenberg from New York City to enjoy the sport, carp hunting, seining for minnows to fish, building a damn just for fun (Eddy Harris and me), and sometimes just walking and thinking.  Don't you just wish you could go to the creek?

What do you learn from the Osage?

• One lady and one example can change a life 
• Don't underestimate who or how many are watching YOU
• Know what you believe in - take time to figure it out
• The difference between the best and worst of times is what you are looking for
• Look for the best in everybody and everything - forget the rest

Thanks for your time,
gary@thepioneerman.com

Quiche - men don't eat Quiche

It can't be good cause my Momma did not make it, at least back in the days I lived in the Osage.  But I have to say I have branched out and my wife makes a pretty good Quiche.  I know it sounds french or something but it really is pretty good and Shouna, my wife of 37 years, made me try it.  Actually mom made me try it as well but not when I lived in the Osage.  We did not mix things up that did not normally belong together on a plate.

 I don't know what has gotten into me but I have been writing a bunch of stories of late, anyway here is the recipe.

Here goes:
1 lb. Hot sausage, cooked and drained
8 eggs beaten to a pulp
1 teaspoon salt, the real stuff
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (sharp)
2 cups croutons
2 cups milk
refrigerate 12 hours then bake at 350 for 40 minutes

Well this is my mom's recipe and not my wife's but it is pretty good eat'n.

So what do you learn from the eat'n Quiche in the Osage?

• breakfast, dinner and supper (get it?)
• Try something new sometimes and it might work out
• It can't kill you

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Christmas in the Osage

Christmas took forever to get here every year but it was such a big time of year.

My favorite thing was driving up to Silverdale, Kansas as they decorated To the hilt. By the way I never did know where the word "hilt" came from but it sounds good. In case you don't know it Silverdale is a town built around a limestone rock quarry. If you go through Newkirk,Ark City, or Winfeld you will see lots of buildings and houses made with Silverdale Limestone. if you go to Clifford Farms in Edmond, Oklahoma you will see the same. And yes I did name the addition after my dad, not Cliff Smith or Greg Clifford even though they are great friends of mine. Sure hope they think so also. Anyway, back to Silverdale, they had lights all over their roofs and special setups or scenes like where they had an ice skating rink that had skaters and it turned and music played! It was the best! They really cared about the season.

Another of my favorite events was at the Grainola United Methodist Church. We had Christmas carols and decorations and Santa every year. Maggie Olsen played the piano which was a delight to me even though she kicked me out of the choir. Now as a side note she should have kicked Jon Tanny out to and throw in Eddy Harris for the principle of it. I guess the real fact is you can't kick out your own kid. Strangely enough I loved choir even though to this day I can't really sing. In fact I married Shouna so there would be a little musical talent in the family. Actually I fell in love with her because she was just a great person and loved the Lord. Just another detour in my story but I do have to tell you that December 21st we will be married 37 wonderful years, 33 for her and 4 for me. Just kidding.

At the church every year we got a brown paper (not plastic) sack filled with pretty rock candy made in Dexter, Kansas. Also in each sack (not a bag like in yankee land)was an apple or orange and a couple of chocolate covered candies called sugar tits. Don't blame me I did not name them. Also there were a few nuts and if you were real unlucky you got orange slices. If you don't know what I mean go read my story on orange slices.

Well after church we would start the ride home to the house, 1 mile north and 3 west, past Vea's house. When traveling west you crossed the old Midland Valley Railroad tracks and I remember dad stopping the car and telling us to look up and listen. I swear I heard bells on Santa's sleigh and I thought I saw Santa up in the stars streaking across the bright sky mixed into the Milky Way. The stars were magnificent in the Osage. Fact is I bet they are still there today, go take a look. When we got home every year I was amazed that Santa had already been to our house. We opened presents and had a delightful family time.

What do you learn in the Osage?
1. If you look around it is obvious God exists whether you believe it or not.
2. Take time and make it an event, not for you but for others
3. Your efforts impact other people's lives even if you don't know it
4. Look up at the stars and you will see the eyes of God.

Have a great Christmas season and prepare your heart during Thanksgiving,
Gary@thepioneerman.com

Family - it's that time of year

 This is my family a few years ago but it reminded me of Thanksgiving in the Osage.  Every year there was always a lot of anticipation to the activities for the day, Thanksgiving Day.

At our house Larry Wayne and I would take out at daylight hunting quail.  There were lots of quail up and down Beaver Creek in those days.  You hardly ever saw a deer or a turkey.  Larry and I never had a bird dog or at least I never had one because I was Larry's bird dog in that I would walk up and down the rough terrain and try to jump the birds while Larry walked up on top.  One of the attractive aspects about the hunting up and down the creek is that there were small water holes where you could not cross and then sand bars every now and then where you could and I loved the beauty of Beaver Creek.  We had big red squirrels up in all the trees with nests made of leaves and twigs.  The nests were visible once the autumn leaves fell.  Another great thing is we had lots of red birds or cardinals and an occasion a Baltimore Oriel. There were lots of trees and the animal life was always bustling until they saw you and then it would quieten down for a moment until they trusted you.  Anyway we hunting up until our stomachs could wait no more and then we would head to the house (on foot, never by vehicle) to dig into a table filled with good holiday fixins.

