Howdy folks, welcome to my site. My name is Lou. I reside in the great state of Kansas and work as a Pipeliner.
|
Here's a brief bit about me and my interests. Most importantly to me, my beautiful and beloved wife's name is Mary. She's the best thing to happen to me and we are devoted to each other. We like going out to dinner frequently, maybe shoot a game of pool, go to a dance if there's a good band in town (or anywhere else, 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, makes me toe the line and I love her with all my heart and soul.
I'm proud of my German heritage and the fact that I'm an American.
My dad was a tenant farmer in western Kansas for 45 years. As a boy and young man, I liked helping him out by driving tractor, planting and harvesting crops, doing maintenance work on the old equipment and whatever else had to be done. I continued helping on the farm even after I started work in the oilfield. I just traded off my hardhat for my dusty old cowboy hat and went to work after a day on the pipeline. 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!
You'll find me in an FR uniform work shirt / jeans and big 'ol size 17 steel-toe work boots most of the time (well, the boots 100% of the time, 'ya know?). But I'll slip on a cowboy dress shirt on Saturday night, if I'm not working or on-call and we'll... hit the dance floor for some two-steppin', Lou-steppin' & swing dancin'. I prefer the simple things in life, how about you?
My priorities are my wife, my family and my job. Mary and I love spending time with our rambunctious, energetic grandsons whenever we can. I also enjoy various hobbies in my limited free time. I don't hunt, but I'm a damn good marksman and particularly like target or skeet shooting with my pistols, rifles or shotguns.
Other interests for me include firearm reconditioning, Benchmade knife collecting, rodeo buckle collecting and reading political, military and world history (particularly the World War I and II eras). I also play electric guitar and bass guitar. I mostly like country music, especially stuff by Toby Keith, Chris LeDoux, Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean and Brantley Gilbert. But I also love classic rock 'n' roll and my favorite bands are the Eagles, Led Zep, BTO, ZZ Top, Bad Company and most of all the Rolling Stones. My favorite musician is Mick Taylor, an exceptional guitarist who played with the Stones in the 70's and has returned as a guest on tours over the last decade. He plays the most fluid, graceful lead lines of any guitarist out there. I damn sure wish I could play like that guy. Jimmy Page, Bill Gibbons and the late Gary Richrath are also favorite guitarists.
I'm a bit of a news junkie and try to stay up on current events. I like a steaming pot of strong, black coffee and a big 'ol dip of fresh Copenhagen when I wake up to the day, watch the first half hour of the 5 AM TV news, then head out to work. After work, you'll find me tinkering on my old 2007 pickup truck or doing lawn work in the warmer months. I also enjoy working with hand and power tools; Craftsman is my favorite brand. Then I'll fire up the grill to cook up some burgers, brats or T-bones before we kick back to watch Hawaii 5-0, Magnum, Blue Bloods, FBI, the ION Channel or any of the various Law and Order, CSI or NCIS series in the evening. I'm a big fan of the old, black and white episodes of Gunsmoke as well, so I'll include the INSP Channel too.
|
By two old decommissioned V-16 cylinder, 900 RPM, 1,450 horsepower Superior engine/compressor units.
Early on, and even while helping on the farm, I worked full-time as a deputy Sheriff for two years. Then I switched gears and moved into pipeline work. I've worked as a pipeliner for 41 years and held a number of different titles over the years, from Laborer to Roustabout to Mechanic to Op-Tech and more titles in between. I'm just a blue collar, steel-toe boot, hard hat wearin' kinda guy. The oilfield is my kinda place. 
As an ex-cop, I have nothing but the highest regard for our men and women in blue. It's a high-risk job with everyday dangers. All law enforcement officers deserve our unwavering support, respect and positive cooperation, especially in this day and age.
|
Mary and I waiting outside for a table at a Saltgrass Steakhouse restaurant in Houston.
|
My official pic from the Longhorn Saloon. As part of an annual photo shoot there, the bartenders, waitresses, bouncers and other staff participated in individual and group photos. The men who worked security were instructed to place our left foot onto an empty, upside down 5-gallon plastic bucket and hold our Maglite flashlight as such.
The bouncer's mandatory uniform consisted of a provided white dress shirt with the man's name and the Longhorn logo and provided Rustlers. Boots and a cowboy hat were also required, but those were self-provided.... black felt for cool weather, straw for warm. Classic.
