-
It Took 3 Guys...
Jul 30, 2023
My father, George Klusza Jr., passed back in 1997 at the age of 78. He never went to college and worked only two jobs his entire life. His first job, fresh out of high school, was for the local Acme grocery store. Except for his time serving in WWII, he spent 44 years with the New Jersey Natural Gas Co. before retiring in the early '80s.
He started out as the lowest ditch digger's helper and worked his way up through the ranks to retire as the Head Trainer for the gas company's appliance repair school. Yep - all the way through the '70s, in addition to the usual gas meters and pipline for repair and new construction, the gas company actually sold, installed and serviced appliances, grills and even gas post lights. Looking back, it's amazing the number of things he "field tested" at home! When he wasn't running a training session, he was also the company's defacto go-to guy, working on a number of projects not directly related to his regular duties.
One time in the late '60s, he was volunteered to work on a project to design a computer punch-card for data entry. Remember those? It was when the company first began using computers for inventory control, billing and other functions. I remember this because he ended up with two different punch-card designs and had to choose the one people new to computers could most easily learn to use. So, he showed them to me and asked which one I thought was easier to read. One clearly stood out to me as being not so visually confusing and therefore easier to read, so that's what I told him. He went with my choice because he thought if an 11 year-old kid can make sense of the thing, then an adult should. It was implimented successfully.
A few years later at around the age of 13 or so, I was helping him with a DIY home repair. As I watched him work, I was shocked when I suddenly realized just how little I knew about anything of value that would prepare me for life on my own. So, I asked him how he knew all this stuff. He replied "I don't. But I know how I want it to look when I'm finished, so I keep trying until I get it right."
The epiphany for me was that, even with successful people, it's OK to not know something. It's OK to admit it. It's not OK to let that stop you from trying, asking for help, or learning more about something on your own. Developing those skills are what allow us to grow as a person as well as professionally. This is especially true given that we all have access to the Internet, Youtube, as well as a host of other sources of information that my father never had. His sources were Life and the School of Hard Knocks. We have no excuses.
Dad was a Solution Provider - not just an employee or a parent. He either completed a project to his satisfaction, or recognized when to back off and call someone. He was never afraid to admit that he didn't know something, yet never let that deter him from learning and producing a result - both an attitude and skill apparently lacking in too many people today.
Why do I mention this? Because a few years after he retired, I went for a visit one day only to find him grumbling about something. When I asked, he told me he'd just found out that the company had to hire three people to do his old job. The applicants they were getting didn't seem to know how to do very much and apparently lacked the motivation to learn. He couldn't understand how or why people couldn't reason out what, to him, were the simplest of problems. In his words, "They couldn't think past the end of their nose." They expected to be spoon-fed everything. Being one of the generation he was complaining about, I wisely had no opinion on the matter. However, I knew I was more than a few steps ahead of those folks, because the lessons I learned from him were priceless.
Now in my late '60s, I still try to emulate his approach to life and things in general. Though I recognize that I am my own worst critic, I still don't think I'm as good at it as he was. But I don't let that stop me from trying!
![]("//site-5d9zkbce.dotezcdn.com/uploads/o/01bb34b5ff4648869a0d3403a7216593.jpg?v=230607050543")
Comments
-
Cheryl says (Aug 14, 2023):
A very wise man and very much like my father too. Thank you for sharing this story, I can't wait for part 2!
-
Pat says (Dec 27, 2025):
I love this blog about Grandpa. I forgot that I was sworn in the year he passed. When I came out of the Army, he talked to me more about his time in World War II. I didn't hurt that I was assigned to an Engineer unit, same type as he was assigned to during the invasion of Europe. I do miss him and talking with him. I wish my younger cousins would have known him before he got sick. I was truly blessed to live near him towards the end of his life. can't wait for your part 2. Keep up the good work.
