The Absent Uncle: A day to remember
Last week, I passed the eighth anniversary of a day that changed a lot of things (and now in retrospect for a lot of people). I went back into my writings – sort of a diary that I kept haphazardly in those days – to refresh myself with the facts of the matter and was pleased that: No. 1– I had written a pretty good description of my state of mind; No. 2 – that it was a pretty complete factual record of the event and the few days following.
In 2018 I was doing management consulting for a customer in Louisiana. The business owner had a number of school bus contracts that were in various stages of success (or lack of) and had engaged my help to make sure the 2018-19 school year was not a repeat of 2017-18. My wife and I were still living in the Wichita, Kan. Area, and I had been on site in Louisiana trying to figure out a plan of action.
The school year had just finished, and I had a lot of catch-up maintenance to do on our property when I returned home, plus develop the next steps for my client. In the school bus business, you have to start to plan the summer activities during the spring to have any hope to make significant changes for the following year and I had the plan – but now it was the time to execute it.
Long story short – was busy doing my stuff, thinking client stuff, and it was time for dinner.
From the diary:
“Found some pork chops and fresh sweet corn that I thought would make an ideal dinner.
Got back home, put the groceries away and began to prepare the pork chops for grilling and the sweet corn for a simple boil in water.
Pulled the grill out, prepared it for use, and started the preheat between 5:30 and 6. Started the water heating about the same time.
Timing is everything and I have become very regimented in making sure the meat gets cooked evenly and not dried out. On pork chops this thick, grill as hot as possible, 8 minutes (16 minutes total) a side – turning every 4 minutes. Sweet corn immersed in boiling water and left to boil 5 minutes after water begins boiling again. Under control.
Around 6:25 I let Sherrill know that dinner was almost ready to serve, turned off the burner under the sweet corn, and went out to the garage to retrieve the almost ready pork chops. Counted down the minute to just past the target finish time and put the chops on a plate and covered. The pork chops were beautiful!
Turned off the grill, picked up the covered plate, grilling spatula, and started back across the garage to go back into the house. Hurry up; must serve them grilled hot.
Stepped around the front of Sherrill’s car, took another step or two … (and now I pick up a narrative from a dream I had a few days later in the week) … my right foot catches on the back of my left leg tripping me. Because of the quick pace I am on, I launch myself forward, barely miss the front bumper of the car, and land on my right forehead just above the eye (glasses bent and badly scratched), then my right shoulder, and the rest of my torso lands pushing me into the cement floor, and as I find out the following day, fracturing my T-12 vertebrae.
The next few days were a blur of pain, medication, braces, an incredible stroke of luck, and a realization that I had to really change the way I worked.
I couldn’t be hands on – doing what others would have to learn to do, over the phone. I had to be the guy in charge and hold people accountable from a distance.
Well – it worked. People (and I) grew skills and we had a pretty good school start up. Customers held me accountable from a distance, and I did the same.