Mom cooked ham a lot of times and turkey and dressing seemed to be standard issue.  Mom made her dressing with corn meal and sometimes with bread but it was always great.  Debbie was always in the kitchen and she was a great cook as well.  Now the ham was not the type you get today but it was from one of our hogs and smoked and put in the freezer until Mom took it out.  Those hams were huge and they were not perfectly shaped like in a can or plastic wrap.  As dad always said, "that is good eaten".  Mom liked to spoil dad and make sweet potatoes with kind of a syrupy topping and marshmallows melted on top of that.  I never did like that particular dish but I would put my mom's cranberry sauce up against anyone's.  Every year she would get out the grinder that you would attach to the side of the cabinet and grind those cranberries.  Now you would not know it but it was a hand grinder meaning it took muscle not pushing a button. If you want to go green then you should get you a manual grinder and grind your own cranberries and apples or whatever you want ground.  It is probably obvious but that was my favorite dish and it went with turkey extremely well.  I liked the dark meat more than the white.

Another great thing about Thanksgiving dinner is the home made bread.  I can smell it now!  Mom started the day before making the dough which would be set next to the fireplace so it would be warm and rise.  Probably a lot of folks don't even know about the process but there was yeast in the bread which caused it to rise and every now and then you would have to need the dough to get it back down to size as it filled up with air and got really large.  After several hours and I never knew what finally caused her stop stop letting the bread rise she would take the dough and form it into balls and place three balls of dough in each dough cup (I am not going to explain that).  But somehow she managed to always have the dough ready just in time to put it in the over and have HOT fresh bread for Thanksgiving.  Put some fresh home grown butter on that and you would think you had died and gone to heaven.  Wow!  Of course we always had home grown and canned green beans and corn taken out of the cellar or freezer depending on the year (pre-freezer bags or post  freezer bags).  This may not make sense to everyone but we had SMASHED POTATOES (white) which were fresh out of the cellar then cooked and smashed with a little salt and pepper and again a chunk of butter on top.  Incredible!

At our house pecan pie was top dog and pumpkin was second but we generally always had both.  Mom was the best at those pies!  The pecans generally came from Uncle Don Lane's pecan grove where every year we would go and pick pecans off the ground and then bring them home to crack and clean the old fashioned way, by hand.  Really outside of the turkey I think about everything came from our own hard work but it was greatly appreciated and created some of the best memories.  Oh ya, lets don't forget the iced tea made the old fashioned way, boiled and strained.

After all the eating everyone laid around and watched football, generally OU and Nebraska and or Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins or slept.  Late in the day if the football got boring it was time to go hunting some more.  I don't know why but Mom never really made Larry and I help that much with the clean  up or preparing but it made for special memories.

What do you learn from the Osage?

• Family time is more important than work but lots of work makes you appreciate family time
• Great cooks come from the Osage or live there (thepioneerwoman.com)
• When you get older, you are not going to look back and think, "I wished I spent more time working"
• Be thankful and take care of what God gave us

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

What a great look.....

  Now I don't know if you recognize these folks but they are pretty sharp folks from the Osage.  The lady was born and raised in the Osage near Grainola and in fact graduated in the top 10 in her class. I believe there were 8 in the class.  The other guy grew up in Anoka, Minnesota then graduated from high school in Womega, Kansas where he played football.

As memory has it that old man built the house they are standing in front of and sold their old house which was about 18 inches away, eve to eve Mrs. Heath who turned it into her personal house and the US Post Office in Grainola.  And yes they moved the house on a truck four miles, three east plus one south into the big town of Grainola.  Anyway, He went to school at night to learn to carpenter so he could build that house and later earn money to pay for the farm and ranch.  Come to think of it most farmers and ranchers have second jobs to pay for the bad habit of farming and ranching.  I once heard a farmer from western Oklahoma say, "I make my money the old fashioned way, I have an oil well".  Another famous quote I heard from the old man pictured above was, "if the government would get out of the farming business by subsidizing bad farmers a good farmer could make a living".  Does that sound like free enterprise?  Hard work, long hours, and no government subsidies sounds like free enterprise to me.

Now about that older lady, who still claims she is only 29 years old even though she has one child that is 61 years old, was rumored to have a giant soft spot in her heart.  In fact I will tell you a story about just that.  Once there was a lady who had a broken clothes washing machine and that little old lady sent the little old man (at that time around 70 years old) out to fix it.  He made three trips and put in multiple parts and the little old lady charged her $30.  The young mother could not afford to pay the older lady all at one time so she paid $10 and promised to pay the rest in payments (around 1990 when this happened).  Well the little old lady saw the kids did not have much and went and bought Christmas presents for the 3 kids and something for their mom.  She spent around $80 and then forgave the $20 owed.  Now that sounds to me like someone who has lost their mind.

Those folks were Cliff and Opal Olson and I am proud to call them Dad and Mom.  Dad passed the day before my 50th birthday and we buried him the day after.  Mom was and is a great mom.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• Character first
• People count
• Caring for the poor is a personal responsibility of everyone, not the government
• Hard work makes for good luck

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Prejudice in the Osage

Now you are probably wondering where there was prejudice in the Osage and for the most part I did not know it existed.  Primarily the reason I never thought it existed in the Osage is because I was either too busy doing something or it was because it did not matter to me what color you were.  I guess there might be another reason and that is I am part Indian just like about everyone else I grew up with and no one in our family talked about folks in terms of their color.