Throughout the 1990's, I spent my weekends as the front doorman/bouncer at the old Longhorn Saloon in downtown Dodge City. I sure miss the old place: it was the biggest, best and busiest cowboy bar in the western half of Kansas. I met a lot of good folks at the Longhorn; most were local customers but many were with tour groups from the UK, Australia, Germany and elsewhere throughout the world. It was a hangout for cowboys, bikers, packinghouse workers, roughnecks and fellow blue-collar workers of all types. It was a good time for me and I developed lasting friendships with co-workers and customers. At the club, I was mostly known as 'Bull', my nickname since middle school (or junior high as it was known when I attended). With my law enforcement background and at 6' 6" and 280#, Lou was a good fit for the job, physically and temperamentally. Despite this, each night had it's set of problems (fights, fights and more fights). But no problem, got it covered. Dukes up, fucker.
A cool 'sketch' shot taken at a family picnic a while back.
|
I would never be mistaken as a member of your local country club. Classism and a modern-day caste system are prevalent in our society, as I've experienced. I have high praise for my fellow rural folks; self-sufficiency, hard work and a lack of pretense are traits I admire. Working class people have always been my kind of folks... sturdy, reliable, down-to-earth.
|
Finger on the trigger.
Photo of a 1960's era 12 ga. Winchester model 1200 Defender pump-action shotgun that I had dismantled to individual, separate pieces, cleaned, restored and then re-built, wood stock and metal finish included. It was in rough shape when I got it, but with some time and effort it turned out perfect. I have this one in my collection years later and it's one of my most treasured long guns. I also have numerous .44 and .357 handguns and various caliber rifles that I refurbished over the years. Firearm care, proper handling and safety is my number one consideration. Taken on completion of the project, May 2004. Photo by Mary.
|
I tossed a couple of steaks on the Weber when I got home from work on a 100 degree day. Coolin' off in the breeze while they sizzled. Here, Lou looks like proverbial shirtless, uncircumcised oilfield trash personified. lol! Sometimes those old stereotypes from the past have truth to 'em.
Photo by Mary, August 2006.
Born in rural Ford County, I'm a proud native Kansan.
Thanks for stoppin' by the site, folks. God bless 'ya. Support your local animal shelter and/or Humane Society. We do.
A throwback photo from 2001 according to my notes, originally posted on the site in that year. In the shop building, talking through the next phase of a project. Shot was taken by my then-supervisor and he took a pic of each of us in the job "huddle" and later sent us our shot. It was, and is, my practice to write my name on my work gloves to prevent confusion of whose-is-whose if they're found laying on a piece of equipment or whatever. Tool board had a bit of everything, most things in the wrong place. Safety glasses were off during the short break. Two-way radio attached to my belt and frequently used in those days on the pipeline. No more. Now it's all about cell phones for communication. ____________________________________________________________________________________
A favorite day-trip for the wife and I is a visit to what I call the 'Red Hills' of Kansas. We hit the area once or twice a year, in different seasons. This spectacular scenery is located in Barber, Comanche and Clark counties in southwest and south central KS:
Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway (naturalkansas.org)
Gypsum Hills or Red Hills of Kansas (kansastravel.org)
Medicine Lodge rocks! __________________________________________________________________________________
Are you a welder, mechanic, truck driver, heavy equipment operator or general laborer? Or maybe you're looking for a change of pace from what you're doing now? Here's a few links to some sites with job openings on the pipeline and/or in the oilfield that might be right for you.
For pipeline, drilling and general onshore/offshore oilfield work, there are various sites to check including:
http://www.oilfieldworkers.com https://us.oilandgasjobsearch.com http://www.righands.com http://www.oiljobfinder.com/oilpipelinejobs.php http://www.rigzone.com/Jobs/
Other jobs may be available at company-specific sites by performing a simple Google or Bing search. ________________________________________________________________
I'm a customer of these outfits. I buy from FR Depot in-person at Deer Park and online. Other oilfield-related sites of varying non-job related content (clothing, ball caps, etc.) are:
FR Clothing | Fire Flame Resistant | FR Depot
https://www.roughneckcity.com https://www.customhardhats.com/oil-field-hard-hats Men | Workwear | Flame Resistant FR | Wrangler®
A very cold, very windy day on the pipeline, Nov 2018. Installing and welding pipe sleeves in Colorado.
____________________________________________________________________
Contact: lou@rohlman.us
No direct link here due to bots and address harvesters. Just copy and paste to send a message.
|
I use this section to change photos from time to time. This pic is from Summer 1991. Horseshoe mustaches were the thing at that point in time, so I shaved my goatee temporarily and went for the look, only to end up looking like Mr. Clean. Here, arriving at the Longhorn for a Friday night shift after a full day's work on the pipeline. If this photo doesn't validate my white trash credentials, nothing will. lol! Whatever muscles I might have had were earned by manual labor and were not gym-grown. : )
|
|
|
Title
Image
Body
Edit
Content Style
