45 years ago today was a very big day
for my parents.
I'm about to share a direct quote from
my dad, who remembers that morning in 1975. He was standing outside
of a new building and talking to himself. According to Chicky-poo,
he said “Okay, you dumb Finlander (one of his preferred terms for
himself), now you're going to have to work you a$$ off”. The new
building was the body shop by parents had just opened, Koski
Collision Center, and they had no idea 45 years ago today if it would
work out
Spoiler alert—it did. Over the next
two decades my parents poured their heart & soul into it to make
it the success that it became. And still is, actually, as it'
continues to go strong being run by my ex-brother and law and nephew.
I guess both my parents ended up
working their a$$es off.
I see different parts of parents in me,
my sister, and my brother. None of us seem to share the same parts,
with one exception—we all seem to have this incredible work ethic.
My sister is one of the owners of a grocery store, for gosh sakes.
My brother loves get his hands dirty and fix things or build things.
And I seem to have this habit of having three or four projects going
at once, whether I want to or not. And I can state without any doubt
that all comes, in part, from what my dad said standing in front of
that new building 45 years ago today. Or what my mom would tell me
when I was young and still at home, getting my start in radio, and
leaving to work an overnight shift--
“Do a good job tonight”. And I
always did my best.
In fact, to show you the work ethic my
parents have, they wanted to retire early, which is why they sold
Todd the shop in the mid 90s. They had plans to do all kinds of
things and have all kinds of different experiences. However (and I
do have to chuckle about this) they became so bored that they both
got jobs—my mom as a bookkeeper, and my dad as a certified
furniture installers. They kept doing that for another decade before
retiring-retiring.
To paraphrase something I said
Monday...parents these days.
Anyway, it all started 45 years ago
today. So on that note, happy work-anniversary Mom & Dad. And
thanks for setting such a good example.
****
Before I go, I have to show a picture
from that day 45 years ago--
For those of you who don't know, where
my parents body shop still sits is now surrounded by things like
Walmart, Starbucks, strip malls, and parking lots. But back then?
Trees. Nothing & nothing but
trees. I guess it shows just how much that part of Marquette has
changed since then.
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