Yarns and Tales From My Personal Experience

Steve's Yarns-- All those years growing up
and living in Oklahoma, California, Arizona,
Texas, and Africa..... Ain't done growing up
'til I get over on the other side :-)

EDITOR:
Steve Van Nattan

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YARNS--
Home Spun and True
With slight improvements

By Steve Van Nattan
An expatriate Wog with a story to tell

Own only what you can carry with you,
Know language, know countries,
know people.
Let your memory be your travel bag.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Slim Dusty makes songs-- I make stories,
"Lookin' forward, Lookin' back."

INTRODUCTORY BLATHER
Upon reaching the age of seventy+, I have been told that I now have the right to indulge in reminiscence without apologizing.
The problem is, we all indulge in nostalgia at times. And, modern society mocks at nostalgia when they find someone indulging. Why?
Nostalgia in the original Greek: Nostos and Algos.....
To go home and suffer. Suffer because, if you do go home, it is no longer what your left behind, and if you just reminisce, you suffer because you cannot bring it back anyway.
Modern society, in the USA, Europe, Russia, China, and Africa has been thoroughly unsettled. By this, I mean the world's peoples have been enticed, coerced, and bribed to move from the farm and the brushy country to the big city. Thus, millions have totally lost touch with their heritage.

Well, Bubba, I have not!

And, I find that God has blessed me with a place in the Texas Hill Country as I approach the end of the road this side of heaven. This rare habitat is one of those few places on earth where you feel at home just about thirty minutes after you arrive. "Why did it take me so long to get here?" And, the folks in the Hill Country are so proud of that fact that they make sure you feel at home immediately.

The answer to the above Texan question is, "I got here as fast as I could."

Thus, those of you who venture into this section of the Journal will have to tolerate my attitude, if you please, and I hope that I can reward you in some small way with strange stories of my past experiences.

Christ Jesus is due all credit for anything I may contribute to life. I shall not, however; make silly scenes of false humility. My life has been rather colorful at times, not because of my own cleverness, but because my Lord has graciously chosen for me a life trail which is rather fun to look back over.

Elizabeth is my good wife (now gone to be with Jesus), and she was my class mate at Rift Valley Academy in Kenya. She was consulted on these yarns since she also suffered through many of them. She added some of her own stories along the way.

Come by and see us, and we will roast some Harrar coffee and boil the ibrik (Arab coffee pot), and we'll spin a yarn on the front porch. We make Wog chai (African tea) for those who appreciate it. Winston Churchill said, "The Wogs begin at Dover," so all of us are Wogs. Our tea comes from an Indian duka in Austin, Texas-- special import quality.

Someone once said, and it might have been me,
"Don't look back when things are getting rough--
Look back when times are good.
The past will add peace to the moment at hand."

Let's look on back down the road for a while.

If you want to see chronology, go to my
BIO PAGE TO BROWSE.

Also, a more detailed
BIO PAGE FOR THE JOURNAL

Enjoy.

REQUEST A YARN

I have a master page on this journal with a list of yarns I plan to write.
I get distracted with controversy and Christian issues,
and I do not write enough yarns for my readers.
So, I have offered a way for you to request a yarn.

HERE IS THE LIST YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM

Find an unlinked article (in black, not blue), and SEND MAIL asking for that story.
I will do that story, post it on my online journal, and tell you when it is done.
Please type "STORY" in the subject line of your email. By doing this, you will be
helping motivate me to finish more yarns. Thanks

COMPANION BLOGS:

BALAAM'S ASS SPEAKS
Controversy and issues for Christians and sinners

BALED HAY
Satire and sarcasm in the interest of comic relief

DAS FORTE MUSIC
Strange and wonderful music is served up with impunity

HILL COUNTRY FISHING RODS
Blog of Mike Van Nattan

KAYAK CAT
Mike and Sarah and Shadow go fishing

THE COTTON APRON
Mary's blog for keepers at home

DAN VAN NATTAN'S BLOG

EXPATRIATE WOG
Old Anglo Saxon "wogs" from British Empire days

Someone in the hut has the short-wave radio on.

Tap on the door, say "Hodi,"wait to hear "karibuni," and you may enter and hear the Mwanza Town Choir singing. Enter with many Jambos and quiet kindnesses, and you will be invited to stay for chai and mandazi (fried corn fritters).

My Daddy recorded the
Mwanza Town Choir
in the 1970s. He played
the bass in those days.
Mwanza is a small sleepy
but industrious city at the
south tip of Lake Victoria
in Tanzania.

This man lived there, and this man still loves the music of the saints in Mwanza.

If my Lord let me live out the whole of his coming Messianic Kingdom in Tanzania, I would be happy for one thousand years.

