When I was a young boy, it was evident to the majority of my family that I was a bright kid. Not necessarily Nobel material (cheap though the award may be these days), but smarter than your average bear, anyway. As I grew, my grades at school stayed strong, and it seemed that I was on the way to great things.
Before this begins to sound like a Charles Dickens novel, I want to offer a little bit of family history. I was born in Northern Minnesota, in a little town named Ely which is located near the Canadian border. It is a small town with a harsh climate, heavily reliant on the two harsh industries of logging and iron ore mining. It is a place that encourages endurance and determination in its’ residents: a legacy of which I am proud.
Like many in Ely, my ancestors only came to this country a few generations ago in search of work and land and opportunity. Half of my ancestors consisted of German lumberjacks who arrived in the north woods and began to apply their trade anew. The other half is a mix of English and Slavic blood. All of them in search of promise in the new world which they would pay for with sweat, aches, and even blood.
Given this hardscrabble existence, one can imagine what it meant to see such a promising young sapling spring up in the midst of the family. Here was a very, very smart young man who will do great things, who will redeem the family name in a way. Here is a boy who may one day be an "important" man with an "important" job. People will call him “Mr. Koschak.”
I remember hearing about how important it was for me to work hard in school, and to one day go to College. College, you see, being the great escape from the hardship of the blue collar life and living paycheck to paycheck. My grandfather, a retired county foreman, used to dig through trash cans to collect aluminum cans, so that he could sell them and give me the money for the college tuition I would have to pay more than a decade yet in the future. This was a serious responsibility and not to be wasted.
So, I grew up and grew older and carried this charge close to my heart. I got married and now I have children of my own. I have gone to College and have had many jobs over these years. In spite of these accomplishments, I still wonder whether or not I have been a faithful vessel for so much hope. Further, I have wondered whether this hope has been somewhat misplaced.... or whether I even understand it at all…
Part 2 coming soon…
