Rick Osborne and Mary Kearney

00:02 My name is Rick Osborne. I am 54 years old today, is Saturday, July 24th, in Rochester, New York and my conversation partner is Mary. Koerner, Mary Kearney Kearney and she's my sister. And hello. My name is Mary Kearney and

00:26 I am 70 years old.

00:31 Today's date is July 24th, 2021, and I'm in Rochester, New York.

00:44 And my partner today is Rick Osborne. Who is my youngest brother?

00:53 And I want to talk to you today. My first question is, who has been the biggest influence on your life.

01:07 Mom.

01:09 I can't I can't really think of like any one person in particular.

01:17 I definitely will have to say, I mean, you definitely have been an influence on my life because you would like the first person in our family that you're the first person, I went to college, you know, and I think growing up at that time.

01:33 Just because, you know, I only have a 6th grade education and, you know, you just made it like my kids know, we're going to college and knew that.

01:49 At the time when I was growing up College wasn't one of those realistic goals. So just be, you know, a lot of people in the neighborhood. They didn't have anybody that wants a college. Like no one in my family, went to college but just by the fact that you actually went to college made me realize that. Okay, you know, that is something that is attainable and that's, you know, that's something that I can. You do Sky to even though I didn't plan on going to college but it was just a question of the other person have to be Jimmy, you know, you know.

02:32 Jimmy was great. He was brilliant. You know, he was just good at everything was great. But most everything he was good and he was somebody. I looked up to, he had a lot of term. He had a lot of personality, and he was just, you know, it is fortunate that. We said it like when he passed away, but I remember like me and Gary was

03:04 And it was like, you know people have like superheroes and things like that to us. Jenny was our superhero real. When we looked at him and just kind of

03:19 Wanted to just be right now. So yeah, he was he was a

03:24 Influential person in my life. So I'll see you in heaven. Of course, mom.

03:30 It has to be a mother. She was.

03:34 You know, my mom was very humble.

03:41 And I don't know, man. She was humble when she was kind of.

03:46 Patience and humble, she was patient. And she took what life gave her? And she never complained about it. And I think that kind of helped mold me into like, what I am is this, a lot of things that that happened, and, you know, you tried not to, you know, of course, you can be mad about. But, you know, she's always say, you know, you know, you know, it's meant to be things like that. So, you know, that it's one of those things that made me just kind of, you know, live my life that way where, you know, some things you have no control of and they act like they when they do and you can either

04:26 You know, except on the move on because sitting around and just you know, why you ain't in it. It's not going to help.

04:41 Oh, okay. So sorry. Jimmy. Jimmy is our is our brother. Jimmy is number.

04:50 4, is it a number?

04:54 His number 403, give me his number five. Number five.

05:11 No, he was 66. Yeah, he's my brother. He passed away. I don't know when he passed away.

05:18 2011, but he passed away of cancer and it was a heavy blow to all of us because I do know what it's amazing when you talk about him. And I really ain't no being a lot older than him. And you I kind of felt the same way about him. That, you know, I love all my brothers key. I was more partial to him because he was an exceptional person and he had that ability to our kind of pick up anything and understanding and he had this mechanical skill and he was very intelligent. And even though I remember,

06:18 She dropped out of high school.

06:22 In 10th Grade.

06:36 But is it here that he was to graduate he went and sat without any.

06:44 Studying, you know. Again, he didn't go to any program or anyting. He just signed up went took his g e d.

06:54 Exam and passed and brought it home. And gave it to Mom. And he said, I know you wanted all of us to graduate from high school so he gave it to her and

07:09 I just thought, wow, that's how she doing what was important. And and other reason that I ended up going to college, didn't have a lot to do with her because she stressed education. She really wanted us to have it, get the education that she was not able to get and even before you were born and and

07:51 Dad died when we were growing up. She was always.

08:00 They were always kind of we could hear them battling back and forth because he would say they don't have to keep them home today and help you so they can help you do what mom would say? No. No, these kids are going to school.

08:18 And Iris, and that's the thing that made me focused on getting as much education as I could. But, you know, you never answer the question of whose influence in your life, who was most important.

08:34 How to say?

08:36 Mom.

08:40 Is it now because of, you know, what kind of growing up and I saw her and, you know, how to how she was able to when he and I were all really young and there were all piano, we were there.

08:56 All these little kids, I was 12.

09:00 And she

09:04 Great stuff.

09:06 And we all made it through without.

09:13 Too many criminal record got out of it, straighten their lives up and they're very productive people today and that was because of her. So yeah, and the other one I received my uncle, Johnny forwarded me going to college financially at the time that I went. It didn't cost that much but I never had any money.

10:00 Because mom had all these kids.

