A great man is lost from this world. When I found out a week ago that my friend’s father passed away, I felt it fitting to write something of my experience with this man. I haven’t spoken directly with him in years, but his passing left me staggered all that weekend.
When I was 17 and looking for work with no real skills, he gave me a shot in his HVAC business. I remember my first day was a balmy one in mid-summer working with flex pipe in this little crawl space of a basement. George had remarked at how convenient it was for me to be starting, as it’d be a lot easier for someone my size to get in there and get the pipes connected. There are a few things we realized we’d forgotten to bring that day, but the team remarked that there hadn’t been any more room in the truck.
That was the first time I heard George say what would become something of a catch phrase. “Well, if you can’t truck it, fuck it,” he remarked coolly.
It’s made me smile every time I’ve thought of it throughout the years, but over time I came to realize the wisdom in it. We can’t always be prepared for everything, and overloading your truck in the attempt to prepare for every possible contingency is crazy. Take what you need, or what you’re pretty sure you’ll need, and stop stressing over everything else. George was always good about knowing what he’d need, and was also good at winging it when we didn’t have something.
He was one of those people that would surprise you with a piece of good advice in the middle of an otherwise ordinary conversation, but he was completely unpretentious about it so it always sounded like an offhanded remark. Maybe he did that to see if you were really paying attention, but more likely that was just the kind of guy he was.
Goodbye, George. I value my time knowing you.
