Proud of My Street

For the past 6 days there has been a football sitting on the sidewalk across the street.  Just sitting there.  One might think the owner of the football must be lazy for not putting it away; and that may be true.  But the point I am trying to make is it just sat there.  Nobody stole it, nobody kicked it, nobody bothered it because it wasn't their's.  The same thing happens with bikes and things. They can lay on the grass for days and they just sit there.  I kind of like that.

Whatever Happened to Kathy Hawkins?

As a youngster in elementary school I had the interesting experience of going to 7 different schools in 5 different states.  One of the places we landed was Grand Forks, North Dakota right on the Red River of the North.  We arrived there from Cheyenne, Wyoming.  I had just finished the 3rd grade and it was June, 1964 and summer vacation was beginning with a little bit of uncertainty.  Each time we moved we wondered if we would have any friends.  We always did, but we always wondered too.

In Grand Forks my parents rented a home on Park Drive, a few blocks west of Belmont.  Our school would be Viking Elementary.  There were a lot of kids in the neighborhood and in the summer we played baseball, like just about everybody else in America.  A few lots east of our house was a vacant lot.  It was there we gathered almost every morning to play ball--whiffle ball--plastic ball, plastic bat because the lot was too small for real baseballs with wood bats.  One of the players was a girl if you can believe it.  Her name was Kathy Hawkins.  She could run, throw and hit like a boy.  Now before you ladies get too up in arms, believe me this was unusual in 1964.  There was not one other girl who could compare with her.  She was fast.  She could throw long and hard and she could hit.  We loved her.  She was a pal.  In the picture she is front and center and was the captain of our Pee Wee league team.  We won the championship in the city for our age group in the summer of 1965.  That is me, 2nd from the left.  They spelled my name Ollman, but that is close enough to Oman to count.  2nd row, first on the left is my younger brother Mike.  He was good too.  All these kids will be 60 years old or close to it within this year, except our coach, he would be in his 70's now.

It wasn't just in baseball though that Kathy stood out.  She would run in track meets at the University of North Dakota track and would win, literally (Thank you Joe Biden for that word) every race practically that she ran in.  She was phenomenal.  Even more she was nice.  We all wanted to kiss her once but nobody dared, at least in 4th and 5th grade we didn't.  Our experience was not unlike the movie The Sandlot.  When we tired of baseball, we went to the pool, or rode our bikes down by the Red River along the golf course and at night it was Hide and Seek and other games.  We would drop into our beds and wake up the next morning and do it all over again.  Summers would last forever it seemed and then suddenly it was over.

This all happened about 50 years ago now.  I have wondered what happened to Kathy, and my teammate in the picture, John Wavra's sister Roberta.  She was the prettiest girl in the school, an older woman by one year.  She once asked me at lunch if she could have my brussel sprouts and of course I said yes.  It was my first manly act for a girl. I am not afraid to admit that I had an incredible crush on her, at least for a 5th grader.   Time has gone by.  Much has happened there in half a century but the memories I have of Grand Forks are still vivid and as fresh in my mind as if it all happened just yesterday.  In some ways, it did.

The Authorized Oman Family Christmas Letter for 2014

The Authorized Oman Family Christmas Newsletter for 2014

(Accept No Substitutes)

As the years pass one could begin to display a rather curmudgeonly attitude towards this time of year.  The typical refrain of course is Bah Humbug.  There is no way you will find that type of attitude in our household.  We love and enjoy Christmas and we hope you do too.  This year has been kind of exciting.  Maybe that is due to our perspective rather than reality.  Our big project was finishing a large family room in our basement.  The result is quite pleasing thanks to Joyce.  All Greg wanted to do was sheet rock, paint and hang a screen with a projector.  As you can guess it entailed a little more than that and we are pleased.