 But there is one prejudice that I have found myself talking about over the years and now I want to bring it out in the open. Larry Wayne, the little boy in the real cool cub scout uniform sitting in the picture, also known as my older brother was favored by my mom and dad.  Now this is the one reason that I have such a complex today and  am unsure of myself (just kidding).  You see my mom was the scout leader for Larry, Kenny Kelsey, Joe Conner (later to become the only Eagle Scout out of Grainola), Neal McConaghy, Larry Joe Stephens, Glen Jones, and who knows who all else.  Don't forget Pat Conwell who was the one that threw the rotten egg at the barn roof only to come down on my favorite sister's head (Debbie Schaefer).  From my perspective it was one of the coolest clubs you can imagine.  Dad would cut down trees and build giant bonfires for cub scout parties and he even built a cub scout house just for the boys to meet in.  They had a deer head in the club house and all kinds of stuff they made and they would meet there every week to work on getting new badges.  Also about once a month we would go to Webb City (that is where Uncle Bill Heath was principal for one year) and meet at the Phillips Men's Club for presentation of badges and awards.  Too say the least I always wanted to be a Boy Scout.  Did you know that Boy Scouts of America was founded in Pawhuska?

Can you see why I loved it?  It was the recognition of accomplishment and the disappointment of not getting a badge when someone else was getting one that attracted me to the scouts.  Does this sound a little like FREE ENTERPRISE and why America is great and why scouting is a great thing?  Watching what these guys did made me competitive and ambitious.   Now that I think about it the things that have made me better in life are the things I had to work harder for to achieve and the defeats that I had to overcome.  You see I was never in scouts but I WATCHED and LEARNED.  Those guys and the way they achieved influenced me.  Hopefully we all learn that the things we do and say influence those who WATCH us.

Well I love to tell folks that Mom and Dad loved Larry more than me and that is why they led scouting until I was old enough to be one.  But you know what I have learned?  I have learned that as I get older I would like someone else to step up and lead but there are just a lot more folks who would rather not.  I am just extremely proud that my parents stood up and led the charge and made things happen including leading cub scouts and boy scouts for my brother.  They (my parents) were an example of what I want to be and hopefully of what I have become.  For that, I want to say thanks to God for two of the greatest parents I could ever ask for and an older brother and sister who were good examples to follow.  Just a side note:  Debbie was always a servant and loved helping folks and Larry was about the most focused and deliberate person I have ever seen.  They both took after my parents, our parents and they were great examples.

Well, what do you learn in the Osage?

• If you cannot lead, serve, or do something!
• Prejudice is for those who don't have enough to do
• Defeat is an opportunity to learn
• Getting down is normal but getting up EVERY time is what is important
• Be careful, YOU are always an example to someone, even those you don't know

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

 I had better first tell you that this is a tongue-in-cheek story meaning I have always made a joke of this and there really is no prejudice.  OK, so here goes.

4-H Spring Livestock Shows (I will try harder next time)

Now I know most folks are not like me but when I was at dear old Shidler High I loved getting out of class to go to the 4-H Spring Livestock Show and in fact now that I think about it, I just loved getting out of class.  I am not saying that I did not like school because actually I loved it.  What! you say, how could that be.  Well if you are from a farm or ranch you know precisely what I mean.  Let me explain.

You see if you grow up in the country and you have time at home, you have time to do some work and there is always something to do.  If my dad could not think of anything to do we would sweep the dirt floors of the barn, go figure.  If it was not sweep dirt floors it was clean out the barn which always had straw and manure or fly droppings or something which needed cleaned.  Or you could clean out the empty part of the hay barn for the next hay crop or clean out a grain bin for the next crop of maize or corn or whatever.   Do I need to go on?  Well Sure!  You could go grease the plow sheers or other equipment or go through the junk pile and separate out parts that might be useful vs. those parts which could be sold for junk.  How about clean out the pig barns? Does that make sense to anyone?  Well we did.  Periodically you got the opportunity to walk or ride a horse and check fences and never with an ipod hung around your neck and in your pocket.

Now if you just don't have an appreciation for riding fence it is something along the line of watching paint dry.  There actually are some good aspects of riding fence.  For example, no one was giving you a list of other things to do (kinda like a wife, just kidding) or you could carry a gun with you and hunt for something to shoot at.  By the way did you know it was a standard for every young person to shoot those glass insulators on the electric and phone line poles?  Of course I would never do that but I saw a few shot at to the point the lines were laying on the ground which hacked a lot of folks off when the phones did not work or the electricity got shut off for a while.  Some folks just could not take a joke or roll with the punches, so-to-speak.  Should I explain "so-to-speak", well that means kinda-like or perhaps, did you get it?  Ok back to riding fence.  Another good aspect is if the weather was good you might get an opportunity to catch a little rest under a big shade tree.  If you worked it just right and did not get caught you could do a little fishing.

Ok, let's discuss fishing.  Fishing was not with some piece of plastic on a sophisticated hook.  Do you remember the meaning of sophisticated?  MORE MONEY.  Fishing was with a worm which you dug up next to the barn under a board.  Well we are off track so let's skip fishing and get back to 4-H.

Since we got so far off track I think we will have to reserve the 4-H livestock Show story for next time and then fishing after that.

So what did you learn from the Osage?

• Riding fence was a way to get out of work
• School was a way to get out of work 
• Getting out of school for 4-H was a great way to get out of work 
• I think what we are finding here is a linear equation of getting out of work which tells me that "THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE", so stop complaining and get your work done.

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

 

Folks from the Osage know more folks than anyone

Today I was at Cafe 7 by Quail Springs Mall eating lunch with Randy Scott and right next to us came a lady carrying 3 cupcakes.  Now being the quiet types Randy and I, actually me, told the lady thanks for getting 3 cup cakes since there were two of us and one of her.  She laughed and said, "sure".  We had a little small talk and then she went to get her drink.  Well in just a minute an older lady came and sat down at that table and behind her was the first girl plus one new one.  Now I am not tacky enough to ask her age or say anything about her age but she said she was 73 and the two girls were her daughters.  They were 29ish, politically speaking.

