No, not Jack Brunnhoelzl. George, actually, in case you were wondering. While I’m assuming the great majority of you already know who George Brunnhoelzl is, I’ll give those of you who don’t, because you must’ve been in a different solar system, a quick bio. Mr. Brunnhoelzl invented the lightweight jack used by most top NASCAR teams. The advantages of this jack are its light weight and one pump operation, which shave valuable seconds from a typical pitstop, where an extra second and a half on pit road equals 24 car lengths on a track with average lap speeds of 180 mph. “Tell me more, Captain Obvious!” I know, I know. I’m preaching to the choir. Obviously, very few people outside of the racing industry know who Mr. Brunnhoelzl is, or can even pronounce his name. I’ll conjecture that his mom probably waffled more than a little before marrying George’s dad, knowing she would be saddled with that last name.
“How’s that spelled, ma’am?”
“Just like it sounds.”
“Alrighty, then.”
George Brunnhoelzl is but one of a myriad of behind the scenes contributors, those that remain largely unknown to all but the hardcore insiders. With the rarest of exceptions, each endeavor taken on by mankind consists of a team, each with an assigned role. Do you know who Tenzing Norgay is? Props if you do! We would not know who Sir Edmund Hillary is if not for Tenzing. We’re on a first name basis, BTW. Hillary was the first climber to summit Mt. Everest, famously telling the world he did so “because it was there”. Tenzing was also asked why he scaled the tallest mountain in the world. He responded, “It was Tuesday, I had some time to kill, and my yurt payment was due”. Granted, something may have been lost in the translation from Nepalese to English. The barista at our favorite coffee place may be the public face we see, but without the farmers, roasters, and transporters there would be no cafe. Beyond that, someone built the structure, connected the electricity, and paved the parking lot. As I am writing this, the world is experiencing a pandemic. We are now finding out just who the essential workers really are. I’m betting you never gave serious consideration to the toilet paper supply chain until recently. I don’t toss the word “hero” around higgledy piggledy, but the folks making Charmin and their brethren in the industry truly are to be honored as such.
You might not be the “face of the franchise”, but play an important part in the strength, well-being, and success of whatever entity, group, or organization in which you exist nonetheless. You may simply be one of a handful of nails. But as the wise, old saying goes, “For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”
Do you have any idea how much you matter?
(Click “Stand on Firmer Ground” for a deeper look into Brunnhoelzl Jack)