10:08 Every time I came home, he would give me money to spend what's funny you say that. Cuz every time.

10:16 Every time I came home, I was having to go visit Louis and Claude Uncle clogged and my aunt Lois. She was always safe. Go see your uncle to go, see your uncle and Uncle Clyde and Aunt, Lois always give me a $50 bill. Do you know, even when I give me 20-25 between bail and my mother about $100 in my pocket and yeah, that's like 2 months worth the money back that, you know, so I can see that in our family. And you know, I wonder if she ever talk about anything that you did, everything was.

11:16 Always very quietly done. Never mom. She never bragged about anyting and I wonder if she

11:28 When we were gone about what we needed and how we were in school and how what we needed to man manage that she was really concerned. That we pay the tuition, but we didn't have a lot of spending money.

11:50 You have moved out, did you know decisions and movement? She was making sure you talk to me.

12:12 I just, I felt like, you know, she there was a little bit of resistance on her part, when I went off to college because she kind of wanted me to stay and help and help on the side. But I just said I had to make a decision and see for myself. That was not going to work. I wasn't wouldn't have been successful and I just kind of had to break away. So but I do but I only found out when she passed away. How important.

12:52 And how proud she was of me.

12:55 What it, what do you mean? You only respond to me about that? She was proud of me.

13:12 Of what I had done. She would she

13:17 She would just, you know, I knew quietly she would say. Yeah, you know what, I talk about to her about stuff that I was doing. She be gone, but when she passed away.

13:31 There were these people who came to me and they said you are married.

13:39 You didn't your mother. She was so proud of you. She talked to you about you all the time. And I never, I never felt that she felt that way about me because I always felt like I was kind of to do what I wanted to do, but she would always have had some needs also, but you know, it's funny that you said that because I can totally relate to that feeling only because being that being the youngest, I might have a different father than everyone else.

14:23 My father, in this sense, never told me, he was proud of me, even though, you know, he never told me to my face that he was proud of me and not one thing. I always kind of resented from him. I was always angry. I was like, you know, I have other siblings and it seemed like he did everything for them.

14:45 And it just came out with me. You know, I was the only one that I was just saying, I would say successful that went to college and did things, but he never just said, I'm proud of you. Always was I angry about that, it was him. And where's with Mom?

15:03 You know, Mom was she was around long enough to see me do stuff, see me graduate. And you know, of course, you know, when I had to take the TV show and she will be watching me play on TV. I'm so proud of you to always tell me that now so where her it was never a question, you know that she was proud of me and she would tell me that but with him, he never said it. So just hearing you say that. It's like I could I know exactly how that feels. I realize that she was very proud of me and I just wish you had kind of shared it with me before she passed away. But anyway,

15:52 Oh, that's enough of that. Is making me sad.

15:58 I guess, my next thing is.

16:03 What lessons did that Pig's mom and Jim teach you?

16:11 Well, I told you the lesson, mom told me was.

16:15 BH, just be patient.

16:19 It is funny late. I work with a group of kids. Now, for my in control and after-school program about Ashton say sexy, things like that. I wanted kids asked me like what's on the lessons life you've learned in life.

16:44 You know, that saying that good guys finish first? Now, I was feeling. I was just calling cuz I don't feel like that just part of me. Even though you tend to think that if you love a good life, you're good person. Good things that happened to you.

17:03 Sometimes it doesn't always happen, you know, and I've learned that their peers people that I know that I just mean nasty evil.

17:13 But great things happened to him, you know, like, why I like, how does this happen? You know? Cuz, you know, I don't want to get into religion or anything, but you start thinking that, you know, if you do all of these good things that it's supposed to be good if it makes you feel good, but I don't know if I come to realize that

17:48 Do is use me. Like, if I, if I go to the corner store and I see a little kid, you trying to buy some candy and it's creeping a quarter together. It makes me feel good because I remember I was at and I remember what it was like, when you don't have a cord or something, to go to the corner store and I'm trying to get stuff and, you know, like, you'll have enough money in there. I really want that and I'll pay for it and that that makes me feel good.

18:19 I don't know something. Some part of me. Always felt like, I guess you're right. Good guys, finish last. I know, I think it's fortunate that we kind of lost that now lost what that's been. So, you know, I haven't been feeling good about helping helping people as a whole society is not like that. You know, I realize pretty much the same that my mom kind of imparted that. Same thing to be to be patient, not to rush to jump into anything, take your time. And if something is meant for you and opportunity, they know they say opportunity only knocks ones, but no Opera.

19:19 Next more than once sometimes it knocks several times, but I think that's the one thing I kind of learned from her being very impulsive than kind of wanting things quick and and that got me into a lot of trouble. So I really appreciate when she was saying was like,

19:59 Sit yourself down, slow down, think about what you're doing. So.

