OLE JOHN AND SALLY

BY DAVE GLASGOW

(A SEASONAL, NON-LIFTING, BUT UP-LIFTING STORY)

I ENJOY HISTORY, ESPECIALLY MY OWN FAMILY HISTORY. ONE STORY I HEARD MANY TIMES WAS TOLD BY MY DAD, JOHN. IT WAS ABOUT MY GREAT GRAND DAD, WHO I HAVE ALWAYS CALLED ‘OLE JOHN’, TO DIFFERENTIATE HIM FROM MY DAD. I THINK THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE TIME OF YEAR TO PASS THE STORY ON.

OLE JOHN WAS A SOLDIER IN THE ‘CIVIL WAR’. HE WAS IN THE CAVALRY, WHICH SEEMED ODD TO ME, AS HE WAS A SAILOR FROM THE TIME HE WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD. AT ANY RATE, HE WAS CAPTURED BY THE CONFEDERATES AND SENT TO THE NOTORIOUS PRISON CAMP, ANDERSONVILLE, IN GEORGIA. THE CONDITIONS IN THIS CAMP WERE HORRID. MANY DIED OF DISEASE, STARVATION AND JUST PLAIN LOSS OF HOPE. SOMEHOW, OLE JOHN SURVIVED, BUT HE DID NOT GO UNSCATHED. HE LOST ALL HIS UPPER TEETH AND HAD PERMANENT SKELETAL PROBLEMS FROM SCURY AND MALNUTRITION.

AS THE STORY GOES, OLE JOHN TOLD HOW THE MEMBERS OF THE SALVATION ARMY (WHOM I HAVE ALWAYS CALLED ‘SALLY’) WOULD SNEAK UP TO THE WALLS AT NIGHT AND THROW SWEET POTATOES OVER THE FENCE TO THE PRISONERS. HE SAID THAT THIS KIND, HUMANITARIAN GESTURE WAS ONE OF THE REASONS HE MADE IT OUT ALIVE.

SO, EVERY CHRISTMAS, WHEN MY KIDS WERE GROWING UP, I WOULD ENCOURAGE AMBER AND DEREK TO ‘THROW SOMETHING IN SALLY’S POT’, IN HONOR OF OLE JOHN AND TO HELP OUT SALLY, WITHOUT WHOM WE WOULD , PROBABLY, NOT BE AROUND.

THEN, A FEW YEARS BACK, I WAS LISTENING TO THE RADIO AND THEY WERE SPEAKING TO SOME MEMBERS OF THE SALVATION ARMY, AS IT WAS CHRISTMAS TIME AND THEY WERE IN NEED OF MONIES AND CLOTHING DONATIONS TO GIVE TO THOSE IN NEED. NATURALLY, I THOUGHT OF OLE JOHN. SO, WHEN I HAD TIME I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH ABOUT ‘SALLY’. WHAT I DISCOVERED DISAPPOINTED ME, GREATLY.

SEEMS THAT SALLY WAS STARTED IN ENGLAND IN 1865, AND WAS NOT FOUNDED IN THE STATES UNTIL 1880! CLEARLY WELL PAST THE TIME OF OLE JOHN’S CONFINEMENT!! IMMEDIATELY, QUESTIONS FORMED IN MY MIND AS TO THE VALIDITY OF THIS CONTRADITION IN THE STORY. UNFORTUNATELY, ANYONE WHO WOULD KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS MYSTERY HAS LONG SINCE PASSED.

AFTER A LOT OF DILIBERATIONS, I CAME TO SOME OF MY OWN CONCLUSIONS. COULD IT BE IT WAS THE BAPTISTS, METHODISTS OR MEMBERS OF SOME OTHER RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION WHO FOUND THE COMPASSION TO HELP THESE UNFORTUNATE INDIVIDUALS?

TO HAVE SURVIVED ALMOST A YEAR IN THAT FILTH AND DEGRADATION, CERTAINLY, BRINGS TO MY MIND THAT SOMEONE WAS HELPING THOSE PRISONERS! JUST BECAUSE THE DISCREPANCY OF THE ORGANIZATION IS IN QUESTION DOES NOT TAKE AWAY FROM THE MEAT OF THE STORY. ORAL HISTORY HANDED DOWN FROM ONE TO ANOTHER LEAVES THE DOOR OPEN TO ERRORS AND A MISTAKE COULD HAVE VERY WELL BEEN MADE BY ONE WHO HAD ONLY HEARD THE STORY, NOT THE ONE THAT WAS THERE, LIVING IT.

