2/16/01 Rudi’s Retirement

If you’ve been long time reader of this web site, they you’ll probably remember Rudy, the CBS machinist who was helping me fabricate my grille, but suffered a heart attack. I visited him last July to see him after surviving from a coma, but even with his miraculous recovery, Rudi could not continue his work with CBS. Today was his retirement party, and everyone at the Broadcast Center stopped by to wish him good luck in his future. It was a bittersweet good-bye because I knew how much that man loved to work in the CBS machine shop, and how the challenges of his work kept him going. His heart attack changed his life, and although he is very lucky to have survived it and made a recovery, the facilities he needed to continue working never came back. Human will power may help Rudi continue to improve, but today, we lost a great machinist.

I hope to continue visiting Rudi at his home because his wife feels that the outside contact will keep him motivated. I am hopeful more of his former self will be found on his slow path to recovery, so I will keep up the faith, but things like this truly makes you take a good hard look at what we’re doing with our lives!

Since I didn’t go up to the shop today so I could attend Rudi’s retirement party, I don’t have any restoration news to report. Sorry guys, but I promise I’ll get some work done soon!