Story by Jon Stalnaker AKA The Studebaker Dude
I just finished my 2023 compilation book that included my stories last year, from August 5th to the end of the year, Prior to that, my stories were published in the local newspapers and were all cut out of the papers and placed in plastic sleeves. I have several binders full of my newspaper stories dating back to September of 2015. The problem with the newspaper clippings is that they take a lot of effort to pull them out of the sleeves, read the articles on an ever-decaying piece of newsprint, and then putting them back in the sleeves. But it was the lazy way for me to retain the stories, even with all the effort it took to cut them out of the paper and place them in the folders. When the Sapulpa Times went paperless, I had to come up with another way of saving the stories and that was accomplished in the 2023 edition of “Been There, Done That”. I didn’t get it finished until this December because it was put together by a couple of procrastinators. I wanted to work out the bugs before I finished off volume two, this one. This is quite a bit different than the 2023 edition and a lot bigger. I know more about what I am doing this time so it shouldn’t take as long.
This year’s stories reflect what is going on in the world, in Sapulpa, and in our Oklahoma home, but my stories are typically free from politics and angry rants. Hopefully, I can share my frustration with how things are now compared to when I was younger without sounding like a grumpy old man having an angry rant. I waited until after Christmas to finish this story. Being a bah humbug kinda guy, I wanted to see if I could do any better this time. Christmas was okay this year thanks to my loving wife, but although I expected it might be a little difficult after losing my mother-in-law, I was surprised at how hard it was for me. I knew it would be difficult for my wife, even though a stronger woman than her probably does not exist. There were some tender melancholy moments, but we survived it. She was a big part of our lives and she IS missed.
So, the loss of Yae was the big story for 2024. She had a good life and lived 95 and a half years, almost 24 with us. I was proud to be able to write an obituary for her and make good on all of her final wishes. We had some fun visitors, friends, children, and grandchildren and even a cousin from Kansas. It was great visiting, some of whom came in time to see Yae before it was too late. Having friends and family visit helped take our minds off the grief that we were dealing with.
I started out the year with a story that has been puzzling observant postal workers for decades. Did Charles Schulz really not know which way to draw the flag on a mailbox or was he using it as code with some unknown private meaning for this variation? We may never know, as the truth may have been buried with him. I speculated, but does anybody really care? I doubt it, but it made a fun story to start out this book. I wrote about my never-ending battle with varmits, Oklahoma weather, football, getting older, Taylor Swift, and a love/hate relationship I have with Facebook. I reminisced about whatever crossed my mind and all the things we have been doing to make our house our home. I wrote about car stuff from the past and the present. I wrote about fascinating people I have met since we moved to Oklahoma. That was fun.
Another big event of the year was my granddaughter Sydney’s marriage in Scotland. We didn’t go, but one of our Christmas presents this year was a picture book of the event. It was an epic wedding at a Scottish estate that was breathtaking. And, yes, the groom was wearing a kilt. (of course he was).
I’ve been doing this now for almost 10 years. I love writing this foolishness and I hope you enjoy reading it. I get positive feedback and I appreciate that. I also appreciate not seeing the nasty comments that you see so often on Facebook. We have too much ugly talk in this world and I don’t want to be the reason someone wants to rant on social media. So, thanks for refraining from telling me that I am an idiot, or moron, or jerk. It’s really not necessary as I tell myself that all the time. If you enjoy reading these stories, by all means let me know. I like hearing that something I said or wrote meant something to you and/or made you laugh, or simply smile. When I hear people rant in judgement of someone that they believe has gone astray, I like to say that I don’t judge folks because it is out of my pay grade. God tells us to love everyone, It’s His job to judge. I don’t know where I heard it but I like saying it because it is what I strongly believe. Someone I spoke to about a week ago told me that he uses that phrase all the time since he heard me say it a while back. To hear that kind of feedback meant a lot to me. I know that my words are not always worthy of putting on a plaque, but to hear them reach someone, was significant to me.
This is it for 2024 and I will be having this printed in book form just like I did for 2023. This one will be much bigger as all of my stories are included this time. It has truly been a labor of love for me, thanks for taking the time to read it.