Now Randy and I were done eating and Randy reached over and tapped the "new girl" on the shoulder and asked her to pass the cup cakes.  They laughed and "did not pass the cupcakes" but we got into a conversation.  I suggested I was a country boy and when I was young I liked the little paper cup the cupcake was cooked in because I liked to take my teeth and scrape out the cake left on the bottom of the paper cup.  The older lady, we will just call her "mom", said or asked, "where were you a country boy?" and suggested she was from the country as well.  I of course said proudly, "the Osage".  She informed me she was from Bartlesville.

Mom began to tell stories about who she knew and who she grew up with in Bartlesville.  She knew E.C. Mullendore and her mom, the Johnstones, and more.  I shared that I use to work for the Mullendores and my boss was Don Kelsey and Paul Jones and that Paul was mentioned in the book.  Her girls got a kick out of hearing the stories and Randy made a joke about if she kept digging she would find that I owed her money.  In just a few (minutes) she handed me over the paper cup from the cupcake with the remaining cake attached to the paper.  We all laughed and Randy and I got up to fill our drinks and leave.

Well on the way back by their table on the way out the door I handed Mom my card, The Pioneer Man.  Well that opened another can of worms.  She began to tell me how she was a friend and sorority mate of Peggy Olsen when she was at OSU.  She was thinking that Peggy had married Chuck Drummond (father in law of Ree Drummond) and I of course corrected her.  But the buzz was on as her daughters started telling me how they loved THE PIONEER WOMAN.  I told them I did not know her and had never met her but that her mother in law was a distant cousin to me even thought we spell our names different.  It gets way too complicated so I just told her the difference between The Pioneer Woman and The Pioneer Man is that Ree gets 30,000,000 hits a month and I get 30.  She writes about things all folks like to read about and I write about the Osage and the People I love and admire there.

What do you learn from the Osage?

• It is a very small world 
• If you are from the Osage you know someone who knows everybody
• The dust of the Osage can never be shaken from your boots and I love it
• God bless America and the Osage

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Why men go hunting?

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 to see you have to stick your head out of the barrel where it is windy and cold.  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 folks standards and hunt deer or elk or if you are more sophisticated (more money) moose.  Now there 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.

• 1.       Men are not like women – does that resonate with anyone? 
• a.       Men dip, chew and scratch and women don’t like any of it
• b.      Men pass gas (fart), tell off color jokes
• 2.       Believe it or not it is fun and refreshing to be outdoors
• 3.       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.

• 4.       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?

• 1.       Men like to relax and not get in trouble for it
• 2.       Hunting allows men to do what men do best, sit, spit, tell stories, pass gas etc.
• 3.       Not 100% but women don’t hunt

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Common Sense of the Osage #2

First I have to say this is not political as ALL of them in Washington did this, not just one party.

Recently our wonderful private business orientated congressmen and president, just kidding, had new regulation implemented to protect the citizens of our country from fees being charged for credit cards which were making big banks or somebody rich.  Because of this my bank and probably yours are raising the other fees at the bank.  Now let's think about this from the Osage perspective.

Banks or Visa or MasterCard were charging fees for clearing and processing credit cards and the federal government on behalf of some watchdog entity stepped in to protect the citizens by passing a law to stop those fees or minimize them.  Now think about this, where is there a problem?

• This is America where free enterprise is our trademark on why everyone wants to move here.  If you don't believe me look for the boat or airplane filled with folks leaving and taking everything with them.
• What was the problem?  Some group say the fees were too high and it was probably led by the large retailers who wanted the fees lowered (actually this is a fact as they sued the credit card companies to get them lowered).  Now I don't disagree that there are too few players (monopoly) issuing credit cards and therefore the fees are too high.  But I believe in free enterprise and you can charge what you want as long as you are not a monopoly.  The consumer will stop buying and the government needs to stay out (sorry, that was an opinion).  The problem IS that the credit card companies forced the retailers to not allow the consumer free choice between credit cards and checks and cash.   This is called HIDDEN FEES or NON_DISCLOSURE.
• What does that mean?  If you had a choice between 2% less on any purchase at WalMart (monopoly) by writing a check or paying with cash, would you choose to save the 2%?  This is precisely the problem, NOT ALLOWING THE CONSUMER FREE CHOICE!  But what we got was the government took away the fee income from the banks and now banks are raising their other fees to offset the loses.  Did they think banks were going to not make money?  How stupid?  By the way I did not mean to leave out credit unions which also make money on the credit card fees as well as Visa and MasterCard and Discover as well.

So let me sum this up:

• get the government out of PRICE FIXING, yes the government is causing price fixing - they fixed the price credit card companies can charge for their services
• the government should require full disclosure / no hidden fees - but allow the consumer free choice when making purchases (yes, paying by check or cash is cheaper than credit cards if you have a choice)
• monopoly's have been illegal forever and there are too many now and here is an opinion on some of them:
• WalMart - they get the cheapest rate on credit cards, guess why?  They are a ________!
• Visa - MasterCard - they are almost the only choice save Discover and American Express
• THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT -they make us rely on them for tax credits, tax advantages, giveaway programs, etc.  they are enablers.  Do I need to explain?
• and yes the super rich should probably pay more taxes -but what is super rich?  I contend it is over $10 billion, not $250,000.

Well what do you learn from the Osage?

