OK Solberg: 00:00

I wanna again welcome you out of The 04:05 Coffee Break. Guys, nice weather out there. Get you a cup of coffee. Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Sprite, Squirt, bottle of water. Let's see what's happening.

OK Solberg: 00:14

Spring wheat $5.81 a bushel, 550lb steer calf all the way up to $5.02 a pound if they're shiny. Butcher Hog in Iowa 65¢ a pound. And a 100lb fat lamb in Billings $2.45 a pound. But guys, there's more, much more.

OK Solberg: 00:38

Listen to this bible verse. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. Proverbs 11:13 Yes, sir. Yes, sir. A trustworthy person keeps a secret and sometimes an untrustworthy person can be trusted at times.

OK Solberg: 01:01

Did you hear what I just said? I just said, yes. A trustworthy person keeps a secret and sometimes an untrustworthy person can be trusted at times. What do you mean, Orvin? What do you mean?

OK Solberg: 01:14

Well, that's the story I have to tell you today. In the fall of 2002, I went to work at Northern Montana Youth Ranch up there by Whitewater. I like to say I was the administrator, but actually they had an administrator when I was hired. So I got coined with the title CEO. Anyway, I became the administrator and it's a challenge to keep the finances perking at a youth ranch.

OK Solberg: 01:45

1st off guys, you gotta remember there was someone on duty 24 hours a day. That means someone's getting paid for all hours of each and every day, and you probably know this, but few people work for free. So bottom line, it costs money. I wanna say another thing. To be a house parent and oversee 8 unruly boys takes a person with some very special talents.

OK Solberg: 02:15

Now since money was tight and I was the administrator, I had to see to it that there was always money to pay the bills. Well, that's not always easy. So here's one thing I did as a business strategy. When it came time to receive a boy from out of town, well, I'd talked to a probation officer while I talked to him all over the state of Montana. One thing that was often challenging for probation officers was lining up transportation from their town to the youth ranch.

OK Solberg: 02:48

Since it was challenging for them and, well, I needed the boys, I just said, I'll do it. I offered to drive the boys myself. I found it was a wonderful one on one tool to get to know them. Probation officers loved this. One less thing for them to line up.

OK Solberg: 03:07

Now I also realized the majority of the boys I'd pick up came out of jail. JDC, juvenile detention center. Now don't get me wrong. Not all boys were in JDC, but the majority of the ones I picked up came right straight out of jail. So it's time to pick up a boy named JC from Great Falls, Montana.

OK Solberg: 03:31

So I go to the facility, I check him out, treat him to a hamburger and a soft drink and maybe another burger, then we start driving from Great Falls back home. Well, I like to visit with the boys and I asked them about their stuff and we have us a good time. And this bantering is going back and forth and JC and I had great visit, a good great visit. A really good time. And we're rolling into Havre, Montana and I had me an idea.

OK Solberg: 04:03

I felt I could trust this young man even though I just picked him up out of jail. So we get into Havre and I pull over at a convenience store and I tell him I needed to use the bathroom and I'll be right back. And guys, I purposely left the keys to the car in the ignition. Now I know that's not classic textbook, but I had me a feeling. So I go inside, use the facilities, and come back, and well, we head out.

OK Solberg: 04:35

We get to the youth ranch and I get them checked in and I head home to Malta. Now a couple of weeks go by, sometime anyway, maybe 10 days, 2 weeks, something like that. And by this time JC knows me even better. And listen to what JC said to me because now we're friends, you know. We're having this good visit in the duplex at the Youth Ranch and he says, Orvin, I don't know if you realize that you left the keys in the ignition of your car when you stopped in Havre.

OK Solberg: 05:07

I said, oh, yes. I do remember, and I did it on purpose, and it was a test to see if you were worthy of investing any time in. JC, he says, I saw those keys hanging there, and I started to slide over in the seat. And then I realized to steal this car wouldn't be good to do to a guy who was so nice to me. Yep, guys.

OK Solberg: 05:37

And there the story ends. Our bible verse said a gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. And I added, a trustworthy person keeps a secret and sometimes an untrustworthy person can be trusted at times.

OK Solberg: 05:54

It all depends. So until next time. As you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.