THAT was not the highlight of the year though.   October 18,2014 was a great day.  Our wonderful daughter in law brought a little girl to the world.  Evelyn Fern Oman is her name.   The answer is YES, she is a pretty baby.  Everyone says she takes after her paternal grandfather, but I don’t see it.  As of this morning all is well.   Along those lines, our daughter Becki indicated via custom coated M&M’s that she is expecting in June, probably near the Solstice.  We are excited for that to happen.  Not only because of a new member of the family, but the Sun is up longer and we can golf later into the evening.  See, two birds with one Solstice.

Becki, Kyle and their kids, Weston, Elijah, Addie and “?” moved into a home they purchased near where they were living before.  They are happy about more room to stretch out.  We are happy for them too.  Life goes on with sports, dancing lessons, Tae Kwon Do, etc, etc.  Most of you get the picture.

Ben, Melissa, Miles and Evie are moving down closer to us.  Melissa’s parents don’t like it but it gets Ben closer to Salt Lake and his work.  Their plans are to begin construction on a new home in a couple of months or so.  That means we get to spend more time with them, something that was a little harder to do while they lived in Cache Valley.  Ah, well, life goes on.

Joyce and Greg had a fun trip to Kona, HI with our friends Niles and Janet Herrod.  One of the highlights was snorkeling with the manta rays at night.  Those things really glide through the water and it was scary at first, but quickly became a unique and thrilling experience in the ocean.  Some golf was played if what you consider we were really doing was golf.  This was all a byproduct of great friendships we have made on our dental trips to Central America.  We are planning on going to Guatemala this year.

Bear Lake is always fun and we had our typical Summer week up there with all the family.  Elijah and Weston are quite the swimmers now and really enjoy the water.  Ben has decided that the best way to enjoy Bear Lake is with a wet suit.  Those of us who are traditionalists look at that kind of behavior with some disdain in late summer.  To each, their own I suppose.   Pickleville Playhouse is always fun and we enjoyed another episode of Juanito Bandito.

With this Christmas Season we look forward to some of our little traditions.  Sugar cookies, decorations, music, the family party and program, some of the classic Christmas movies, especially A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott .  (Which, Greg  enjoys more than any other presentation.  There is something to seeing Patton playing Scrooge)  Most of all we are grateful for our family, our friends and our challenges.  We think of all of our acquaintances from time to time, including you.  That’s why you are getting this Christmas letter and our True Hope for you to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy NewYear.

 Evelyn at 6 weeks looking up at her dad Ben while trying on a dress Joyce made for her

blessing day

 Addie, Elijah, Little Miles and Weston 

at Miles 2nd B day

 Our Honduran family the Buitragos.  (F)  Lilo with Isabella

Joyce, Greg.  (R)  Stephen Wells, Valeria Wells, Marcela Oliviera

and Davidson Oliviera.  We feel like and aunt and uncle to

these friends we made in 2007 on a dental humanitarian trip

to Honduras.

Backyard BB! with the Thorsen Family.  We met

them in 2006 on a trip to Honduras and have been

friends since day one.  (F) NicNat 1, Joyce, Cynthia. 

(R) Greg, NicNat 2, Madeline, Scott and Ruby

A Feel Good Moment

The other day I had a sweet, 90 year old woman come to my office.  We took care of her dental needs and had a good visit.  As she was getting ready to leave she said, "Can I give you a hug?  I don't know if I will see you again."  So we hugged, I kissed her on the cheek and said to her "Merry Christmas".  I have this custom of giving my lady clients a rose as they leave so I handed her a beautiful red rose.  She had a great smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.  Life goes on.

What Goes Around...

Thursday I had a fine gentlemen in my office for our professional services.  He is well spoken, a WWII veteran, along with his brother who is also a client.  As I finished my time with him he asked me a question.  "Has anyone ever bought you lunch anonymously?"  I answered that I cannot ever remember having that happen to me.  Being honest with him I said I had done it to others on quite a few occasions.