• Common Sense rules - people don't need protected all the time but they do need to make good choices (full discloser and freedom)
• Free enterprise rules - 
• Outlaw hidden fees, don't price fix
• The more government regulates the more they kill competition, private enterprise, independence, integrity, honesty, morality, self esteem
• Thank God for folks from the Osage who can still think without the governments help

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Driver's Education and Oklahoma History

One of my favorite classes was with Coach Smith not playing basketball or Oklahoma History but driver's education.  First off you did not have to go to class indoors and second everyone I knew who was about to turn 16 already had been driving for years.

Neal feeding while the truck is driving itself

When I was still too young and too short (some folks say I was never short to be explained later) Dad would feed the cattle and I would drive the pickup while he kicked off the hay from the pickup.  If you look at Neal in the picture you see he has an auto feeder and on the back of the pickup and  there are two spikes sticking up for carrying hay.  In the "good old days" we had to have someone in the back opening gunny sacks of cattle cake or cutting string on hay bales and throwing off the hay to the cattle like the one in the picture.

62 Chevy 

Back to driver's ed.  There was not a single farm and ranch kid that did not already drive and for the most part everyone of us already had a vehicle.  Now at my house the rule was that if you wanted a vehicle you paid for it with your money and you paid for the tires and gas.  I will tell you there were some exceptions on the gas but the emphasis was I had to work to get either free gas or the right to buy gas.  In fact one of the great things about farming is there was a fuel tank at every farm so you had your own filling station.  Now the 62 Chevy pictured is not mine but it looks just like the first car I bought from Don Kelsey and mine was red as well.  OK, the fact is I lived 16 miles from school and I played sports so up until I was 15 1/2 I either drove to school or road with my sister Debbie.  What I thought was strange is that my folks insisted I did not drive by myself after 15 1/2 because if I got a ticket I would be delayed in getting my drivers license.

I have always been amazed at how folks from the city think there is nothing to do in the small towns and the country.  What I would say is there is more to do than living in the city.  Think about it, if you live in the city you grow up playing video games, watching TV, mow the yard in some cases and make your bed.  There is definitely a lot more to do in the country.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Driving is a privilege 
• A privilege is something you earn, that means work for
• Nothing is free, everything cost somebody something
• Give your kids money and they will eat today, Teach your kids to work and they will eat for life.

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Gravel Roads

Don, Bill, Mom, Gladys, Lois, Erlene, Peggy (Lane Aunts and Uncles)

When I was young I told my folks over and over how I was not coming back until the roads were paved.  I am not sure what influenced me the most but there were a few things that stuck out.

Of course my folks had to be number one as they taught me to work hard, not waste time, get up early and get started and stick it out in hard times and good.  Dad always said, "it is burning daylight, let's get going".  Mom always made sure we had clothes ready which meant clean, ironed and in the closet plus she always made sure we weren't waiting on getting fed as there were things to do.  They taught me to work when working and not waste time or another person's money.  And you were to earn more than you were paid.

Now if that does not make since it is because people don't teach EARNING anymore but here is a simple version, "when a person pays you to do something EXCEED the expectations".  My folks also taught me to never expect the person I was working for to necessarily be thankful for the job I did or the effort I put in.  I think they figured that if the person did not appreciate how hard I worked that the next time they hired someone they would realize what a great deal they had.  They also taught me that if someone did not appreciate the effort I put in and if I felt bad about what I was paid that next time I should either refuse to take the job or just raise my price or just maybe I did not do as good a job as I should have.  Now if that does not make since to you here is another way to think about it, "if you agreed on a price up front then you had to do what you agreed to do for what you said".  Your word was your honor.

Aunt Gladys, Gladys Snyder, showed me discipline in how she approached whatever she did and she showed me to love learning.  If you never knew Aunt Gladys you missed something special.  Every year she would study a topic like Oklahoma History, botany, horticulture, algebra and higher mathematics, The Bible and many more subjects.  She knew more about everything than anyone I have ever met.  When she retired she never stopped picking a subject every year to study, yes-for a year.  She did not watch TV and she thought calculators and computers were handicapping children from learning.  I know in today's wisdom that seems impossible but how many children today know how to dig in and find things without the internet?  How many know their multiplication tables?  What percentage know the constitution and what it cost to protect?  She felt that somewhere along the way teaching took a wrong turn from knowing history and pride in our country and basics to something with the wrong values.  Most of all she encouraged me to work hard and be disciplined.  She taught by example.

myself, Uncle Bill Heath and Uncle Harley Patterson

Aunt Peggy Heath taught me to laugh at myself and not get too serious and to play games with family and friends.  She made great cinnamon rolls too.  Uncle Bill Heath taught me through example to enjoy learning and that I could work in computers like he did.  I held him in great regard because he worked on computers back when there were massive computers in large air conditioned rooms that today literally fit in the palm of your hand.  Do I need to point out that the computers shrunk not that the hand got bigger?  Now there is some irony in that comment relative to folks today having a hand out expecting something from those who earned it.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• discipline is critical to success in anything
• anything, you can do anything if you put your mind to it
• have fun or change what you are doing
• Strive to inspire greatness in others by doing your best
• the best way to a great life is over GRAVEL ROADS

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Alligators in Shidler - everyone knows there are no alligators in Shidler

WRONG!

The first time I ever heard of an alligator in Shidler was when I heard the story of a lady who was traveling through Shidler and came to a sudden stop to avoid running over something.  When she stepped out of her car to examine what she thought was an alligator and confirmed the fact she started screaming.  I sure wish I would have seen it.

