Directions

By Jim Sollecito

Sometimes I wonder what happened to people I gave directions to. I hope they got there.

After finishing college in 1976, I moved to Oswego to run my landscaping business. Great sunsets over a lake chock full of salmon and trout, 147 bars, college co-eds, a drinking age of 18. Factor in an opportunity to work my seasonal profession until the snow arrived, then skiing. What more could I want?

I wanted to “plug in” as a viable member of the community and a credit to my gender. I joined the Optimists just as they were launching a swine flu shot clinic. I signed up to man the check-in table. When I showed up, they asked that volunteers get their own shot first, so they could prove how easy it was. I got a shot and then, no kidding — the swine flu.

For the next five days I could not get out of bed, with a fever that had me perspiring more than ever in my life, losing nine pounds.

One evening, sitting around my apartment reading The Palladium-Times newspaper, I learned that the County Big Brother Program was looking for volunteers. This was it! I grew up with three sisters; having a little brother seemed like a good fit. I applied and was accepted. For years I spent time with Gary. He was one of 10 children in his family. By contrast, he and I got to spend one-on-one time. I took him fishing. We went on my Triumph 650 motorcycle to Rudy’s Lakeside for a blue plate special. We watched Nolan Swift race Supermodified at the Oswego Speedway.  We sat in the balcony and watched movies at the West Second Street movie theater. We threw snowballs at garbage cans.

One day, in the middle of those Big Brother years, I received a call that Gary had been speeding down the Albany Street hill on his bicycle and ran into a car that was pulling out. He was rushed to Upstate Hospital with significant head injuries — but was alive. Those hospital visits were some of the hardest things I’d done in my life. There he was, on a ventilator, damage to his skull. I wondered if he’d survive. Thankfully, he did. I still looked forward to our get-togethers while he wore a protective helmet 24/7, recovered and healed.

We shared experiences that I had hoped might give him some direction. What I hadn’t expected was that we would both learn and grow from our time together. We both found a compass heading.

Over time, no longer little, Gary aged out of the program. I moved to Baldwinsville, expanded my business, married. This was pre-internet; we lost touch. I stayed generally informed through the grapevine: how Gary made a living, updates on him and his family.

A couple of months ago, as my crew worked a landscape project in Oswego County, Gary stopped by to say hello. What a pleasant surprise that was. You can see from the photo that “Little Brother” has a few gray hairs now and he’s still a fan of the Oswego Classic.

Growth doesn’t announce itself. It helps to occasionally pause and acknowledge the chapters we’ve written. I think we’re all looking for signs, those messages that say “You did some good things in your life.”

And what a pleasant surprise it is when something like this reminds us.

Jim Sollecito is the first lifetime senior certified landscape professional in New York State. He operates Sollecito Landscaping Nursery in Syracuse. Contact him at 315-468-1142 or jim@sollecito.com.