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In all likelihood, you’ve never heard of Oscar Maddux. Born in 1902, Mr. Maddux lived in Deerfield, Kansas. He died in 1973.
I lived in Deerfield until I was 5 years old. Oscar and his wife, Edith, were close friends of my parents, although I don’t know what started that relationship. I don’t really remember seeing them often, but Oscar was the type of man who made a lasting impression. In fact, he’s one of only a handful of men I remember from my early childhood who wasn’t either a family member or part of our church.
One of the reasons Oscar was memorable to me was his physical condition. Back in those days, we would describe Oscar as being “crippled.”
As long as I knew him, Oscar was confined to a wheelchair. None of my siblings knows what deprived Oscar of his mobility.
While being confined to a wheelchair seems like a big limitation, it wasn’t for Oscar. He was a successful Kansas farmer, and he also raised chickens. We enjoyed more than a few chicken dinners with Edith and Oscar (I’ll leave the details to your imagination).
Oscar would entertain us by picking up objects from the floor with his toes. He taught one of my sisters how to count to 10 in Japanese. He was so full of enthusiasm!
But more than anything else, Oscar’s life goals
made him memorable to me:
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To live at peace with God.
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To live at peace with himself.
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To live at peace with his fellow man.
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Three simple goals. Three lofty goals. Three worthy goals.
Now, decades later, I still aspire to achieve the same goals that Oscar set in my mind when I was just a child.
Your friend,
Kent Stroman
America’s ASKing Coach