The pleasure of working with competent people

I have been lucky enough to have worked with some very talented mechanics i my career. Guys with experience, Guys that will show some one how to, and why. One such fellow grew up in a junk yard in Mass. Worked with machinery all his life (well he is retired now, and he is still alive), That man could do more with a bungie cord than most could do with a complete stock room. Another guy that I have worked with drove the school bus when he was 16. Yep he had a bus drivers job while going to school. These Guys always seemed to know the easy way to do the most difficult tasks, and was never secretive about how it was done, Well they might let you flounder around a while at first, but they would eventually get around to telling you the "right" way to complete the task. Surely some of you guys had mentors that have helped you hone your craft, be it family members, friends, or coworkers. Some of you might appreciate these folks everyday, others, such as myself, sometimes need reminding of the good fortune we have had... Having said all that, I also have worked with a guy that is a mechanical genius, tremendous welder, and can figure how to get the most of a sheet of anything, be it steel or plywood, but he can't make very good personal decisions, and his finances are a mess. And at times, he can be crazier than a back house rat, but he is fun to work with.


tc

 

Met a few myself and very happy I did, but most you work with or meet today you ask how the hell did he get to be his age without killing himself or someone else.

 

When I was starting out I was fortunate to work with a guy that had done so many different things and was very willing to show you how to do something better. His favorite thing to do was watch you struggle with something for a while, and then come over and say "Want me to show you an easier way to do that?" I learned so much from that guy that I still use daily.

I've also have worked with others that I could'nt belive that they found thier way to work most days, including one guy that I often wondered why he was missing only one finger.

 

Couple of people come to mind--
Gene Akins, who taught me pretty much all I know about body work.
Seabron Brown, who was incredibly patient with the kid who liked to hang out at his garage after school and ask a million questions about whatever he was working on.
Arthur Richmond who was among the most brilliant people I have ever known. He lived in a shack without indoor plumbing in the middle of a junkyard full of really old stuff, mostly Fords of the '30s and '40s, did mechanic work until he was 91 years old and lived to be about 95. Little formal education but a mechanical and mathematical genius, knew more about astronomy than anybody I've ever known, could quote the Bible and Shakespeare at great length, one of the best troubleshooters I've ever seen, built some mighty fine and fast flatheads. If Arthur didn't like you, it didn't matter how much money you had to offer him for the parts you wanted; if he liked you, he was as likely as not to give it to you.