Two things have happened this past week, one a source of sorrow and one a good thing. For the first, I found out that a fellow blogger, the host of the group blog "Alexandria--Crossroads of Civilization" had passed away in the last few weeks. He had invited me to join them back in 2010, and I blogged on that site for that year, along with this blog. I left because of family issues--it looked for a while like I would have to be taking care of my mother. That changed, but I was busy and did not go back there. Last year he emailed me, inviting me back. The group was smaller--only three of us rather than the dozen or so we had in 2010.
He had emailed me in mid-January saying he and his wife both had come down with Covid--he said it was mild so far. I checked back on the blog regularly, to see if he was back to writing--nothing. Last week I tracked down the third remaining author, and she had just found out he had passed away. Since he managed the postings and editing for the site, and was the owner of the URL, there probably is not much anyone can do to keep it going. The site is still online, but probably only until the next fees come due.
I will miss our discussions. I had been putting my posts on current politics over there. Now I have nowhere but here for those.
The other happening was a happier event. I was able to re-connect with an old boss and friend that I had worked for fifty years ago. I had not seen him since the mid-'80s. But I had done an online search and found his current address, and wrote him a letter.
At the time I met Ken, I was a senior in college, and working part-time. I had just been laid off after Christmas from a job at a discount store in Cincinnati. Somehow I got wind of a company hiring. It turned out to be a new startup franchise company, cleaning office buildings at night. I was the sixth person hired by the new company, and the second to last a full year. After two years, I took a post as assistant manager of the Indianapolis franchise. That did not work out--partly because of the local boss, partly because of problems in the franchise organization.
When I moved back to Cincinnati, Ken had left the organization too. He helped me get a janitor service of my own off the ground--not with money, but with potential customers and suppliers that he knew. I did that for twelve years, until I found my way into the home remodeling field.
But the big thing about Ken was that he modeled what it really meant to be a Christian in the business world. It was not about having fish emblems or crosses on your vehicle or business cards. It was not about going to the meetings of the Christian Business Mens' Committee or similar organizations. It was about how you treated your employees and your customers. One of my earliest posts here, from April 2007, was "Authority and Respect," about the difference between the temporary respect that comes with a position compared to the respect earned by good relations with others. That was one of my most important lessons from Ken. He never asked anyone to work harder than he did. He was not afraid to get his own hands dirty. He knew my job and could do it better than I could. His customers respected him because his word was good. His employees respected him because he treated them as well as he could.
He also taught me some basics about running a business. Back then there were no cell phones, and no such thing as voice mail. His rule was, if someone calls you on business, you get back to them within twenty-four hours. Years later, after I moved from Cincinnati to Dearborn County, IN, it seemed I was the only contractor in the county who always returned calls. He would not use an answering machine--he said people want to talk to a real person, not a recording. (I still think the modern computerized phone systems are the dumbest thing American business has ever done!)
Anyway, I thought about what I had learned from him all those years ago, and how it had helped me ever since. I managed to track down his current address, and I wrote a letter to tell him how what I learned from him had helped me, and that I still appreciated it. I put my current email and cell phone number at the bottom. Yesterday, he called me. He was touched that I still appreciated what I learned from him. We caught up on each other's families, where we are now, and other things. I think we both enjoyed the talk. I may find an excuse to go visit him later this year.
So, some sadness, and some joy. Not a bad week at that.
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