REGARDLESS, DO I THINK THAT SWEET POTATOES MADE THEIR WAY INTO UNION PRISONERS HANDS? ABSOLUTELY! A STORY, SUCH AS THIS, IS TOO GOOD TO HAVE BEEN ‘MADE UP’. FURTHER, WHY WOULD HE FABRICATE SUCH A TALE IF IT WERE NOT TRUE?? IN MY MIND, OLE JOHN WAS THE RECIPIENT OF A KINDNESS THAT CAN NEVER BE REPAID.

SO, IN THIS SEASON OF GIVING, MIGHT I ENCOURAGE EACH OF YOU TO ‘THROW SOMETHING IN SALLY’S POT’? THEY ARE A VERY WORTHY ORGANIZATION AND HELP UNTOLD NUMBERS OF THOSE LESS FORTUNATE. EVEN IF SALLY WAS NOT THE ONES THAT HELPED OLE JOHN, MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, YOU WILL HELP THEM HELP SOMEONE ELSE THAT NEEDS A HAND UP!

JUST TELL THEM ‘OLE JOHN’ SENT YA…..

Quality over Quantity

by Thom Van Vleck

I love being in the gym.  When I first caught the “iron bug” I’d spend hours in the Jackson Weightlifing Club gym.  While I would always be training….not all that time was working out.  I recall reading a story about Paul Anderson.  He would rest for up to 15 minutes between sets while visiting with others or other distractions.  I know I often found myself doing the same thing.  I would visit, read lifting magazines, or be writing down stuff related to my workout.  I was putting value in the quantity of time in the gym over the quality of my time.

I know I’ve been guilty of doing a certain number of sets for a certain number of sets for the simple reason my work out plan called for it.  Most of us go into the gym with a plan.  I have often found myself looking to hit certain benchmarks and success was measured on getting those sets and reps.  I was happy if I made my “goals”.   I was putting value in the quantity of sets, reps, and poundages over the quality of sets, reps, and poundages.

A couple years ago I decided to start focusing on the quality of my workouts.  As I started to use that as a measure over quantity I found myself very lacking.  I found that I could take a weight and lift it….or I could LIFT IT LIKE I MEANT IT!   I also began to notice that I was wasting a lot of time just being in the gym and not doing things that had a direct impact on my lifting.  Oh…you know….like actually lifting weights!   So my re-dedication  involved assessing every part of my work out by constantly asking myself one question, “Is what I’m doing adding quality to my workout or is it just quantity?”.

I began to notice several things.  I started to make gains again.  I lost weight.  I got in better cardio shape (my workouts much faster), I got more done in less time which meant I was working out more and most of all my attitude towards my workouts improved as it re-energized me and gave me confidence in the idea that what I was doing was going to help make me stronger.

So, the next time you work out you might want to ask yourself, “Quality..or Quantity”?

GUNNER TO THE RESCUE

BY DAVE GLASGOW

I MARRIED ONE HELL OF AN ATHLETE. MY WIFE, GUNNER, WAS BORN AT A TIME WHEN WOMEN’S SPORTS WERE NOT AS PROMINENT AS THEY ARE NOW. WHAT A SHAME! I ALWAYS FELT AS THOUGH SHE COULD HAVE ‘BEEN SOMEBODY’ IN THE ATHLETIC WORLD. SHE IS FAST, COORDINATED AND HAS THAT MAGIC ELEMENT THAT YOU CAN’T TEACH OR COACH……….HEART!

OH, SHE PLAYED INTRAMURAL SPORTS IN COLLEGE BUT THAT WAS NOT NEAR WHAT HER TALENT BASE COULD HAVE HANDLED. WHEN WE WERE FIRST MARRIED, SHE RAN DISTANCE IN LOCAL 5/10K RACES AND DID VERY WELL. SHE RAN SIX DAYS A WEEK FOR ABOUT 5 YEARS UNTIL HER KNEES DECIDED THEY HAD HAD ENOUGH. WHEN THAT HAPPENED, SHE TURNED TO A MOUNTAIN BIKE, AND HAS DONE THAT EVER SINCE. IF MY COUNT IS CORRECT, SHE IS ON HER SIXTH BIKE. ALL OF THOSE, EXCEPT THE LATEST ONE, WERE OVERHAULED AT LEAST ONCE.

