Blah. Nothing catchy here to start off my blog. I debated back and forth a lot about what Blog #500 would be about, a recap of my blogs and timeline, or thinking about grad school when I started this, or how much my life has changed since I first started posting... trips, kids, schools, jobs, marriage, house, and lots of lots of rants and rambling. Was it dedication that got me through? Hum.
Then something happened last week that reminded me about living a dedicated life. Of course most often we are reminded about how we should be living our lives, when someone we respect is no longer with us. Last week the South Bend community lost Peter Veldman. ARTICLE
Those who know me know I love cars, I am an immigrant, and I think I work pretty hard. I probably won't grow up to be as well known in this community as one of the Veldman's, but I was humbled to attended, and more humbled to say that I got to meet him a couple times.
Probably my first year in South Bend I was working a Tire Rack Street Survival event as a volunteer and I saw an older gentleman pull up, park and head back into the garage bay area. People said hi to him and he strolled on back and start mounting tires on wheels. I figured some guy bringing in his fancy car and knew enough folks that he pulled strings to mount his own tires. Cool.
Being new to town, I figured I could clumsily ask one of the front desk staff, "Who is that?" The reply was very matter of fact, "Oh, thats Pete." You know, one of those replies with the tone of, I can't believe you asked me that. So I acted like I was following along and went back to work.
Later in the day to one of my car club members that I knew fairly well I asked, "Who is Pete?" He replied, "You mean Pete, Pete?" Trying not to feel like an idiot I said, yeah he came in and started mounted tires. My club member said, "Oh, thats Peter Veldman". I once again pretended to know, and walked away and pulled out my Treo (yeah, I still miss it sometimes) and looked it up...
OH.... that is Pete Pete, Peter Veldman, the founder of the Tire Rack, the huge warehouse we were in, the sponsor of the program I was volunteering for, the place that has the awesome test track we use for events... Pete Pete. Now I know...
Pete came to work nearly everyday well into his 80s, still mounting tires, still helping at the office. He didn't keep working because he had to, he kept working because he enjoyed it. I assume he kept working not just to stay busy, but because he at some point made a commitment to work hard to help others and was keeping that commitment. That is true dedication, and very humbling.
It didn't take much longer living in South Bend to see the legacy of Pete and the entire Veldman family. What you didn't always hear was that he first come to the South Bend area as a migrant farmer. That when Studebaker shut down he opened up a small garage, and through hard work, smart decisions and a supportive family they built companies, employed our community and most importantly... gave a lot of what the lord blessed them with back to the community.
During the program the words of dedication, hard worker, family man, immigrant... all rang true of the American Dream. He lived it, and he most importantly helped others live it. I doubt I will be as famous as Pete, and I doubt he wanted to be as famous as he became. He made a huge difference in the lives of many people in this community, and I aspire to make a difference also, and I hope that you do as well...
So here is to Blog #500, to the next 500, and to all those working hard to achieve the American Dream. Peter Veldman showed us it is possible, lets honor a great man and keep pushing the dream forward. Si Se Puede!