Why “Half Okie”

Lawnmowers, Saws, and Oklahoma, Oh my

My father was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma in 1920. I came along in ‘53 and am half-Okie and half-Nevadan. My dad worked on trucks and got hurt once-in-a-while and he taught me to think about what I was doing and don’t take stupid risks.

One of things he taught me was to ‘police’ the lawn before I mowed it. Look for sticks, rocks, dog poop, and anything else that would mess up the chore. The day of my Senior Prom I came home from running an errand and see my mom and dad driving down our street. Mom pulled up and told me, “I’m taking your father to the ER.” I then saw his had was wrapped in a tee-shirt which wasn’t supposed to be red.

He was mowing the lawn and saw a bone as he was mowing. He bent over to pick it up and he accidentally pushed down on the mower handle and rotated it into his hand. He pulled off his tee-shirt, wrapped up his hand, and finished the lawn. Then he went and got my mom.

My dad also taught me that if you used a chainsaw, you never ‘cut upward’ with it. Since then, others have said you can do it but it’s a skill you have to learn. My dad new I wasn’t going to learn that type of skill anytime soon. So the lesson stood.

Then a tree behind our house slid one day and my dad borrowed a chainsaw from a neighbor. In the process of cutting off a limb, he brought the saw (you guessed it) up through the wood and onto his other hand. He also took time to tell me, “That’s why you never cut up with a chainsaw.”

Being HALF-Okie and doing woodwork may sound rather dangerous for some people. So far, I’ve only touched the blade of my table saw once, as it was slowing down, and had a kickback glance off my hand and body. Not too bad and I credit no real damage to the fact that I am only HALF Okie…

Peace

Alan