humor

Homesick

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

I had almost finished year two in northern Japan. This old country bumpkin got homesick. I was out running the engines to check out maintenance that got done on my aircraft. It was the middle of the night in a far off land.

 I was right at the end of the runway with the engines running when a thought entered my mind. I could take off and go home for a visit.  

I was sitting at Misawa Japan location 40.67823° N, 141.3474° E and Hayti, South Dakota is on 44.673603° N, -97.18824° E. A quick flight plan was developing in the back of my mind, fly back around the globe. 

I would come into Hayti real low over Lake Marsh, just clearing the Herald Enterprise building to land on Main Street. I was sure I couldn’t get stopped by the time I got to the Horseshoe. So I would taxi down to the Court House, turn around, and come back to have a beer or two. I would then fly back to Japan before anybody missed me.

I started to have second thoughts:

  1. The Air Force would shoot me down before I got very far from the airbase.
  2. I’m sure I would not be very good at inflight refueling, which I would have to do to fly that far.
  3. I would no doubt get lost en route to Hayti.
  4. That is a long way to go for a beer but I would get to see some friendly faces.

I decided to scratch the whole mission, chalk it up to another wild dream. 

https://lelandolson.com/

December 1, 2019

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

This is what I saw when I looked out my front window this morning.

This is what I saw when I looked in the mirror this morning. YIKES!

I became 79 years old today. Miracles still happen in this world. There is still a chance, someday I will grow up.

I want to thank all the faithful followers at “My Mixed Blog,” also my Facebook friends. Thank you Don and Rosie Bowers for the funny E card, also thanks to Patty and Craig for bringing me a combination meal from Guadalajara last evening. It took me back to the good old days at the Tucumcari Truck Terminal in New Mexico. They had the best combination plate on our route. Thanks also to Phil who is going to bring me his famous enchiladas this evening.  This old geezer has had a good birthday and is thankful for family and friends. You have all helped me make it through another year. I love all of you.

http://www.lelandolson.com/

My Perspective on Blogging

/ Leland Olson Hoel / 2 Comments

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DISCOVER CHALLENGE

Perspective
We each inhabit a specific vantage point from which to blog. What’s yours?

My perspective about my blogging is somewhat unique as my posts come from an old geezer You might say I’m an eccentric old geezer at times. I have done a lot of traveling and I have had numerous jobs, during my life. I am now 75 years old and went to work on my first job at the age of 15. I earned one dollar an hour in 1955 working 70 hours a week and thought I was doing it in high cotton!

My blogging has seemed to take on an urgency, I feel the need for speed. I write with the knowledge, my blogging time might very well be numbered. I’m not even going to try to think about the number in years, months, or days. But I realize at my age with my physical condition. Each one of my posts could possibly be my last, so I try to put my heart and soul into what I’m writing.

I’ve always considered myself to be a self-starter and I guess I still am. If my production drops off. I don’t imagine WordPress is going to cut off my cyber ties and leave me dangling all alone in the blogosphere, I certainly hope not. I do take my blogging, maybe too seriously. I don’t imagine I will be fired from this position. I do try to maintain a scheduled work time, not necessarily punching the clock. The price of a time clock might have created a cash flow problem. Putting my dedication into what I’m trying to do, gives a rewarding feeling, that money can’t buy.

Along with my many types of employment, I have had over 50 years of survival after a severe spinal cord injury, that alone gives me a lot of material to write about. I write about the body, spine and what we think it can do and what we know it can do. I ask my body to keep on working in the best way that it can and try to encourage other people not to give up. Make the most out of each new day and enjoy each day to the maximum. Life is pretty darn good even when you’re hurting.

My blogging perspective seems to go off by itself at times, leaving me free to roam. I have made attempts at fiction, short stories, recently I’ve included recipes on my blog. A lot of my posts have been personal family related issues which are received like most yawning material. About as entertaining as watching the paint dry on a park bench., maybe counting flowers on the wallpaper.

I hope to do more experimenting, testing the waters and see what I might be able to come up with. That is why my blog is named “My Mixed Blog,” shouldn’t feel fenced in. The barometer reading and low-pressure doesn’t seem to change my writing mood. I might try bright lights, or working out in the sunshine to see if I can come up with day-brighteners for people to enjoy. I imagine there are as many different perspectives about blogging as there are people writing the blogs. I have found it to be time well spent. I feel fulfilled when positive comments come from people around the globe.

https://lghoelson.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

Blog or Bust

/ Leland Olson Hoel / 17 Comments

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Today’s assignment: write and publish a “who I am and why I’m here” post on your blog.

My first assignment posted at Blogging University, Blogging 101, is introduce myself to the world.

Hello World, “My name is Leland Olson, I’m 75 years old so some of you know me well.” I am, “Really glad to be here, or anywhere in this world.” I decided a half a dozen years ago to make an attempt at writing, not realizing it at the time that it was called blogging. I love life, humor has always been a great friend of mine.

My reason for deciding to blog was my deteriorating physical condition. It has continued to get worse, now I am almost a full-time blogger. Don’t get out much anymore. Life is playing out in slow motion for me. My life experiences have been extremely varied. I have had many different types of jobs. I found writing about my life experiences has supplied my writing with plenty of fuel so far. I will probably attempt several different writing venues, one thing I have learned, “Truth is much stranger than fiction.” My photographic skills have not surfaced yet, will have to work on that for photo blogs.

At one time I thought about having a private blog and decided against it. I’ve come to realize if I can share my life experiences with others and if even one person is helped by something I have written. I will feel it has been a worthwhile adventure. I am a 50+ year survivor of a severe spinal cord injury. That alone gives me plenty to write about. There are other people out there who have suffered from spinal cord injury, if they want to share notes on how their lives have gone. I will be very happy to share my life experiences with them. Spinal cord injury is a very nasty thing that usually affects each individual in different ways, but always leaves disabling consequences.

I started blogging at WordPress in September of 2015 so I’m a newbie here. I have found WordPress provides excellent tools that are fairly easy to learn, I have had some problem with a few areas but there are lots of help forums to fall back on. I do think anyone choosing to blog at WordPress has found a very good place to call home. If I am still blogging here a year from now I hope to be reaching a lot more people around the world. I know doubt will try to test the waters and experiment with different areas of writing. I have made a few attempts at some fiction and found it to be challenging. Humor should remain funny. I may leave that alone.

Blogging U.