by Vincent LeVine

Created on: April 28, 2008   Last Updated: November 06, 2008

I met Sam when I was just knee high to a grasshopper. He was my father's best friend. An imposing structure at six foot five and some two hundred and forty pounds, Sam could devour an entire pizza pie with ease. I was impressed! He was an electrician by trade, a mechanic by nature. Sam loved a mechanical challenge. And when he had solved a problem he always offered a lengthy explanation. His enormous knowledge of all things mechanical along with his incredible size, kept many a person captive for much longer than they could stand. I always enjoyed his enthusiasm and his willingness to share his knowledge. He offered advice freely and had a whole list of proverbs to quote from "A smart man learns from his mistakes. An even smarter man learns from the mistakes of others" was one of his favorites.

He was the most comfortable in work boots and Wrangler dungarees. Leaving his house however, was a big deal for him. He was a homebody who was forever tinkering around the house. Cars were just one of his mechanical interests. He dug and finished a pit in his garage so he could do automotive work without having to lie on his back. It was a fine pit too! If you asked he would let you use it. Along with the use of the pit came the use of his tools and of course Sam himself. You would start off doing the work yourself, but before you knew it Sam was doing it and you were watching the master at work. It was then that the twinkle in his blue eyes was the most noticeable

It seemed tall, large bodied guys were always expected to carry heavier things, do more back breaking work than the rest of the normal sized population. Somewhere in his forties this responsibility took it's toll and Sam found himself with a chronic back problem that eventually put him out on long-term disability. He would be a full time homebody from that point on.

When I first entered the trades I would frequent his house to talk shop. I remember him talking about the spring and how it had been his favorite time of year to work. He meant it to. Because of his disability his work had now been reduced to a hobby. He continued to search it out though, and enjoyed every part of it, bad back and all.

His advice to me, a young apprentice at the time, was that I should take the part of my job I have the most difficulty with and become the very best at it. This would make my life easier. I always think of him when I find myself mastering a skill that I once despised. He was right, it did get easier. He also told me

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