20:05 Really one of the lessons. And I hope that I have kind of model that for my kids to my own kids because they always say your you take so long to do stuff. Stuff. Why you waiting? Why are you waiting? Why you taking so long? And I say to them this is this is why I don't do anything really bad. So just accepted.

20:41 One. It is kind of like that. It's kind of important but the I have three daughters and you know what? It's kind of impossible, but the other ones

20:51 A very, you know, that I got to analyze it and look at it before they make a decision. And to the point with some times. I second-guess myself too much instead of relying on my instincts and just just going with it, you know.

21:25 Because because I'm beginning. Like I age difference is, is is

21:30 A generation, it is a generation because when I was born, you were pretty much getting out of the house. Like, there's a 16-year gap. So when I was 4 years old used 20 Conn College, what was it? Like, can you, can you remember, like your earliest memory of your child, like the earliest?

21:51 Yes, I can remember going to kindergarten in Willows, La, tell me what that was like, it was. I remembered being really kind of very scary, but but also not.

22:14 Not as scary as some things I've experienced as an adult. Because I went into the into kindergarten and there were

22:24 All these everybody look like me and my fear was, I didn't know anybody and they wouldn't like me. And then I only went to that school for kindergarten.

22:39 But okay, so you, you talk about that school. This talk about,

22:46 Cuz I've been like doing those like a chronological history of interviewing everybody.

22:52 What tell me something you remember about?

22:56 Like your childhood like how old were you when y'all left when you guys left Memphis?

23:06 I think it's 1313. Yeah, and we stayed about a year ago year-and-a-half and then Uncle Claude and so I guess my question is do those entire 12 or 13 years? Tell me what that was. Like, growing up. We have fun, but we got to work, you know, too. Because you lived on a farm, produce Farm in exchange for a living there. We have to prepare some produce because Dad drove the truck and delivered it to the market. And We Are Family wasn't responsible for preparing.

24:06 Market, so we would have to come home from school. Do our homework and then prepare that produce and then we have some free time like on the maybe an hour or so before it got dark. And in on the, on the weekend.

24:32 After we get done at work, maybe half the day and then we would we would be like able to go out and play outside. So so, how was he? How is your judgment from? Like when, when your father died? Leaving Memphis? I'm coming to Rochester. Now. That was, that was

24:59 That was, that was another scary thing. And I remember when we first got here, Mom, enrolled Us in school. They were people in the school. Wanted to put us a year behind because they said we came from the south.

25:20 So obviously you don't know how much she got dressed up, like she was going to go to church. She had her. She dressed up. She put her hand on, she had on her best dress. She got her purse younger shoes. She walked up to that school. And she says, pointing to us.

25:51 He's in 10th Grade. She's in 8th grade. He's in it. And that's what grades are going to be in here.

26:04 And you know what? That's why crazy we were in. See where the boys behave like that, but then I realized she was she was pretty Sammy.

26:27 So yeah, I could see how that jump from the south to here will be big.

26:32 Why don't, you know when, but the thing about it was, it wasn't it there? A thing about it was, it was?

26:38 It was it was I felt like it was better in the South for us because when we went to school we were you know, those teachers treated us like we were their kids and even though parents learned a lot of parents weren't at the pictures with tell us. They would they had identified ranks in the kids and they would just say to us you're going to be my doctor, you're going to be my lawyer or you know, you're going to run this business for us and that was their way of telling us. We were going to be something and I think about doing something more with our lives and I didn't feel that when I came in here and not at all. So

27:38 How do you feel when you found out that Mom, was pregnant with me, where, you know what? I never knew she was until you came home. She had you.

28:00 And you know what? We were kind of naive. We were we were kids then we were sexually aware as we are her mom brought him over even though she was pregnant.

28:21 Well, I guess you're at work or not.

28:29 But you know, we got used to you. So I guess think that the whole grown-up that's a big chunk but throughout your life.

28:50 What, what were some of the? What are you most proud of? What's? What's up moment that you were like, really, really happy. When you felt just happiness, happy.

29:03 I think it was who is when I graduated from college. That was the happiest. Yeah, because, you know, everybody came to the graduation Squad mom and they were also remember that smile on her face when I graduated. And I have you ever seen that picture of me on the porch on our house on Gladstone with a cap and gown on? And that was probably something that I really wanted because I did not. I'm with somebody who didn't want it.

29:59 Didn't want to do hard labor anymore, and I wanted to be able to be independent and kind of take control have control of my life and not depend on somebody else to tell me.