HER TRAVELS ON THE BIKE TAKE HER AS FAR AS TEN MILES OUT IN THE COUNTY, IN ALL DIRECTIONS. SHE COULD PROBABLY SHOW THE DEPUTYS A PLACE OR TWO THEY DON’T KNOW ABOUT!! IT IRRITATES ME WHEN I ASK HER WHAT DIRECTION SHE IS GOING IN, SO IF SHE DOES’NT COME BACK, I KNOW WHAT WAY SHE WENT AND THE SEARCH PATERN CAN BE NARROWED (THIS MAY SEEM FATALISTIC BUT ONE DAY, IT ALMOST HAPPENED. THAT IS ANOTHER STORY). HER STOCK ANSWER IS, ‘OH, I’LL FIGURE THAT OUT WHEN I GET ON THE ROAD.’ FOLKS, I MIGHT ALSO ADD, SHE IS NOT OUT FOR A LEASURELY RIDE. SHE HITS THE RODE AND HAMMERS!!

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE MEAT OF THE STORY. ON ONE PARTICULAR DAY, GUNNER WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE, AT THE RIGHT TIME AND MAYBE (I THINK SHE DID), SHE SAVED A LIFE.

AS I SAID BEFORE, SHE GOES ALL OVER THE COUNTY, ON ROADS THAT ARE GRAVEL AND SOME THAT ARE NOTHING MORE THAN POORLY MAINTAINED DIRT. IT WAS ON ONE OF THESE ‘DIRT’ ROADS, AFTER A HEAVY RAIN, THAT SHE PUT HER ATHLETIC ABILITY AND CONDITIONING TO GOOD USE.

SHE HAD GONE ABOUT A HALF MILE ON THIS ROAD WHEN SHE CAME UPON A CAR THAT WAS SQUARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, STUCK UP TO THE FRAME. AS SHE APPROACHED, SHE DID’NT SEE ANYONE IN THE CAR. HOWEVER, WHEN SHE GOT UP TO IT, SHE SAW AN ELDERLY WOMEN SLUMPED DOWN IN THE FRONT SEAT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, SHE APPEARED TO BE UNCONCIOUS. UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, IT WAS’NT HARD TO SEE THERE WAS A PROBLEM.

SHE SPOKE AND NUDGED THE WOMAN, WHO ONLY MUMBLED A REPLY. IT WAS OBVIOUS TO GUNNER THAT THE OLE DAME WAS IN DIRE DISTRESS. SHE WAS IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT, ON A 95 DEGREE DAY, NOT TO MENTION THE HUMIDITY IN KANSAS ON A SUMMER DAY. THERE WAS NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW LONG SHE HAD BEEN THERE.

GUNN QUICKLY GRABBED HER WATER BOTTLE AND POURED A GOOD AMOUNT OVER THE WOMAN’S HEAD. THIS SEEEMED TO HELP, AS SHE WAS MORE RESPONSIVE. AT THIS POINT, GUNN GOT SOME WATER IN HER AND CONTINUED DOING THAT WHILE SHE DECIDED WHAT TO DO.

NOW, YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, THIS IS PROBABLY SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS BEFORE EVERYONE WAS USING A CELL PHONE. SO, WITH NO OTHER RECOURSE, SHE LEFT THE WATER BOTTLE WITH THE NOW MUCH MORE ALERT WOMAN, TURNED AROUND AND HAULED ASS TO THE NEAREST FARM HOUSE, WHICH WAS ABOUT A MILE AND A HALF AWAY. I HAVE A PICTURE IN MY MIND OF HER POUNDING THOSE PEDALS AS HARD AS SHE COULD, MUSCLES STRAINING AND SWEAT POURING, TO GET TO THAT HOUSE. I BET IT WAS SOMETHING TO SEE!

ARRIVING AT THE FARM HOUSE, SHE FOUND NO ONE AT HOME. LUCKILY, THERE WERE FARMERS IN THE FIELD, AND, AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, SHE KNEW THEM. SHE JUST CYCLED RIGHT ACROSS THE WHEAT STUBBLE, GOT THEIR ATTENTION AND AWAY THEY WENT! ONE WENT TO CALL FOR HELP AND ONE WENT WITH HIS WATER BUCKET TO ASSIST THE WOMAN. ONCE HELP ARRIVED FROM TOWN, SHE, SIMPLY, RODE OFF.

IT WAS ONLY LATER THAT GUNN FOUND OUT ‘THE REST OF THE STORY’.

