Thoughts on Life

By Jim Stavis

     To quote the famous Yogi Berra, “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.” If everyone and every company were perfect, the world would be a pretty boring place in which to live. There certainly would not be much to report or comment on. But as Yogi also said, “You can observe a lot just by watching.” And there is a great deal to watch and observe both in business and in life.
      Last month I had a good friend who suddenly and inexplicably died of pancreatic cancer. He was only 51 years old with a loving wife and two beautiful daughters. Their lives will never be the same. I know everyone has a friend, a parent, an uncle or someone they know who has died. It is a very sobering reality,one that forces us to look at our own mortality. Death is such a tough reality in our culture, something that to me, seems we are so ill-equipped to deal with. We value our youth, our health and tend to close our eyes to the certainty, the eventuality that we will all die one day. But we prefer not to think about it, so much so that we delay taking care of the preparations that must be made when that day arrives.
      So at this point, you are wondering how this all relates to steel, as a steel newsletter should. The answer is, it doesn’t and this month it will not. We are dedicating this newsletter to my friend, Ira Reisman, who taught me that there is more in life than what we do for a living, what we peddle each day. What is important is how we conduct ourselves with our families, our employees, with our customers, vendors and everyone that we come in contact with. What matters is not how big our bank accounts are, or the type of car we drive, but how we may be remembered when we are no longer here. The impact that we have on others is the true gift of life itself.