Getting Back To Hank

Back on August 29^th, I posted “Hank – A Guy I know” on this blog. I said at the time I’d share more about Hank in the future. This is one day of that ‘future’.

Go back to the posting on August 29^th. Recapture the description of Hank there. And then let’s move on to other escapades of Hank.

Hank as a renaissance man echoes in my mind. Pulling ideas and bits of history and culture from a broad array and piecing them together in interesting matrices is a special gift of Hank’s.  When listening to a recording of favorite music, he demands utter quiet with no interruptions. He is transported by the music to a special compartment of life in which he lives the music tone by tone, lyric by lyric, as well as the grand ensemble of the performance. The recording is ‘all of a piece’ but still capable of dissecting it into hundreds of components. For Hank this is a visceral experience. Any interruption destroys the moment – a phone call, knock on the door, or a coughing fit of a visitor!

It is his ability to take in the complex and yet ‘see’ it by its bits and pieces. He takes special meaning from each and all. That’s what I mean as a renaissance personality. He can live in the here and now but relates all of that to something in his storehouse memory of past times and history. 

Culture and history to Hank is all of the same fabric. Culture and its many parts are the vocabulary words of the language of the time referenced. A minstrel show was the news and entertainment report of medieval England and France. An oratorio or motet was the core of a worship service at the local cathedral. That is what Bach and Handel labored over – church music complete with liturgical roles and festival days of the church calendar.

Same with literature. Nuance of language piqued Hank’s mind. From it he could almost feel the temper of an era from long ago. Hank paralleled the messages and logic of those times with current times. Those pairings help him make sense of today’s unfolding  history. He easily notes the similarities and dissonances.  From that his mind trots to other ideas and projects bits of future possible. That is the visionary part of Hank’s mind. He sees the present in terms of the past and future. It is all of a process to him. And fully logical, like a well tuned mathematical formula.

Hank is Restive. Go back and review his ‘issues’ about his personal life and habits and you will recall the many oddities. I’m beginning to think, however, the oddities are merely escapes or ‘time outs’ of Hanks logic process so he can rest and avoid burnout. These are the governors of his thought rhythms. They protect him from spinning out of control.

Driven to do daily routines Hank has carved out time to think and feel because he knows the basics have been taken care of. He is free to follow his mind where it will take him. Although this may seem eccentric to others it is perfectly sensible to Hank. I bet he doesn't even think of it, either! It is just his way of living life.

And that life is spent analyzing complex business problems, organizational structure, communication links with other organizations, as well as groups of collaborating staff. Hank parses the problems and rephrases them so others can digest them and then create the solutions the rest of us can see and witness. The idea behind the facts. The brain behind the workings. Hank is one of those indispensible people who are often not heard or thought about.

You know him when you see a guy walking down the street with sensible rubber soled shoes, wash pants that always seem to need an iron, and a out-of-date or season shirt that simply screams ‘nerd’! Fashion doesn’t capture Hank’s fancy. It comes with the role.

But Hank is one of those people who can bridge major academic spheres and operational systems. He can orchestrate the dissimilar into an integrated whole that produces innovation. Think materials that can survive deep space cold and solar heat; hundreds of degrees difference yet the materials stand up beautifully. Or bone that is man-made but still grows. Or fake blood that is usable in major catastrophes as human blood replacement. Or many countless man-made bio-engineered products that save lives every day.

Those inventions require people like Hank.

We need lots of Hanks in this day and age. To find new energy sources, non-polluting energy and agricultural processes, as well as education methods which bring each person to the peak of their learning potential and interests.

Like the veterans we thank always, begin to notice the Hanks and thank them too!  Better yet, join them and help them discover the future for us.

October 8, 2014