Thursday, June 22, 2023
I believe Jan Rockwell never met a stranger. When you met Jan you always came away with something worthwhile. If the meeting was in the hardware it might have been a washer, a bolt or an odd length of PVC pipe. "No charge. It's on the house." Jan was the Swiss Army Knife of friends. You are 30 miles down a wilderness road in Alaska with one flat tire, one spare tire and another tire going flat. If you have Jan, a roll of Duck Tape and a screw driver, you will come out okay. If you needed a smile, Jan had an endless supply of one liners. "Whatever floats your boat. Lord Luv a Duck. etc. etc." If you needed advice (or not) Jan was ready with words of wisdom. "Hey want a tip? Don't squat with your spurs on." If you really needed advice, Jan would listen without judgement, and help you find the right course to take. On our first trip to Tawas to visit Jan and Una, Jan took me to a local restaurant for breakfast. Jan introduced me to the ex-mayor, two local contractors, two Vets, three waitresses, the breakfast cook and the restaurant owner. Each person was introduced by first name and short commentary. "This is my favorite waitress. This is the hardest working cook in town." No matter how busy and harried the person, by the end of Jan's short introduction they were smiling. Before leaving the owner asked Jan if he would look at the screen door in the back of the kitchen and see if it could be fixed. Well, it was clear the door had been "fixed" several times. I volunteered an opinion that there wasn't much door to fix and it should be replaced with a new door. Jan just said, "If they replace it with a new door, I won't be able to come down here and fix it." Some screws, some wood, an hour of labor and the door was fixed, again. "No charge. It's on the house. Or, it's on the restaurant! Get it?" The restaurant owner not only got her door fixed but the assurance that this guy cared enough to go the extra mile. I got to spend an extra hour with my old friend. You may have gotten a couple of free washers or a toilet float and the feeling that "...this guy is special and he made me feel special". Yep, you met Jan Rockwell and that was worthwhile.
