“K” is for Kyle
I decided it was time to start releasing the blog posts on how this company found its name and why it means so much to us. It was an idea from my wife, Dorothy, to name it after some special people in my life. The people in my life that almost directly personify what this little car company is. Whether it be work ethic, how to treat people(customer and employees) or the creativity in what we produce, the initials that make up this company name have all contributed to building the intentions that I have for GKR motor cars.
Today we start off with the K in GKR. K stands for Kyle, my uncle. Kyle could fix just anything. He spoke the language of machines and just knew how everything went together. He wasn't a mechanic or engineer or designer. He wasn’t anything specific. He just knew how to get a job done for whatever he was doing on any given day. He made things work. While his creativity wasn't as polished as you would think of for art, so many things he built from scratch were art in their own right. It was his ingenuity and pure talent that allowed him to work the way he did. I was born with both of these, myself, but to see them in practice when I was around him helped me understand that I could do similar things if I believed in it. I don’t know if he felt the same way but when someone asks me how I did something, I usually reply with “ I just did it, I don’t know”. The way I saw him look at machines and just know how to work on it, though, I have a feeling it was just natural to him as well.
Kyle was never the type to sit me down and show me the “how” but still taught me so many things without even realizing it. Sometimes you just simply learn by example. His work ethic at times was beyond belief and he always had a smile on his face when he was in that zone. He simply loved working. He knew the job had to get done if he said he was going to do it and that was his motivation. I, myself, have been known to “sign up” for things I don't want to do just because I know it is the only thing that will actually get me to do it. Once you commit, you have to finish the job. There is no giving up and it is something I hope to never lose.
Unfortunately, Kyle is no longer here but I always choose to remember him for the good things he brought to this world. He was far from perfect but so many of us are. I learned a lot from him during the good and the bad and I believe that is only natural as each generation learns from the previous. We pick out the good and keep it rolling while learning from the mistakes. It is what we do as humans and Kyle was a very special human. I am beyond proud to have his initial on this company and I hope to make him proud with what GKR accomplishes.
