Can't hurt to ask but don't be surprised if he declines. Folks like you describe are often loners who really don't want anyone hanging around while they work. He may also be the type who can't or won't show you how to do anything useful even if he himself can do it.
I also sort of question the 2 weeks per year issue. If you want to do this you might want to find out if he might let you come in one day per week for a longer time or something similar. Good luck with it. Randy -----Original Message----- From: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com [mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com]on Behalf Of Wonko the Sane Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 10:38 PM To: Mercedes Discussion List Subject: [MBZ] an idea -- and perhaps a stupid one (me being me) We have two body shops in Jefferson who specialize in collision repairs.Always very busy. And another one, out in the country (if you can be more "country" than Jefferson) owned by an older guy (in his late 60s) who makes his living fixing up vintage cars for collectors. He works sort of slow but is rumored to be a bit of a perfectionist. Now, I have 120 hours of vacation available. I have had 120 hours of vacation available for at least the last five years, since 120 hours is the max we can carry and we get vacation time added on every paycheck. In other words, I rarely take any vacation and just lose whatever is added on every two weeks. Here's what popped into my head while watching some basketball in the kitchen. I am a fairly intelligent individual, spent eight years in universities, spent six years in the Coast Guard as a skilled technician (both avionics and mechanics). I am good with my hands and know my way around tools. And I am a bit anal when it comes to doing a task. What if I presented myself to the old guy who fixes up vintage cars (I've seen his work -- he is damn'd good -- worked on my brother-in-law's Edsel) and offered him a deal: I work free for him for two weeks, doing whatever he wants me to do to help him out (such as wet sanding primer or sweeping) IF he will teach me a few tricks: (1) basic welding, (2) basic body filler & sanding, and (3) how to mix paint to match faded Benz colors, and then spray it correctly. I will lose no income, since I have the vacation time available. He will get someone to do the dirty work for two weeks, and, if he is the craftsman that I think him to be, he will be happy to pass on a few secrets of the trade to someone younger (by maybe a decade) who will carry on the tradition of keeping old cars looking good. It isn't like I am going to take any business away from him, because he already has more than he can handle. I am pretty sure this guy isn't doing this for the money, but for the love of old cars. And maybe he will let me "train" on my own cars! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://okiebenz.com/pipermail/mercedes_okiebenz.com/attachments/20090320/f0db6cea/attachment.html> _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
