R o h l m a n ' s S i t e
Howdy folks, and welcome to my site...
My name is Lou, it's nice to meet you. Here's a brief bit about me and my interests, and I do update it from time to time. I'll keep it clean and avoid using pipeliner language here... to maintain a family friendly page. First and foremost, my beautiful girlfriend's name is Mary. She and I like to go out to dinner, then maybe shoot a game of pool, go to a dance if there's a good band in town (or elsewhere for that matter), visit with our friends and family or just have us a quiet evening at home together. She's a great influence on me and I love her with all my heart and soul.
Love 'ya, baby!
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My heroes in life are my wonderful parents and I've always idolized them. We lost my beloved dad in March 2002 after a long illness and I miss him dearly. And we lost my precious mom in October 2007; it's gonna take a very long time for me to get over that loss. I also have three terrific sisters that I love very much. I'm proud of my German heritage and the fact that I'm an American.
Dad farmed here in western Kansas for 45 years. As a boy and young man, I loved helping him out by driving tractor, planting and harvesting crops, doing maintenance work on the equipment and whatever else had to be done. Farming and ranching is a great way of life and I'm proud of all the hard work we did together over the years. Yeeeehaaww! Ride 'em cowboy!
These days, pipeline work takes up all my time and then some.
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My priorities are my girlfriend, my family and my job, but I enjoy various hobbies in my limited free time. I'm not a hunter, but I'm a damn good marksman and particularly enjoy target or skeet shooting with my pistols, rifles or shotguns.
You'll find me in a work shirt, Wrangler jeans and steel-toe cowboy boots 95% of the time (well, the boots 100% of the time, 'ya know?). But I'll slip on a nice cowboy shirt and a new pair of jeans on Saturday nights if I'm not working, and we'll... hit the dance floor! I prefer the simple things in life, how about you?
Other interests for me include firearm reconditioning, pocket knife collecting, rodeo buckle collecting and reading political-military/world history (particularly the World War One and Two eras). I also like playing electric guitar. I mostly like country music, especially Toby Keith, Van Zant, Chris LeDoux, Montgomery-Gentry and Big & Rich. But I also love classic rock 'n' roll and my favorite bands are the Doors, Eagles, Led Zep, BTO, Bad Company, ZZ Top and most of all the Rolling Stones. My favorite musician, Mick Taylor, is a great guitarist and played with the Stones in the 70's. He plays the most fluid, graceful lead lines of any guitarist I know. Damn sure wish I could play like that guy.
Mary and I took in the Stones concert in Wichita on October 1st , 2006. I hadn't seen them since July of '78 in Boulder, so it was a big deal to me. They didn't disappoint. The boys still know how to rock and it was the best stage show I've ever seen. Simply put, it was the best concert I've ever attended.
I'm a bit of a news junkie and try to stay up on current events. One of life's pleasures for me is a steaming pot of strong, black coffee and a big 'ol dip of fresh Copenhagen when I wake up to the day. I also enjoy grilling burgers or T-bones before kicking back to watch the History Channel, A&E Network, the UFC on the Spike Channel or any of the various Law and Order or CSI series. I finally got to meet, shake hands with and talk to one of my idols, Bill Kurtis (of CBS News and A&E fame) in July 2008. The man's even "cooler" in person than on TV. You rock, Bill!
After serving as a police officer for a couple of years, I've worked as a pipeliner in the oilfield / gasfield industry for 26 years and have held a bunch of different titles in the business including laborer, Roustabout, Utility Man, O/A, Senior Operator, Cross-Functional Technician and a slew of other jobs in between. I'm a blue-collar, steel-toe boot, hard hat wearin' kinda guy; the work is hard and the hours are long (days, nights, weekends, holidays), but I still manage to get out and kick up my heels from time to time.
Lou on the job, April 2002... oilfield / gasfield trash and proud of it
Here's a few links to some things I like and/or use and/or support, check 'em out:
You a roustabout, roughneck, welder or mechanic? Or maybe you just want a job in the oilfield / gasfield.
Here's 7 good places to start, men.
These sites may require registration or membership, and this line of work sure as hell isn't for everyone. But there's some good jobs listed, so take a look, and/or sign-up, to see if one of them might be right for you. Just don't plan on bein' home with your woman much.
Mary and myself in Houston, August 2008. We were waiting outside, for our table at a SaltGrass Steak House restaurant. Thanks for the photo, Vince.
From 1990 to 2000, I spent my weekends serving as the front doorman / bouncer at the Longhorn Saloon in Dodge City. It was the best and busiest cowboy saloon in western Kansas. I met a lot of good people at the Longhorn; most were local customers though some were on tour groups from the UK, Australia, Germany and elsewhere throughout the world. It was a great time for me and I developed a lot of good friendships, both with fellow employees and customers. Every night had it's problems (fights, more fights and still more fights), but I loved the challenge. Dukes up, dude!
A photo from my Longhorn days, taken May 1997. Staff members had their (official) pictures posted at the entrance of the club. But for this unofficial one, I clowned it up a bit, rolling up my sleeve and pretending to grimace while flexing. What a ham. Needless to say, this one was never posted. Note the required white dress shirt; bouncers had to wear 'em. Thanks for the photo, Jenn.
A quick "howdy" to my co-workers on the pipeline and their wives and/or girlfriends. They're a good group of men to work with and around. "Git'r done" boys.
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Born in Ford County, I'm a proud native Kansan.
Thanks for stoppin' by my site, folks.
- Lou
Thanks to 'address harvesters', we no longer have a direct link for e-mail here. But drop us a line at bull(@)pld.com to say howdy, make a comment, or maybe tell us a little bit about yourself. We'd like to hear from 'ya, and I don't bite.
Lou's site was updated August, 2008