30:16 How I was going to how I know what I could have. But I could not have how long I, you know, how long I could? I could take a break, we're making, you can dry out the stuff. I wanted to have that control.

30:40 If a purse and clearly, I mean, one of them work with graduating from college, which was

30:49 I mean, everybody came from here, to Molloy College was in a Long Island and it wasn't like clothes Lamborghini there. I remember. Yeah, I remember everybody's here and I just remembered that whole thing.

31:18 And I remember you bought me a suit. You love me as soon as my first suit, but I don't know what ninth grade, but, yeah, you bought me a suit and you said just to help you, you know, if like interviews and and different things and I and I remember Macy's 34th Street. I'll never forget, I was a flyer and I worked a different departments. And we always have to wear like a shirt and tie and I wear that suit one day to work, and I had to work in the women's shoe department elderly. Ladies came in here.

32:00 72, professional cook, for you. So proud of you. Yeah, I guess when the happiest was when when I had graduated from college. What was one of the saddest moments?

32:40 Jimmy died when he got me. The diagnosis that he had cancer. And I thought about how

33:03 It was in the fourth stage when it was discovered in bed. Maybe I'm trying to figure out why.

33:13 You couldn't have been discovered earlier because he never went to the doctor and that he

33:20 Neglected his health, he do. He could have changed. All of that.

33:28 I think, I don't know. I think it was for me. I mean, Jimmy Jimmy passed. It really did hurt only because the last year of his life. I was like there with him, my front row so to speak. I would take it to chemo and talk and unlike other family members except with him. I didn't go for the 3-hour. I'm just go and come back. I will bring my laptop and I would sit in the room with him. Watch TV with them. I will be editing stuff and we will talk. We had conversation. So for those three or four hours and he's getting chemo. I was actually talking to him and just spending time with them.

34:18 So that that one hurt. But of course with Mom that one. Just

34:24 I don't know. They always say, you know, you don't really go up to your mother. She lost her mother and things like that, but that's just kind of that was hit hard. That one hit real hard cuz it was so sudden. Yeah, but you know for me that was like, Mom, you know, she but she's she's only four years older than me when she died.

34:49 Ion.

34:54 I guess I I knew I had always thought in my mind that, you know, cuz we were all getting older and she was do that. You would pass away and try to think about that event happening. I know it was sudden and it was a shock, but I knew eventually she would pass away. So I mean, I know but I'm more conscious for me.

35:23 Yeah, okay. I got to change some of that cuz that's what that's going to put us in a place that we don't want to be in that place. So,

35:35 You know, we just came out of this pandemic, you know, just briefly cuz we kind of running out of time. What was your first taking a pandemic and like, how do you feel now? Well, I was scared really scared because of my age and, and I did have, you know, high blood pressure. And I did not want to that's not how I wanted to die and put it that way. So I kind of withdrew from everything and I tell you that was stuff. I thought I would talk to myself.

36:22 But and I decided from the first time I heard that there was going to be a vaccine. I was getting it and as soon as I could I got it, you know, I feel like everybody else. I was scared. But I remember having to get up at like 5 a.m. To go to the grocery store to get toilet, paper of all things, which is now, I'm like, why the hell do we have to go, right? People stocking up on, explain it to me why people were buying cases and cases of toilet paper. Scary movies. Like, is this the apocalypse? Is this really happening? You know, we can move forward, but I'm hoping that this new strain doesn't

37:17 Develop into something that over eyes are our vaccines.

37:29 So going forward with the storycorps that we're doing. What do you hope to accomplish? What did you want to accomplish? You know, I wanted something from about our family and and our lives to be available to

37:51 Some people in the future and family members in the future if, you know, cuz, you know, I got to know my grandparents on either side because they died when I was younger. And I don't I want to leave something behind for our future Generations. If they are looking to find out more about our family.

38:24 My daughter Jasmine is like really, really like

38:29 Looking at your family history. Yes, always calling me like, you know, about my brother and his son. So she's really been liking. Someone is looking research in the family, and I must admit a family members of Once Upon a Time. And I kind of backed away from you because I just got busy, but it's something I need to pick up and continue cuz I have the capability to tell the story in the documented and I put it in the back on, people can see from four years ago in Indiana right now.

39:12 On a toe ring cuz they get to the point now where I really can't interview though, maybe Catherine and I know. But yeah, I'm awake grandkids to see this and the feeling when I think that then I try to think past mom and dad and I don't know. I don't know. Anyting.

39:57 Show ya. Al Green so hopefully.

40:04 This has helped solve that hopefully.

40:08 Thank you for doing this with me and you're ready to do it for so long because I didn't storycorps. But when you mention it, I started doing research, and I was like, yeah, you know, this is something good to do. Thank you.