At the end of
March, my great friend Eddie announced he had finally made the transition from
semi to full retirement. He had spent most of adult life as a professional
handyman. This profession having grown out of his natural abilities and open
willingness to fix things. Eddie has always been smart, diligent, and honest.
He was a great handyman. And he has been a great friend.
His recent life
change made me think of the impact he has had on my life during our long
friendship. We met in the fall of 1980 when I was a freshman at Clemson and
Eddie was a Clemson graduate-turned-local only a few years older than I. Eddie
is best characterized by his easy smile, great laugh, and surprising depth of
character. We were both runners and that was what first characterized our
friendship. Through Eddie I was invited into a tight circle of local runners and
quickly felt accepted. Eddie and I brought this group of friends even closer
together by forming the OCTC (the Outta Control Track Club – a story worthy of
its own telling!). All this was enough to link us as friends throughout our
lives. There are so many stories about Eddie and my other friends within this
community that I could easily share, but right now I’d rather explore two
things that Eddie taught me that made me happy and often laugh, but in retrospect
also were important life lessons.
Eddie has
always been philosophical about life, disguising it with his enthusiastic
humor. Overall, I think his philosophy as I perceive it can be summed up by
enjoy the forest but don’t ignore the trees.
He expressed
the fundamentals of enjoy the forest through his favorite way of
describing the weather. During the Summer, he would tell me that the
temperature outside was Fine, Hot, or Fucking Hot. During the Winter, the days
could be described similarly – Fine, Cold, or Fucking Cold. This reminded me of
the “Sailors Barometer”, a piece of board with a strip of yarn attached to it
and the instructions:
- If yarn is flapping, it is windy
- If yarn is still, it is calm
- If yarn is wet, it is raining
- If yarn is frozen, it is cold
- Etc.
On the face of
it, Eddie’s pronouncement on weather was simply hilarious, but there is more to
it. There is an acknowledgement that some things don’t need detail. Some things
in fact are better off without detail. It may be 25o out, but how
does that feel? What does the number 25 tell you that is just as or more
expressive than cold or fucking cold? Nothing, in fact the number falls far
short! The precise detail is meaningless, adds nothing except to the pedant. Through
big picture thinking, much of life is enjoyed.
Eddie’s view of
not ignoring the trees came through in his attention to detail that made him
such a good handyman. I’m sure it plays a strong role in his being such a good
friend, husband, father, and now grandfather. His attention to detail can be
seen in his knowledge of automotive engines. Eddie was a great shade tree
mechanic. We shared a love of Volkswagen Beetles (though it seemed to me, Eddie
could fix any car not just a bug). He taught me to work on mine by letting me
help him work on mine when trouble raised its ugly head. He was a patient teacher
and worker. He knew what every little part did and shared that knowledge happily
with me. But he was also creative about projects, unafraid (in fact quite
enthusiastic) to jury rig a solution. The book wasn’t always necessary because
he knew how the bits all worked together. His confidence in these things made
me confident as well. From his inspiration, I modified the windshield washer in
my car successfully and on my own. On my ’73 Super Beetle, the windshield wash reservoir
worked off the spare tire. It was pressurized by the air in the spare. I didn’t
see how this was a good idea, so I bought a small DC pump, hooked it up to the
reservoir and sprayer, and wired up a switch in the dash. I’m still proud of
that and gladly give credit for my idea where credit is due, Eddie’s lessons.
Eddie has
touched my life in many ways. This has been just one important way that he has.
He helped me by example how to face the world with a smile, how to enjoy it,
and work with it. And it is something I have tried to pay forward to others. Thank
you, Eddie. Talk to you soon.
