It has been dry. Rain is in the forecast. I love the weather I am part of it. The rhythms of life are predictable. We are affected by the phases of the moon. Tides know this. Long dead stars speak to us across the galaxy. The passing of a year seems fast when we are old but the length of each day does not change. We either look for ways to kill time so it will pass more quickly or to save it like a miser hoarding his gold. Our relationship with time is a dance. First-time leads then we lead…we think…

It takes a long time to accomplish good work. Speed is not a requirement for excellence. Success is incremental. We watch the 30-minute television show where the problem and solution are performed in a minuscule time. We sadly expect the same results in life. It takes years to develop a good name and minutes to tear it down.

Michelangelo took over 4 years to paint the Sistine Chapel. He worked 18 hours a day.

Quantity is not quality. Craft is a study effort to accomplish the product as near perfection as possible. The slow and steady work of professional workmanship is of value in all endeavors.

My first lesson was as a young man of 20 when I began in Building Services at SIUC. I was the replacement for a Building Service Worker I, who was obviously on the ’30 Minute Plan.’ All areas of the General Accounting Building were dirty with some being filthy. I set about cleaning them for perhaps the first time in some time. Soon I received compliments for the occupant’s clean work environment. I understood that all crafts were vital and should be performed excellently.

When I became superintendent of the department I hearkened back to the commercial axioms of my youth such as, ‘Hertz Puts You In The Drivers Seat,’ or McDonald’s Doest It All For You.’ I believed that the customer was always right. When someone thanked us for our service we did not respond with, ‘No Problem,’ we said ‘You Are Welcome.’

Building Services was full of career staff who loved their University and their valued place in it. They knew that their work was vital to the success of the institution. Recruitment and Retention were squarely on their shoulders…they welcomed the challenge.

I watched the painter paint our front door. He sanded the old finish. he put primer on the surface. He painted with care and precision. The front door looks like a new one. The old folks often said that if you could not afford something new a little paint does wonders…