O is for Obsessive
Oliver was obsessed. And not like anyone else that I have ever met with an obsession. His quirk was that he was obsessed with the letter “O”. “O” had meaning for him because of his name, Oliver Owen Oppenheim. He constantly reminded everyone, “Clearly my parents had something special in mind for me when they named me, beginning all my names with the letter O. To honor them I cherish anything that starts with O.” I should mention that Oliver’s parents’ names were Oscar and Opal (née Opal Ostropen).
Oliver lived in an orange house in Oklahoma. Everyone told him that he should repaint the house a different color to fit in with the neighborhood; that it was a terrible color; that it was an eyesore to the community. But he just shrugged it off. “This is the house I grew up in. I chose the color orange so that it would remind me of the sun coming up in the morning and of the golden sunset that I look forward to each night. It also makes my house stand out in the neighborhood, so it can easily be found should someone need to visit me. It has purpose.”
Oliver starts each day with his usual ordinary obligations. He eats a hearty breakfast of oatmeal or an omelet. Offers leftovers to his pet owl, “Owly”. Overlooks any household chores he has to do. Don’t even look at his oven. He’ll sit down on the ottoman in the outer terrace and uses a Ouija board to predict the outcome for his day. Usually, he’ll wear one of his many Oleg Cassini sweaters over his Old Navy jeans. When it is overcast, he makes sure to put on his overshoes and overcoat before leaving for work.
He commutes to his office in Oklahoma City, where he works as an organizational observer of obscure objects related to oceanography. This allows him to take frequent trips to his offsite, oceanfront outlet in Oregon. Which is, in fact, where he got his pet otter, aptly named “Outdoor Ollie”.
Oliver also loves music. He plays both the oboe and an ocarina; not at the same time, of course. His favorite conductor has always been Otto Klemperer and he enjoys the music of Offenbach, especially Offenbach’s operettas. He’s kind of a folk/country music junkie too. His favorite singers include Odetta, Phil Ochs, the Oakridge Boys, Buck Owens, and The Osmonds.
If I could describe Oliver in two words, I would say that he is an optimistic oddball. But aren’t we all, at least a little bit? After all, my parents named me Harvey Heilbrun. I had an uncle named Hugo and the first instrument I taught myself to play was a harmonica, honestly. And I’m not obsessed at all.
