Sunday musings…6/2/19
1) Nature. It’s messy. The Avon Lake eagles dined on duck this morning. Hoping it’s not one of the mallards who routinely dine at Casa Blanco.
2) Equus. I continue to marvel that the horse, in all of its various forms, has survived its introduction to humans. Indeed, one of the equestrians I accompanied to a show this weekend shares my amazement.
“We’re talking about a 1200 pound prey animal with a tongue bigger than its brain. How are they still here?”
3) Mookie. Bill Buckner, unfairly cast as one of the greatest goats (as opposed to GOATS) of all time for his error in game 6 of the 1986 World Series, passed away this week at the age of 69. He accepted his fault in the game changing error that allowed the Mets’ Mookie Wilson to reach first base and thereby drive in the winning run. Buckner handled the situation with grace and humor, at least publicly, for the rest of his life.
Mookie for his part held from the beginning and never wavered from his position that he would have beaten out the grounder even if Buckner had cleanly fielded the ball. Buckner you see was injured. “Of course I would have been safe; I had two good legs and he only had one.” I wonder, was Wilson offering Buckner an out? Allowing him space to shed the burden of prolonging the Red Sox Series jinx? Baseball is known not only for its characters but also for being the home for men of great character. Think Hank Aaron or Jim Rice in the latter category. Could it be that Mookie Wilson was an example of both?
That’s gonna be my take from now on. That Mookie Wilson offered a lifeline to a worthy competitor, one who was too proud to take it when he was alive. I hope Mr. Wilson never changes his story.
4) Loyalty. On Wednesday this week my long-time practice partner hung up his spurs. Scott and I worked hand-in-glove as eye doctors for 20 years. Ours was an amazing team. When I zigged so did he; when he zagged, so did I. No one had to tell me what he said to a patient we were sharing, and he knew without a shred of doubt exactly what I was going to say when it was my turn to address someone who’d come to see us. It took about 2 days to figure out that our partnership would work, and neither one of us gave a moment’s thought to the possibility that it wouldn’t for 20 years.
Everyone should have someone who works with them in whom they can bestow unquestioning trust. Scott was 100% loyal to the success of our enterprise. He treated me and each of our co-workers as if we were friends he’d had since grade school. If you laid the “extra miles” he went end to end you’d circle the globe a few dozen times. In world where business search, often in vain, for some sort of secret sauce to motivate their workers at all levels, the only time I ever gave any thought to motivation Scott was when I tried (in vain) to figure out some way to convince him that it wasn’t time to retire. No one ever worked harder with me or for me.
So it’s off to a well-deserved retirement for my friend Scott and his wife Bonnie, one likely filled with extended trips to visit their basketful of grandchildren and following their beloved Buckeyes. Years ago I dubbed him “the nicest man since Ghandi.” He stayed that way every day for 20 years. You never let yourself think what your day-to-day work life will be without someone like that bouncing through the door each day. Monday starts a new chapter for all of us at our little business.
A little bit of each of our hearts have been retired as well, wrapped around the heart of the man who was the soul of SkyVision in a lasting, loving embrace.
I’ll see you next week…
This entry was posted on Sunday, June 2nd, 2019 at 8:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.