Please note that the quotes found on this blog were quotes from my grandfather but may originate from other sources.

This is the month of October, my grandfather’s Birthday in which he celebrates the whole month, and I do the same exact thing. It’s difficult to write a blog about him that’s not all over the place because there is so much, I can say about him. His life tells a story that I don’t have enough time to tell.  

“Love Many but Trust Few. Always Paddle Your Own Canoe”.

It’s no secret that he’s a country man from Boley Oklahoma. Once someone asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up and I said, “I’m going to brush hog, clear off lots in the winter, and get some cows”. We can all laugh now, because here I am 32 and have driven a tractor maybe twice in my life. They replied, “dang so you just wanna do whatever your grandpa does huh? They were right. My cousins and I would go with him to clear off lots, we would take blankets and snacks and just sit in the truck while he went to church after church, funeral home after funeral home to clear parking lots off after ice storms. When brush hogging, he would also take us for rides in the bucket of the tractor and lift us up to the trees for berries. We never thought about the fact that it was the same bucket he used to bury livestock in when needed lol. I skipped many field trips just to be able to spend time with him, driving all over Oklahoma City. He would be moving around so fast that he would forget to feed us and whoever was the youngest were told to, “ask papa to take us to McDonald’s and don’t say my name.”

“Every Tub has to Sit on its Own Bottom”

Richard Laskey

 He’s had acres of land to look after where he taught his grandchildren how to fix fence. Once he made us girls paint it and when Lou asked him when we would be done, he said, “when the paint is gone.” She said to me, “I’m about to dig a hole and start burying paint” lol. He raised cattle, pigs, chickens, all the way down to peacocks, and Emu’s lol. He may have never entered a rodeo event, but I believe he is the oldest living Eastside Round Up Club member. Although some don’t mention it, before they had their own horse, a place to keep it, or began entering rodeos, it was his property where they got their start.

With the controversy that there is about who’s a real cowboy and who’s not, I look at the all-around man that he is and glad that his life is much more than a title itself. As I sit here in the waiting room for my grandmother’s surgery, I’m currently listening to him pray for a woman and her family that he just met in the waiting room who received a unwanted report. He preached and prayed until the whole room was at attention. When he speaks, he speaks with authority, it’s something about his prayers and voice that provides peace and understanding. As I heard him pray at church recently, I was glad to hear that some of the words that he said are in my daily prayer, letting me know that after all these years what he’s instilled in me is still there.

“An Empty Wagon Makes a lot of Noise and When You Lack Direction Any Road Will Take You There” – Richard Laskey

50 years of Pastoring, retired but never retired from preaching. His life itself is a sermon. Many of you who have heard him preach, knows he talks about how he used to drink and beg the Lord to make the room stop spinning and when he did, the next day he was back drinking again. If we’d be honest, we’ve all been there before 😊. He’s a living testimony that you can begin again and live your life fully. Years ago, this well-known person from Spencer passed away and his wish was that my grandfather and another preacher from spencer, officiate his service. He stated that it was because they were the only preachers he knew that didn’t preach and then turn around and offer him a drink.  He’s lost children, friends, and relatives that were dear to him, but he’s never faltered on his beliefs.  He’s bigger than the pasture, bigger than any man-made label he is a true pillar in the community and a man after God’s own heart. I’m honored that he’s my grandfather and that no matter what I did, he was patient, honest, and never ceased to call me his Angel Baby!

For those that see him and my grandmother out and take care of them and or their tabs, thank you! They’ve poured into so many lives and offered their home to so many people and it’s amazing to see the ways that you all show your appreciation!

“I’ll Never Let You Love Me More Than I Love You. Be for Real Love One Another” -Richard Laskey