Listen to the Mwanza Town Choir as you visit here.

More African Music on this site

Nostalgia for 1950s BBC junkies

REVENGE FOR A NASTY TRICK ON ME
Herbie Lyon and Karl Uline and the trick they tried to play

AROUND THE WORLD (KIAMBU, KENYA)
ON BOBBY HOLLENBECK'S BIKE
An adventure in the Hills above Kijabe mission station and a visit with an old Kikuyu shop owner

MY CAREER AS A ROCKET SCIENTIST
Bob Capen and I launch an experimental rocket and nearly light the forest on fire.

HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS....
An account of my days during the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya

MY KEEPERS
Staff and dorm parents at Rift Valley Academy

RVA FOOD Strange things-- Wonderful things

BULL DOG, MUD FIGHTS--
Dinky toys, nyabs, and hill climbing

Steve's Yarns-- All those years growing up and living in Oklahoma, California, Arizona, Texas, and Africa..... Ain't done growing up 'til I get over on the other side :-)

YARNS-- Home Spun and TrueWith slight improvementsBy Steve Van NattanAn expatriate Wog with a story to tell

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GROWING UP IN AFRICA

THE LEGENDARY MISSIONARY GUEST HOUSEIncluding Mission Headquarters Facilities with a discussion of missionary culture

CONTEMPLATIONS FROM MY PASTThere are those special moments in life when we stood still and thought and wondered. This article is a work in progress, but what there is should be incriminating.

MY EXPERIENCE AS A WORLD CLASS TREE HUGGER"Trees I have Known"

SKIP TO ME LOOStories about elimination adventures in Africa and discussions of other poopish ventures. This is an editorial diversion where I try to mention the unmentionable so that we can all eliminate better.

THE DAY THE FAT LADY SANGMy experience on the HMS Mauritania

LIVING WITHOUT THE GREENSWe had no idea there was a green way to do things back yonder. You decide who had it right.

BBC- A NOSTALGIC LOOK BACK IN TIMEAnd Willis Conover of Voice of America Jazz Hour

THE AFRICAN ADVANTAGE-- An African view of White Race SophisticationThis article is finally complete

AZIZ AND AKBAR-- Muslims who were not the enemy

BABOONS-- The Smartest Apes in the World

EGGS-- Buying them and tithing them

FETCHING THE MAIL-- A rite of passage I experienced

PAUL BEVERLY takes me on a bicycle ride.

HAM BY MAIL Or, The Ham that crawled in from the cold.

PINCHING ANTS-- Keep moving

AFRICANS I HAVE KNOWN

GROWING UP IN THE USABefore and after life in Africa

If you would like a particular yarn from the list below, SEND MAIL, and I will see what I can do.

VAN NATTAN FAMILY TALES

A NEW YARN BY STEVEStevie recalls his day in Briartown, Oklahoma.Tales of survival and sweet memories.

STORY TELLINGBy Steve Van NattanLearn how to use stories to teach and preach and to simply become more interesting to your friends.

A MACHINE AND HALF A HOLE-- Life in Tennessee

SINGING BASS, AN ADOLESCENT RITE OF PASSAGEThe day when a boy can sing double bass during hymn singing

REVENGE FOR A NASTY TRICK ON MEHerbie Lyon and Karl Uline and the trick they tried to play

TRAVELING BY RAIL AND BY LAKE STEAMER IN AFRICA-- FOUR PART SERIES COMPLETE

AROUND THE WORLD (KIAMBU, KENYA) ON BOBBY HOLLENBECK'S BIKEAn adventure in the Hills above Kijabe mission station and a visit with an old Kikuyu shop owner

MY CAREER AS A ROCKET SCIENTISTBob Capen and I launch an experimental rocket and nearly light the forest on fire.

HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS....An account of my days during the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya

MY KEEPERSStaff and dorm parents at Rift Valley Academy

THE STORY OF MOUNT LONGONOT-- My adventure with Bob Capen

RVA FOOD Strange things-- Wonderful things

BULL DOG, MUD FIGHTS--Dinky toys, nyabs, and hill climbing

COLONEL KAPUSTA- MONSIGNOR AND ARMY CHAPLAINA hilarious story from Steve's days in the US Army serving as a Chaplain's Assistant

PASTORING ADVENTURES

BRIGHT SPOTS DURING DARK DAYSBy Steve Van NattanWe look at the exceptions to the "Five steps of soul winning." Unlikely people, in unlikely places, with unlikely faith.