Gravel roads and a cattle guard

Well what I discovered was that everyone knew about the alligator but me.  Dad took me over to the Divall Gas Station where he got his new tires all the time.  As a side note we were always getting new tires and flats fixed as when Dad was about 40 years old he started to carry the mail in Grainola as a rural mail carrier.  I don't think there was a week that went by that he did not get a flat as almost all of the roads were gravel and thus graded periodically.  And now if you are too citified to know what that means periodically Fred Mow (I don't remember how to spell it) or Cac Harrington (Harvey's dad)  would grade the gravel roads each month to keep them in good shape.  The purpose was to bring the gravel that had worked its way to the sides of the road back into the road to prevent ruts from building up when it rained and folks traveled on the roads.  Now the problem was that when you graded the road you drug any nails or bolts back onto the traveling area and ultimately those nails got in someone's tire or tires.  The worst I remember is Dad said he had over 20 flats one week.  He was really aggrivated and went and purchased new tires.   

OK, back to the alligator and the Divall Gas Station.  As I recall it was Mrs. Divall who took me down to the house and showed me their pet alligator which was at that time in the basement for the winter.  Mr. Divall told me the alligator did not eat too much but on occasion he would feed it 5 lbs. of hamburger meat.  With that I can attest to the fact there was an alligator in Shidler and it lived during spring and summer in a pond close to the Divall house.

But like any fun loving alligator it took a stroll once in a while downtown, shopping I guess.  Mr. and Mrs. Divall were always nice enough to let you come and see their pet during the winter when it basically slept most of the time in their basement.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• everyone has a few alligators in the closet metaphorically speaking
• don't you wish you felt the freedom to let your alligator roam, too many lawyers
• Lawyers, that is why we don't have alligators, or politicians?

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

A Rattle Snake of a time with Kenny Kelsey

Kenny Kelsey 2011 at Shidler

I cannot tell you how much it meant for me to see Kenny at the Shidler High School Reunion.  Kenny was four years older than me but we spent a lot of time together hauling hay and other things which I am going to admit to but not endorse for future generations.  So here goes.

Now I want to start with propane tanks and Boggie.  We use to go over to his house and his dog, Boggie, a bulldog would chase us and we would jump up on the the propane tank.  Boggie would never hurt anyone but he loved to play and quit frankly when it was hot I always like to play on the propane tank because it was cool.  Other times we would just lean up against the cool tank in the shade and Boggie would crawl up next to us and cool off.  Those were great days.

Now one of my favorite stories was the time we were hauling hay and up came a bale of hay on the wagon and a live rattle snake came over the bale and struck at Kenny's hand.  The snake got its fang stuck in Kenny's glove.  Ken proceeded to beat that snake to a pulp.  Now that is not all of the story because Boog Williams loved to bale up snakes for us.  So, Kenny and I think, Glen Jones found a dead rattle snake and put it in a coil on the seat of the tractor where Boog would sit.  Now Boog loved to jump up on the tractor just to show off but that time he flew off faster than a snake can strike.

The last story is  Boog, Kenny and Don (Kenny's dad) thought it would be a good idea to have a few beers by Lake Hulah  near the Mullendore Ranch where we were working.  Well I had never had a beer and Boog enjoyed promoting me to have a few.  After what seemed like about two dozen cans I don't remember a thing but Boog, Kenny and Don did.  Well we were staying in a very small trailer house and Boog and I got to sleep in the same bed.  Boog later regretted his behavior as I upchucked everything I ate and drank that evening on the bed and Boog.  Not a good idea.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• don't sleep with a drunk
• think about the consequences of your action, it might really stink
• Getting even can be a lot of fun and a little snakey

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

John Murphy and a pepsilyle -- go figure

There are two things you can say about John Murphy, he loves Oklahoma State University and he loves to have a good time.  Now when I tell this story I have to say these stories have been passed around a few times but you will get the idea.

Pepsilyle – I don’t even know if there is such a thing but John had me going one time when he asked me if I was OK.  Have you ever had someone ask you if you are doing alright and give you a look of, "I know something is wrong"?  Well that is what John did to me.  I thought I was doing just fine but he insisted that he had heard I was ill.  I responded and told him, "no, I am fine".  He insisted that he heard I had to go to the hospital and that I had a pepsilyle.  Don't even try to look it up because it does not exist as a word.  He gave me that look of concern and I did admit that I had gone to the doctor.  I had no idea how he even could have known but we did have a party line.  If you don't remember that is where several families share a telephone line.  

Anyway, John insisted it was a pepsilyle.  Then he was kind enough to tell me with a serious face that a pepsilyle is a turd in cross way.  I am sure he was laughing inside as he sucked me into the story.

Now for another story on John.  It was always told that John liked to get salesmen to come by and he would cup his hand to his ear and point indicating that he could not hear.  Then he would proceed to have them write everything down.  The story goes he was having a building built and getting bids when he had a salesman writing down everything for about three hours.  when the salesman was on his way to the car John said in a normal voice, "thanks for coming".  Now I cannot verify all this but John did enjoy on occasion letting folks think he could not hear, ask Jon Tanny Olsen about the time John left him in the bucket of a front end loader for a while.

Now what do you learn in the Osage?

• sometimes I am just not sure
• have a good time and a good joke makes for good memories
• don't take things too seriously
• don't take yourself too serious

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Birthday Cake and lots of Love

The best sister I could every have, Debbie.

Now I know you are like me in that if someone has a birthday you want to celebrate it.  I am lucky to have one of those great sisters who always is looking our for you.  She did even when I was a kid.  Debbie was always willing to do everything for me especially the most important thing you can do for a young man, COOK.  She made the best cookies, cakes, marinated brisket, and any thing else you can think of.  I would also point out that Jon Tanny Olsen and Eddy Harris seemed to always smell the cookies and showed up just in time.  In fact Mom and Debbie seemed to always like to make things for them.  The fact is both of them seemed so appreciative that it encouraged the cooking even more.

