Duane Ausherman has been my godfather since birth. He was my parents’ true and trusted friend before I was born. My family lived in a very rural area, so I was not exposed to much. When I was 13, I went on the first of many summer trips with Duane between school years. I got to meet many people, all very smart, interesting, and even famous. He changed my life in so many ways that I couldn’t even begin to explain here.
Summer 1979
This was quite a trip, one that would change my life forever. Fresh out of 7th grade, full of energy and curiosity, I had never been west of Arkansas, except for a trip as a small child. Like most 13-year-olds, I was naive to the world’s ways, but that would change over the next 3 summers. This is a brief account of my first summer trip spent with my Godfather, Duane Ausherman.
This summer would prove to be one of my life’s most enlightening and exciting experiences.
We traveled from the stockyards of Kansas to Pikes Peak in Colorado, to the Great Salt Lake, to the Nevada desert, and to beautiful northern California. From meeting aunts and uncles I had never met to visit the Queen Mary and Disneyland to roller skating on the beach in Santa Monica with dear friends. At a real Wild West show in Colorado, I was taken on stage as a volunteer in a major part of the act by one of Duane’s friends, Jim Durham, the star gunfighter.
We left the hot and dry western Arkansas hills in a small Toyota truck with California as the destination. My return trip would be on an airplane, my first, and by myself. The plan was to take about ten days to get to the West Coast, where we would continue to travel, visit, and explore. Much to my amazement, we didn’t stay at a single motel or campground the entire way. We stayed with friends and family in Duane’s vast network, with whom I stayed in contact. Each one of these places held unique and interesting things to learn and people to meet. Everywhere we stayed, the people were so nice and hospitable. I got to hear about, discuss, and see all sorts of neat things from interesting people, all of whom greatly impacted me. From people who fly airplanes, build custom motorcycles, travel the world, own businesses, and even stuntmen, to name a few. This instilled in me a sense of drive and motivation. I also hiked mountains, rode ATVs and antique motorcycles, rode trains, flew on planes, swam in the ocean, and helped navigate big cities, just to name a few.
I came back to Arkansas a very different and much more educated 13-year-old boy. I could not wait to experience the world even more the next summer.
We traveled to many places, including Glacier National Park, Old Faithful, Yellowstone, Idaho, Oregon, California, and even Canada. We spent some time at Fort Bidwell, CA, Duane’s remote motorcycle shop/museum. One of the highlights here for me was riding one of Duane’s three antique R52 1928 BMW motorcycles; yes, he had three running motorcycles of that model.
This was also a great area to fly small planes in and out of, which we did in Duane’s airplane. I also got to drive a lot this summer. Getting my license the following year was a breeze as I had more open-road driving and riding experience than any other kid I knew.
Duane helped shape me into the independent, successful businessperson that I am today. He has a great network of people and has always shared it with me. I trust him to help others as he did me if only they are willing to open up to the vast possibilities.
In 2012, I lost my dad. Old age, cancer, and COVID-19 have taken several of my mentors since then.
As I grow older, I am ever more grateful for these men who took the time to show me how the world works, how to move and speak when I was out of my comfort zone, men who valued me enough to teach me what they had learned and thought was important.
My wife, the therapist and information junkie, told me that at-risk children – even those with the worst odds – are far more likely to be mentally, emotionally, and socially healthy if they have just one supportive relationship with a caring adult sometime in their childhood. I was not an at-risk kid, at least not in the way measured by that study. But what I knew of the outside world in the late 1970s was limited by the border around our tiny black and white TV screen (not totally limited – my brother and I were all eyes and ears when the hippies from The Farm dropped in now and then.) Mom was a kindergarten teacher, and Dad may have been the original “stay-at-home dad,” taming our wild 40-acre piece of the Ozarks and putting dinner on the table when we all rolled in after the 1-hr drive home from school.
Duane opened up my tiny world and showed me a wonderland in Technicolor. At the same time, he validated and reinforced lessons that his friend, my dad, taught me. Tenacious, frugal, methodical, and
willing to do really hard things, these men taught me to be accountable for my behavior,
responsible with money and time, and to pay attention to my surroundings. Duane swept me
away to California at age 14 and began to teach me how to do the thing that no person I have
ever met does better – relationship-building. It is Duane who showed me how to connect with
people, hear the stories around me, keep relationships alive, and use them to enrich my life.
After I moved back to Arkansas from California in 1986, I did not storm into town with big
dreams, ready to make connections and money. I spent a decade playing rock-n-roll and
managing a band, delivering refrigerators, riding motorcycles, building relationships (like Duane,
some were business, many were a pleasure), and getting my associate’s degree at the
community college.
I didn’t start MAXX Communications until I was 40. Like my back-to-the-land parents chose to do, I live with my wife in a rural area in Northwest Arkansas, trading convenience for the daily commute and higher fuel bills. Working part of the week from home in the Boston Mountains of the Ozarks and the rest out in the field as an IT contractor- I manage my own time (another lesson from Duane) and have explored nearly every road in Northwest Arkansas – BMW on blacktop, Honda on dirt – many with my lovely wife behind me.
Duane and I traveled all over the western U.S. A. during my teenage summers, staying in
peoples’ homes who welcomed us like family. I had no choice but to come out of my shell, use
my manners, and learn how to converse with strangers. Duane’s mentorship taught me to stay in touch with people, remember their names and stories, and keep connections alive. Now, my small business maintains decade-long contract relationships with corporate giants, old-money banks, school systems, and local business owners. I’ve met the most amazing and interesting people with fantastic stories to share. I have worked crazy places (maybe not as wild as the places Duane’s work took him), and have become part of the scenery in some, and bonded with at least two office cats and a volunteer Santa Clause.
Connecting with people continues to serve me well as a homeowner. Our property is on the side
of a steep mountain and requires a lot of dirt and tree work just to maintain the driveway,
drainage, and erosion, so, just like Duane taught me, I have connected to a wide network of
neighbors and tradesfolk who work for cash, barter, trade, or my wife’s banana bread. I still play
in a couple of bands, and while I don’t call myself a songwriter, I’ve contributed to some good
ones. Those relationships I’ve built keep MAXX Communications busier than I’d like to be some
days, but I’m not complaining. I wouldn’t want any other boss than myself. Thanks,
Dan Gordon