He described what happened.  Earlier in the day he was at a dermatologist office.  Two young missionaries came in.  He got up, handed them a $20 bill and told them to have lunch on him.  Later in the day he was going to lunch.  After failing to get any friends of his interested in going he went alone to the Village Inn in Bountiful.  He ordered and was enjoying his lunch.  After a while one of the servers was seen talking to his server, kind of glancing at him.  Evidently, there were a couple of ladies who saw him walk in, sit down, order and commence eating his meal.  They had their server get his bill and paid it.  They left before he was aware of what was going on.

He had such a nice smile on his face as he related this story to us.  He said it was so touching that two women would buy lunch for an old man.  So with that, Happy Thanksgiving Week.

Armistice Day

The eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour marks the armistice that stopped the Great War;  the War to end all wars.  We call it now Veteran's Day here in the USA.  I suppose that is okay.  My dad was in the Army National Guard in the late 50's.  I have other relatives that served in the Armed Forces.  I suppose the best one to recognize would be my Uncle Jon.  He graduated from high school and went to Utah State for one year.  He told me that the writing was on the wall that he would be drafted to go to Vietnam so he enlisted in the Army.  During Basic Training the officers over him thought he would be a great candidate for Officer Candidate School.  After OCS he decided he wanted to get all the training he could so he applied and was accepted to Ranger School.  Jumping out of airplanes became second nature to him.  He once told me that the funnest thing you can do is walk out of the back of a C-130 at 30,000 feet.

After Ranger School he was accepted to attended the JFK School for Boys at Ft. Bragg.  He was trained to become a Green Beret.  He arrived in Vietnam as a 22 year old captain, commanding some 600 or so South Vietnamese with 6 Non-coms under him.  They stationed him up by the DMZ at Quang Tri.  Apparently they went for quite a few walks in the woods.  He saw a lot of things none of us want to see and was decorated with a Bronze Star.  He hasn't told me why yet.

The greatest story to come out of all of this is he met a girl on Okinawa.  She was an American, a Northwestern University graduate, who was teaching the children of American servicemen on the Island.  They were married, unbeknownst to any of us back home.  He was telling Joyce and me about the time he was able to get leave on Christmas Eve, flew his way up to Okinawa via the Philippines and walked into the house on Okinawa about midnight.  As he related this story tears were coming out of his eyes.  Aunt Peggy was a little misty eyed too.

I know this stuff was not uncommon and still isn't uncommon with our military, but I am glad I have heard some of the stories and can appreciate the sacrifice and the valor of those who are there to Pay the Price.  Jon's older brother Bruce told me a month or so ago of some experiences he had working as an Engineer at Hill Air Force Base.  At times he had to go to other military installations in the country.  When it was discovered that his last name was Oman they asked him if he was acquainted with a Green Beret name Jon Oman.  He admitted Jon was his youngest brother.  They would then tell him of how Uncle Jon was something of a legend in his day in the Special Forces.

To all our Veterans and in Memory of those who paid the ultimate price, from the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, WWI and WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East conflicts and all the skirmishes and battles known and unknown I express my respect, homage and gratitude.  May we not waste those sacrifices destroying our country from within.

Oakridge Country Club

Oakridge Country Club is on Shepard Lane in Farmington, Utah.  It has hosted the Utah Open several times, the Utah State Amateur and years ago the Utah Open when it was on the PGA tour.  It is a green, lush course, with many trees.  There are lakes on 6 holes.  Here is a brief description of each hole.  All yardages are based on the white tees.

1.   Par 5 499 yards.  This is a straight hole with bunkers on the right and trees on both sides of the fairway.  It was a pretty opening hole.  The green is well bunker with subtle breaks.

2.   Par 3 177 yards.  This par 3 has a brand new bent grass green with intimidating breaks in some areas of the green.  There is no sure thing when putting from 4 feet on some fringe areas.  It is well bunkered with out of bounds on the left.

3.   Par 4 367 yards.  This is a little tamer than it use to be.  The windstorm in Dec 2011 took out some dastardly trees on the right hand side of the fairway.  Straight away hole, bunkered green with out of bounds on the left hand side.  Slopes fairly well from back to front.  Do not skull a shot into this green over the back.  It could get wet.