So when it was Debbie's birthday one year Eddy Harris and I decided to make a cake for her.  Quit frankly I am not sure Eddy was any help at all but we did make a mess in the kitchen.  Let me give you a little advice and hint at the end result.   Too much flower or too much of anything can mess up a cake.  What I remember is we added flour when it seemed to thin and when it was too thick we added milk and then we figured we should balance that out with some portion of the other things that were supposed to be put in to that cake.  Did I mention we made it from SCRATCH?  Also I should mention that it was chocolate and of course if you like a little chocolate a lot of chocolate is better.  In fact if you like eggs, one or two extra should make it better.

Well when all was said and done we iced that cake and presented it to Debbie and the family with a rip roaring round of Happy Birthday.  She was very pleased!

Until she tried to cut it things looked great.  I don't remember ever even getting a slice out of it.  I don't even think the icing came off it was so hard.  It was pretty.  

After some laughs Mom took the cake out and gave it to our dog.  The dog laid on the ground trying to chew on the thing and finally gave up.  Have you ever seen a shoe or something a dog has chewed on?  this cake did seem to get a few more rounded edges over time, a long time.   Last I remember it rolled around the back yard for a few weeks and then became a door stop and then later just disappeared.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• More of a good thing is not always best
• What looks good on the outside might not be so good on the inside
• If it smells like chocolate and looks like chocolate does not mean it tastes like chocolate if you cannot chew it
• Sometimes it is best to hire a professional 

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

ADD and ADDHD and adults with handicapps

I have been talking to Jon Tanny Olsen which is long for Jon Tanny and most adults call him Jon.  He at least has a street or road named after him.  Now he married the pretty little Pam Stamper and she is prettier today.  Well that is not the point just editorial.  

Jon Tanny Olsen and my Mom

We got to talking about when we grew up we both had ADD or ADDHD (high definition ADD, that is a joke so don't get your underwear in a wad).  Now if you are prone to calculating what that means it means at least 40% of our class in Grainola had the problem.  However I would contend that Hugh Allen Jones belonged in the ADD club which would mean we had 60%.  Now Eddie Harris was not in our class but he would carry that title in my opinion.   Well we had a few good laughs about our active minds. 

What I loved about the Grainola and Shidler teachers is they knew how to keep us in line and focused as much as possible.  In fact I would say that those teachers loved us and cared for us more than we ever knew or appreciated, at least until later in life when we slowed down to just think about it for a minute. 

Just as a side note if you include the Shidler crowd the list gets much larger and I for sure don’t want to leave out Johnny Payne (most teachers called him Pain in the Neck) later to be known as “The One Armed Bandit”.

Yes, I am crossing over the line in opinions that are based on common sense rather than medical diagnosis but teachers respected the students and students respected the teachers and ADD labels did not exist that I recalled.  What I am suggesting is that someone with a very active mind just needs challenged and the outcome will ultimately be based on the decisions each of us make along the way.  The teachers never failed us.  We may have failed the teachers expectations.  

Now the next point we discussed was there were literally NO handicapped children in our class.  In fact we could not remember anyone in the entire school.  The reason this is so amazing to Jon and me is there are so many in the community today.  Why?

Preston and Leann Harris Theurer

Well that brings me to tell you about a blessing to my family in that we have a child with Down Syndrome named Preston.  I will probably mention him a thousand times over the years but he brings a dimension to life that is greater than you can imagine. 

He keeps things simple like his love for music.  He loves all kinds and can remember every word and when the song comes on the radio he can immediately tell you who is singing.  He remembers everyone’s name.  Preston thinks everyone is his friend and treats them special.  Just yesterday Shouna, my wife, and I were talking about how these adults with special needs or mental challenges love Jesus.  They are not messed up,  sophisticated and have deep spiritual insights.  They don’t argue over differences from one church to the other.  They don’t care if you are Catholic, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Baptist, or even Jewish.  In fact one of the adults we know who sings about Jesus is Jewish.   These adults don’t judge you by your looks, your religion, how pretty you are on the inside or the outside, how you talk, or your skin color.  They just don’t judge.

So what do you learn from the Osage?

·        All folks are valuable and bring spice to life

·        ADD and ADDHD are letters looking for someone with an active mind and don’t necessarily needs drugs but maybe a little respect for their teacher

·        What we think is normal may not be normal and in fact the abnormal might be normal and better

·        Us normal folks might be the ones who are handicapped with prejudices, opinions, expectations, and more

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Common Sense of the Osage

I have a habit of saying "I am just a country boy" and most folks respond, "grab your hip pocket".  The other thing I like to say is, "I may be a little slow let's look for some common sense in this".

I was working on my taxes and everyone knows that in life there are only two requirements:

• you are gonna die
• you are gonna pay taxes

And one more thing you might not have heard and that is what does "THE IRS" do for you?

You should notice that "THE IRS" owns everything because if you put The and IRS together you get "THEIRS"  and that is the real meaning of the IRS.

