Harris -- RIP

Three decades ago, a very close friend introduced me to his father, Harris. The son's parent was a gracious host, blessed with an inquiring mind, a curiosity about others, and a worldly perspective on people and events. He lived in a west LA neighborhood consistent with his business success. Harris was not a California native; born in Texas and raised in Chicago, he was among the many who found fortune and a good life in LA in the post-World War II era.

I found Harris' commercial acumen quite interesting. He had built a business more or less from scratch, and sourced many of his manufacturing materials in Southeast Asia. At that time, trade from that region to the United States was a sliver of the volume known today. Phone calls and air flights were expensive. Above all, personal connections -- the true currency of Asian trade -- required time and patience to cultivate and manage. I made the most of my opportunities to learn from Harris, but I would have benefited from obtaining even more insights into his business wisdom, and how he managed to create success out of thin air.

Harris enjoyed prosperity's pleasures without making others feel small or jealous about his condition. He was generous with his son's close friend and made me feel welcome. We could easily talk about a number of subjects, and he spoke his mind with grace and without pretension. He cared about his family, took care of his children and step-children as best he could, and enjoyed being close to them.

I visited southern California recently for business, but I couldn't manage a visit to see Harris. It bothered me, as Harris was in his nineties and birthdays at that stage of life become precious events. Now he has passed, and I wish I could been able to say to him how much I would miss him and how his life impacted my own.

Good bye, Harris. and thank you.