SEEMS AS THOUGH THE WOMAN HAD BEEN WITH HER HUSBAND, WHO WAS ELDERLY AS WELL, BECAME CONFUSED AND WENT DOWN THE DIRT ROAD BY MISTAKE. BY THE TIME HE FIGURED OUT HE WAS LOST, IT WAS TOO LATE. HE DID EVERYTHING HE COULD TO GET THEM OUT BUT WHAT HE DID ONLY MADE THE SITUATION WORSE. WHEN HE COULD NO LONGER MOVE THE VEHICLE, HE LEFT HIS WIFE IN THE CAR AND SET OUT ON FOOT TO GET HELP. I NEVER DID HEAR WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM BUT I DO KNOW THE STORY HAD A HAPPY ENDING AS EVERYONE WAS REUNITED.

WHEN SHE TOLD ME THE STORY THAT DAY, I SAID, ‘GUNN!! YOU SAVED THAT WOMAN’S LIFE!’ SHE POO-POOED THAT NOTION RIGHT AWAY. ‘OH, I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT.’ WHICH IS THE VERY HUMBLE, UNASSUMING, ATHLETIC GIRL I HAVE BEEN HOOKED UP WITH FOR FORTY YEARS.

Heavy Lift Championships

by Eric Todd

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT 2015 USAWA HEAVY LIFT CHAMPIONSHIPS

Make plans now! The 2015 USAWA Heavy Lift Championship will be held on May 2 at ET’s House of Iron and Stone. This location is about an hour north of Kansas City right in the center of God’s Country. We will be contesting the three traditional lifts in this meet: Neck Lift, Hand and Thigh, and Hip lift. Come ready to lift big and see big weights moved. I know we are still a few hundred pound plates shy of the Dino Gym, but with 24 of them and plenty of change, we should be able to accommodate any lifter in these lifts. I know I mention this with every meet announcement, but I don’t want anyone coming here with delusions of lifting at Caesar’s Palace or anything. The only frills in my gym are lots of weights. It is typically beautiful weather around May 2 in Missouri. However, if it is cold out we will get cold, and if it is hot out, we will get hot. I have plenty of places to drop a whiz in the green grass. OR, if you are bashful, there is an outhouse out back. Last meet, I even swept out all the wasps nests and spider webs. TP is in the ammo box. So, if those conditions don’t suit you, see you at the next meet at someone else’s gym. With that being said, I would like to see all the big hitters in the heavy lifts make this meet. This meet has been dominated by a handful of people. See if you can add your name to the list. I have seen a number of guys posting heavy lift videos. Hope you can all make it to the meet and make your mark. We will have a short record breaking session after the meet for anybody who has not done enough by that time. See you there! ENTRY FORM (PDF) – Heavy Lift Entry

Osteoblasters Update

by Thom Van Vleck

A digital bulletin board on the campus of A.T. Still University advertises the upcoming Still Magazine. Our campus lifting club is featured and we made the cover no less!

I’ve share information before about the lifting club I started on campus.  We continue to grow and make progress.  We hold one or two workouts every day except Sunday.  We are one the youngest, yet largest, club on campus.  We provide supervision to over 200 workouts every week!  While I am the staff adviser the growth and leadership have come from within the club.  To be honest, I feel like I’m showing my age!

Thom Van Vleck presenting a check to the Osteoblasters for volunteering at the Kirksville Scottish Games

When I first started this club I envisioned old school workouts.  We would be doing lots of benches, squats, deadlifts….maybe some snatches and clean & jerks….the stuff I cut my teeth on 35 years ago.  What has evolved is a group dynamic focused more on bodyweight  exercises, lots of reps, fast paced, and less weight.  Similar to the “Crossfit” stuff you see growing ever popular.  I’m perfectly fine with that because it is leading to a new generation learning how to do snatches and clean and jerks and getting fit in the process.

The latest addition the club, a wall mounted lifting rack with chin up bars and roman rings.

Recently we were able to add a new addition, a wall mounted rack in the gym.  This will allow us to do more squats, presses and jerks out of the rack, along with the rings and chin up capabilities.  There are probably a hundred more uses that will come out of this addition and my hope is that if we get a lot of use out of it the Campus Center will be open to buying more equipment!  They have been very generous so far and that has helped tremendously.

I am looking forward to 2015 and seeing where things go with the club.  I hope perhaps we can host a lifting meet of some sort (maybe a USAWA meet).  I know we will help more people achieve a greater level of fitness and I’m sure the club will do more community projects that will promote fitness.  I has been a real pleasure working with these young people and the fact they are all on their way to becoming doctors or dentists makes it all the better!

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