Anyway, back to my point, I was looking at the IRS rules about itemized deductions and non-itemized deductions and they have a table for "standard deductions".   Basically every person married, single, divorced, widowed or head of household gets a basic $5,800 per individual deduction.  Now I may be slow but if everyone "who pays income tax" gets the $5,800 deduction then why have it "at all".  it is a waste of time and money to have to educate everyone and then probably pay an accountant to figure all this mess out.  By the way did I mention there are more tables for more deductions?  Why wouldn't we just make the tax paying folks pay based off of a rate table without the deductions?  Does that make sense?  One last point so you won't think I am crazy but they say it is to make it fair for those who do not itemize but my point is just lower the tax rates and get rid of all the exceptions and tables.  If you would like it I can make this seem a lot more complex and discuss 2% floor of AGI, etc. but let's keep our "common sense".

Now I know that if you are a CPA or Tax Lawyer this is probably offensive but let's get real and stop this stuff.  

So what did I learn in the Osage?

• A little common sense for politicians would not hurt
• The IRS who interprets the laws could use some common sense
• If we all used some common sense and a little forgiveness we would not need lawyers
• Don't offend a lawyer you might need one, WHOOOPPPPPPPS!

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

  

I am NEVER going to say "the good old days"

I don't know about you but I never thought I would say, "the good old days" because Mom and Dad and everyone that was 50 or older when we were young said that.  We use to make fun of how they "walked to and from school barefoot up hill both ways in the snow".

Now I want to tell you I really do like the good old days!  Today I was visiting with a friend and he was getting ready to give a speech at our "client appreciation luncheon and dinner" and he had gone back and read a speech he gave to the clients in 1994 and basically here is what it said:

• today we are experiencing earth quakes all over the world
• the weather patterns are changing
• the stock market is in a mess
• people are scared and uncertain about their financial future
• the government is spending too much
• and on and on

Well you figured it out by now, things never change, they simply have a new wrapper on them.  Just like "the good old days"  has a new wrapper on it but it is me saying what Mom and Dad always said.

The new wrapper is we drove cars with no air conditioner and only a radio that had AM and FM and when eight track tapes came in we added a black box screwed underneath the dash board and wired it ourselves.  We never locked our cars and we always had a gun in case we wanted to go hunting.  We never worried about  someone shooting someone and we left our houses unlocked.  We ate three meals a day and two of them were with everyone in the family sitting down at the same time.  The third meal was at school and we called it dinner not lunch.

You get the idea.  Those were really great times and I am looking forward to my next high school reunion.  Hopefully David Howell will be there handing out life savers.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• there are cycles to life and they are never as bad when you look back
• those hard times were the best of times
• forget the bad and remember the good
• the older you get the more you realize everyone is just as smart and just as good looking  and we are all alike but everyone just has their own abilities, strengths and weaknesses

God bless America

and

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Spanish Rice and Mexican Food/Tex Mex

Now I don't know about you but when I grew up we never had Mexican food at our house and we pretty much always ate at "our house".  In fact it was pretty unusual for us to have things all mixed up in one pile on a plate unlike Mexican food.  For example:  

• For breakfast we had eggs (no salsa - did not know of such a thing) and in fact since mom and dad did not like eggs over easy we never had that choice, the only choices were scrambled or over hard, next to the eggs was bacon or sausage and there was no choice as you got what mom made.  In fact on the eggs you got them cooked the way mom cooked them, no choice.  Toast was made from white bread in the toaster and the butter was "store bought" after we stopped having the diary.  Just for most people's information real butter is basically white and a little yellow, no color added. 

Now the next issue I have here is Guacamole!  The first time I saw the stuff I thought we had just taken the droppings from a cow eating in an alfalfa field.  Who would have ever thought of the idea?  Of course now days I do like the stuff but it still does not look good.

OK, the closest thing we ever had to Mexican food was Spanish Rice and I am bringing it up because it was actually one of my favorite foods when I was a kid in the Osage.  As my dad would say, "that is good eaten". It was the closest thing to Mexican food we ever had.

So here is my Spanish Rice recipe, thanks to Momma Opal.

Now I do have to tell you she gave me this recipe but I had to make a few changes as I think she forgot how she made it and I remember how it was so good luck.  I have to tell you mom was a great cook but did not write things down much.  She just knew what went together.

Spanish Rice from the Osage

1/2 cup salad oil

1 cup uncooked rice

3/4 lb. ground lean hamburger meat

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, chopped (opt. but I think mom did not use the garlic)

1 green pepper

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

a little bit of chili powder to give it some kick - season to your choice

3 cup tomato juice (mom used canned whole tomatoes and it was one quart jar - home grown)

2 cup water if needed

1 tsp sugar (I don't believe for a minute mom put in sugar)

1 cup grated cheese (mom never added grated cheese)

Heat oil in heavy skillet: add rice and cook for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring constantly (now this is where we have to say the recipe is all wrong because mom boiled the water in a deep pan and added the rice and salt then let it sit for a while after it cooked);  Then in another skillet she cooked the hamburger and browned it first then added the onion, garlic (optional), salt and pepper, green bell pepper chopped onion and chili powder; after it cooked a bit she added the quart of tomatoes with the juice;  let that simmer for about 15 minutes and add to the rice; add more water if needed. add sugar and cheese if you think it helps. Leave the lid off the pot and let it simmer until no longer watery.  That should about do it and good luck if you try it.  Let me know how it goes.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Great cooks don't always tell the truth about their recipes
• Eat Beef and live long
• Be careful eating when you see a pile of green stuff especially if you are in an alfalfa field
• If you drop your gum while gathering eggs be careful when you pick it up and put it back in your mouth
• Mexican food basically means you pile everything together and mix it up then put it on a thin piece of rolled corn meal that is fried a little
• If you work hard physically it overcomes a lot of illnesses but most of all it just makes you feel better about everything
• don't expect a free ride - give one and have a great day

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com