THE SEVEN CYLINDER PONTIAC-- Adventures with devils

ORRIE COCHRANE--A man of exceptional zeal for Christ

PIANO TUNING YEARSIncluding Michigan, Arizona, Tennessee, and Texas

GARDEN PLOTS

MISSIONARY DAYSTales from the missionary days of Steve and Elizabeth in Ethiopia and Kenya

THE CHURCH MUST BE LIKE A BEE HIVEA story of God's help in talking to Ethiopian church leaders

MERV ROSELL and the four ships

TALES FROM THE WEB JOURNAL

BOOKS I HAVE READ

ONE OFF THINGS I HAVE DONE

RESTAURANTS AND FOOD ALONG THE WAY

(Make a page for the following)

USA

ETHIOPIA

KENYA

TANZANIA

NOTICE: If you wish to communicate with me by phone, call: 512 673-3309I am particularly eager to talk about African issues if you think of one that needs attention.

YET ANOTHER NOTICE: This is not the last notice, mind you, so check back every day to see what I finally put here. It may be urgent.

FINAL NOTICE:See "YET ANOTHER NOTICE" just above please.

Steve's Yarns-- All those years growing up
and living in Oklahoma, California, Arizona,
Texas, and Africa..... Ain't done growing up
'til I get over on the other side :-)

YARNS--
Home Spun and True
With slight improvements

By Steve Van Nattan
An expatriate Wog with a story to tell

THE LEGENDARY MISSIONARY GUEST HOUSE
Including Mission Headquarters Facilities with a discussion of missionary culture

CONTEMPLATIONS FROM MY PAST
There are those special moments in life when we stood still and thought and wondered. This article is a work in progress, but what there is should be incriminating.

MY EXPERIENCE AS A
WORLD CLASS TREE HUGGER
"Trees I have Known"

SKIP TO ME LOO
Stories about elimination adventures in Africa and discussions of other poopish ventures. This is an editorial diversion where I try to mention the unmentionable so that we can all eliminate better.

THE DAY THE FAT LADY SANG
My experience on the HMS Mauritania

LIVING WITHOUT THE GREENS
We had no idea there was a green way to do things back yonder. You decide who had it right.

BBC- A NOSTALGIC LOOK BACK IN TIME
And Willis Conover of Voice of America Jazz Hour

THE AFRICAN ADVANTAGE--
An African view of White Race Sophistication
This article is finally complete

FETCHING THE MAIL--
A rite of passage I experienced

GROWING UP IN THE USA
Before and after life in Africa

A NEW YARN BY STEVE
Stevie recalls his day in Briartown, Oklahoma.
Tales of survival and sweet memories.

STORY TELLING
By Steve Van Nattan
Learn how to use stories to teach and preach and to simply become more interesting to your friends.

SINGING BASS, AN ADOLESCENT
RITE OF PASSAGE
The day when a boy can sing double bass during hymn singing

REVENGE FOR A NASTY TRICK ON ME
Herbie Lyon and Karl Uline and the trick they tried to play

TRAVELING BY RAIL AND BY LAKE
STEAMER IN AFRICA--
FOUR PART SERIES COMPLETE

AROUND THE WORLD (KIAMBU, KENYA)
ON BOBBY HOLLENBECK'S BIKE
An adventure in the Hills above Kijabe mission station and a visit with an old Kikuyu shop owner

MY CAREER AS A ROCKET SCIENTIST
Bob Capen and I launch an experimental rocket and nearly light the forest on fire.

HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS....
An account of my days during the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya

MY KEEPERS
Staff and dorm parents at Rift Valley Academy

THE STORY OF MOUNT LONGONOT--
My adventure with Bob Capen

BULL DOG, MUD FIGHTS--
Dinky toys, nyabs, and hill climbing

COLONEL KAPUSTA-
MONSIGNOR AND ARMY CHAPLAIN
A hilarious story from Steve's days in the US Army serving as a Chaplain's Assistant

BRIGHT SPOTS DURING DARK DAYS
By Steve Van Nattan
We look at the exceptions to the "Five steps of soul winning."
Unlikely people, in unlikely places, with unlikely faith.

THE SEVEN CYLINDER PONTIAC--
Adventures with devils

ORRIE COCHRANE--
A man of exceptional zeal for Christ

PIANO TUNING YEARS
Including Michigan, Arizona, Tennessee, and Texas

MISSIONARY DAYS
Tales from the missionary days of Steve and Elizabeth in Ethiopia and Kenya

THE CHURCH MUST BE LIKE A BEE HIVE
A story of God's help in talking to Ethiopian church leaders

NOTICE:
If you wish to communicate with me by phone, call: 512 673-3309
I am particularly eager to talk about African issues if you think of one that needs attention.

YET ANOTHER NOTICE:
This is not the last notice, mind you, so check back every day to see what I finally put here. It may be urgent.

FINAL NOTICE:
See "YET ANOTHER NOTICE" just above please.