Some of My Favorite People (Part 1 / Bob the Mechanic)

When I look back on my favorite people, they all have a different story … with the same message.

My Uncle Jim & Aunt Mamie, Grandpa Coll, Grandpa & Grandma Parry, Uncle Lyle (just to name a few), and Bob the mechanic.

Bob has been my mechanic for over thirty years.  He has taught me a lot about cars, but much more about life.

In all the time that I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him lose his temper; and as a younger family man, I remember how hard that was when you’re trying to balance family responsibilities and job pressures.

One day, I asked him about it. He told me that the secret was to only work half days.

Half days? I didn’t get it. I mean, over the years I have always dropped off my car off to him for repairs before 7AM, took his loaner car and left. I also knew that he worked well into the evenings, as well. He looked at the puzzled expression on my said, “Well, like I said– half days. That’s 12 hours isn’t it Fred?

That Bob… he was the funny one!

Another time, my wife gingerly drove our car into his extremely busy corner garage.  She had parts of the muffler system dragging on the ground. Bob stopped everything that he was doing, took her car in, fixed it all up and sent her on her way in no time at all.

A few days later, when I dropped in to thank him, I asked him how he was able to just stop everything he was doing like that when his shop was already full of cars he and his staff were working on. He simply said that if it had been his wife who was in a similar situation, he’d like to think that some other mechanic would do the same thing.

A lot of folks will tell you their philosophy on how to lead a good life, and Bob is no exception.  But saying it and living it are two different things.

         fredparry.ca