Over the years I\u2019ve had a lot of unique, interesting friends. One of those friends was Gerald (Jerry) Siemienkiewicz. You may think, from his last name, that he was a character. To call Jerry a character would be a gross understatement. I\u2019ve never known anyone like him \u2014 he was one of the smartest people I\u2019ve ever known, as well as the kindest and most generous. I can\u2019t think of anyone that didn\u2019t like Jerry. He was certainly unique and marched to his own drum, but never to the detriment of anyone. Sadly, Jerry became a \u2019Silent key\u2019 (a term a communications organization uses for eternal rest) in 1999.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stories about Jerry could fill several volumes, but here\u2019s one that I particularly like\u2026.
We were in Saigon and most days wound up traveling \u201cup country\u201d to some pretty desolate and deserted, dirty places. Even though he had a maid in Saigon, I\u2019m pretty sure Jerry\u2019s clothes were never ironed and many of them were in need of repair. His shoes were pretty much on their last mile \u2014 the soles were coming off and were held on by duct tape. But Jerry, always concerned about others, traded shoes with a beggar on the street. The beggar\u2019s shoes were no more than soles of old flip-flops tied to his feet with string. But Jerry gave him his shoes (such as they were)\u00a0 and wore the beggar\u2019s shoes. He rode a motorcycle that didn\u2019t have any fenders and almost every shirt he had had a \u201cmud streak\u201d up the back because of the lack of a rear fender. At least two or three days a week we had to go into the embassy\u2026. needless to say, Jerry never went unnoticed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day, our boss called Jerry in and told him that he could never ask for a better employee, but the fact that he was representing the U.S. Government in a foreign country, even if a war was going on, he should look more professional \u2014 especially when he had work in the embassy. The next day, Jerry arrived at the embassy \u2014 his clothes still looked like he\u2019d slept in them, he still wore the beggar\u2019s \u201cshoes,\u201d still badly needed a haircut, and still had the mud streak up his back. But \u2014 he had a slide rule in his shirt pocket. Over the years I\u2019ve had a lot of unique, interesting friends. One of those friends was Gerald (Jerry) Siemienkiewicz. You may think, from his last name, that he was a character. To call Jerry a character would be a gross … Continue reading
\u00a0Jerry looked at him, and said that he was absolutely correct \u2014 he had just never given it much thought, but he should<\/em> look more professional, and he assured our boss that he\u2019d make an effort to present a more professional appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"