4.   Par 4 391 yards.  A dogleg right with trees on the left and right.  If you are in the trees it is usually tough to par.  Fairway bunker on the left and left side green bunkers.  Small creek on the right can eat some balls.  A par feels good here.

5.   Par 3  160 yards.  This is a pretty par 3, elevated tee, over the lake onto a well bunkered green.  Usually an fairly straightforward par hole;  hit it straight, you have your par.

6.   Par 5  490 yards.  The drive must clear the lake, go up to the top of a hill.  Right side fairway bunker can be trouble.  Dogleg left with trees right and left.  Well bunkered green with a good slope on it.

7.   Par 4 377 yards.  A bunch of trees on the right, do not go there.  A drive to the left is no picnic either.  A good slope from back down to the front with 2 to 4 foot breaks on some putts.

8.   Par 4 358 yards.  A dogleg right, with trouble if you clunk a drive left and an ornery bunch of scrub oak on the right.  Bunkered green with strong breaks makes par here feel good.

9.   Par 4 421 yards.  This is the #1 handicap hole from the whites.  The tee shot must clear the lake and stay out of the trees.  Drives of 250 and greater make this hole easier, but 200+ approach shots are common.  Bunkers on the right side and a steep slope away from the green on the left.

10.  Par 4 384 yards.  This hole has a pond on the right and a fairway bunker which saves many shots from feeding into the pond.  This hole has a brand new green also.  It is large, well bunkered and has subtle breaks.  Trees on the left can play havoc with tee shots and approach shots.

11.  Par 5 528 yards.  This is a slight dogleg right hole.  Trees right and left are trouble.  A large bunker in the right fairway area 100 yards or so from the green is not an inviting location to be.  Large bunker left green side can be gnarly.  This green, with some flagstick locations be akin to putting on a turtle's back.

12.  Par 4 370 yards.  This is a slight dogleg left, trees right and left about 200 yards out can spoil a good drive.  Bunkers right and left.  Fairly straightforward green with reasonable breaks.   Do not slice it big right on this one.

13.  Par 3 158 yards.  This hole is tougher than it looks.  Bunkers front right and left and back along the left side.  Out of bounds right if a wickedly sliced shot is produced.  There are some interesting areas on the green with breaks of 6+ feet experienced.

14.  Par 4 408 yards.  Standing on the tee, aim for the house with the white patio.  A creek on the right side magnetically attracts balls to the right.  A bunch of trees on a shot to the left make par just about impossible.  Bunker on the right front.  This is a wicked green if you are above the flagstick.  A front flagstick can see putts go off the green.

15.  Par 3 167 yards.  Over a lake to a well bunkered green.  There is out of bounds right and left with a well sloped green.  There are some pretty big breaks when putting from top to bottom and vice versa.

16.  Par 5 533 yards.  This is the longest par 5.  It doglegs left with ponds on the right and left sides from 150 yards in or so.  A poor shot left off of the tee is tough to recover from.  A parabolic shot to the right is no treat either.  A good second shot allows a nice approach shot into the green.  Big hitters reach this one in 2 as is possible on all the par 5's.  Right side bunker with a big tree by it can be a hindrance.

17.  Par 4 427 yards.  This is the #2 handicap hole.  It is a straight par 4.  No real problems except the trees on the right and left side.  There is a bunker on the right front.  Here is a tip, DO NOT GET ABOVE THE HOLE WITH YOUR APPROACH.  This is considered the most difficult putting surface on the course.  A down hill putt, if at all aggressive can pass the hole by, oh, 20-30 feet.  I've seen it and done it.

18.  Par 4 366 yards.  This is a lovely hole with an elevated green, over a creek with a right side fairway bunker.  The 2011 windstorm thinned out a bunch of trees on the left so a shot there still has a chance when in years prior it was pretty much death over there.  Nice green.  It breaks towards Lagoon usually.

There you have it.  I did not proof read this so any typos are, well typos..