My third year in the trade was a turning point in my career. I just couldn’t see it then. Before I joined the trade, I wanted to be an artist; I wanted to make people laugh. I had (still have) a passion for the arts. I was in show choir and barbershop quartet in high school. I wanted to move to New York and make it on SNL. I am a dreamer, and I have always dreamed big. As I’m writing this now, I can honestly say I’m finally bringing my dreams into fruition.

I felt like a fish out of water when I joined the trade and if I wanted proper training, I would have to fit in. I stopped talking about what made me and started talking about sports, nascar and beef jerky. Looking back on this, I didn’t fool anyone but myself. It took me a long time to be confrontable in my own skin, but I digress.

It was my third year in the trade and that’s when my foreman put me with Tony. I still remember walking over to him to introduce myself. I set my toolbox down on his material cart, ” Hi, my name is Jimmy Stu…”

Tony didn’t let me finish, “Nooo, noo no. That’s my material cart! you have to get your own.” This was Tony being helpful in his own way. He continued, “You see what kind of material I have on here? Take note. I want you to go downstairs and find yourself a material cart. When you get one, I want you to fill your cart with the same material I have. By the time you get back, it should be break time. Then you can introduce yourself. ” As I walked away, I wondered if I could even put up with this asshole.

Tony was a rough neck, red neck from Kentucky, that was his words, not mine. If you ask me, Tony looked like David Hasselhoff’s older brother. This image helped me deal with how stern Tony could be. Tony was close to retirement when I met him, and he was still walking around like he had something to prove. He worked for Meiner Electric years ago. People knew him there and he had a reputation of being a bad ass. Most guys steered clear of him, but some journeymen seemed to have a good rapport with Tony. I just wanted to make it through my apprenticeship, and I really didn’t like confrontation back then.

It turned out, Tony was a bit of a perfectionist, and the first few weeks were trial by fire. I still remember some of the random pop quizzes he would give me. In the middle of work, he would shout out questions and expect a quick answer. I would notice other guys staring and I just became that more nervous. Tony asked me in what direction does electrons move and without thinking, I shouted out, “From left to right!” Tony immediately started laughing. I knew that wasn’t the answer and I wasn’t happy anymore. At that moment I said something that surprised Tony and me both, “Screw you Tony! Why are you always putting me on the spot? I come to work to learn, not to be embarrassed.” With his own way of apologizing, Tony made a joke, “Everyone knows I’m a prince, spelled P-R-I-C-K. I was just trying to teach you. You have a lot of potential to be a great journeyman someday and it’s my job to get you there.”

As might be expected, working for Tony got a lot better. We started opening up to each other and that made the workday smoother. We swapped stories, told jokes, laughed about the shenanigans that happened on the job. Tony taught me so much about the trade. He said to work as hard as you can and not to worry about the deadlines. Tony said in this trade especially, we work to live, not live to work. He told me to not be afraid to talk to people, they don’t trust the quiet guys.

I didn’t know anyone when I first joined the trade, and I didn’t feel like I had anything in common with the guys I worked with. I worked for many great electricians that taught me about the trade. Tony was more of a mentor and taught me about life. Tony got me out of my shell, and I truly appreciate that. At this point in my career, I could step on any job and people know who I am and what I stand for. I’ve taught many apprentices, and I can only hope I impacted their lives as much as Tony did for me. Oh yeah. In case you were wondering, Electrons flow from negative to positive.

I’ll see you on the next one.