We lost a dear friend in Norm Kreuz the other day after a great life and a long illness [with Ellie by his side through every lasting moment].  

I use to love to get Norm talking.  Whether it was about old haunts on Niagara Falls Blvd, his childhood before life on the farm, fixing the disposal, falling in love with Ellie, moving the family from Ohio to Buffalo [with the oft-told road-kill story], or just the vast repertoire of remembrances from raising 6 kids – Norm always shared his zest for life with whoever would listen.

Norm was the consummate salesman.  He was old-school, and he was the best of a dying breed.  I haven’t met a ‘Norm’ in years.  Today’s salespeople are all about metrics and Tony Robbins’ hype.  Norm had the charm to go along with the facts.  He knew his customers, and they knew him.  But it wasn’t the way we know customers today.  Norm’s customers were never data, they were his customers and his friends – and he would see them year after year.  It’s a lesson Joe learned well.  Even today, Joe’s guideline for his business is still about building relationships that last a lifetime.

I remember one night back in 1983, when Norm passed by the original Stereo Advantage at around one in the morning [after a little too much gin rummy at the Red Carpet].  Norm walked into our warehouse [which was an apartment living room behind the shop] and he saw Butch doing the work of five guys.  Butch was just a 19-year-old kid back then, and he was deciding between the Stereo Advantage and Buff State – and Norm just looked at him like he was crazy – but the pride was undeniable.  Norm always knew the difference between shit and Shinola, and he always knew his kids would be successful.  But success to Norm [for himself and his family] was never measured by how big your farm was – it was always measured how big the love in your family was.

I’ll leave you with two great moments I had with Norm.  The first one came a dozen years ago from a simple phone call from Joe asking me if I had seen JoJo.  No one knew where he was, and they were trying to get ahold of him.  Turns out that he just dropped by Norm’s to catch a football game with grandpa.  That’s all you need to know as a grandparent.  That’s love – and that’s the kind of love Norm gave and received in abundance.

And my last endearing moment with Norm came at a Christmas party at Frank’s several years ago.  Norm sat me down and told me he just didn’t understand why people were killing each other.  He wanted to know why there was so much bloodshed.  After 80 years of living, he just didn’t understand all the dying.  He truly wanted to know if I could explain it.  For a man who loved life so much, he just couldn’t understand how it could be wasted so mercilessly.  

For Norm Kreuz, it was a full life – and he never wasted a drop of it.  He is an inspiration to all that knew and loved him.  We would all do well to share his zest and appreciation for the gift of life.

Increasingly, the inherent value in our various businesses is our intellectual property.  While we do not necessarily pursue patents or trademarks, we do work tirelessly to protect our confidential information.  In particular, our Trade Secrets and Software Development represent the essential value of TW&Co and Capax Discovery respectively.

This morning I was also reviewing the proper use of a comma.  I was reading over some weekly reports, and it is unfortunate how little understood [and applied] the rules of grammar have become. Here is what Grammarly has to say about commas.  And, by the way, everyone should download and use Grammarly.  It’s a great resource.

https://app.grammarly.com/?utm_campaign=Blog_Footer_B&utm_medium=content&utm_source=chCTA

When Do You Need a Comma Before But?

[The comma rules for but apply to all conjunctions, including and, or, and so.]

You should put a comma before but only when but is connecting two independent clauses.

Correct  I would go for a walk, but it’s raining outside.

How do you know you have two independent clauses?  First, look at the words before but: I would go for a walk.  Then look at the words after: it’s raining outside.  Both of those phrases could stand alone as complete sentences.  That means they’re independent clauses, so you need to use a comma before but.  

When you don’t have two independent clauses, leave the comma out.

Incorrect  I would go for a walk, but for the rain.

This time, but is connecting an independent clause to a dependent clause.  How do you know?  Look at the words after but: for the rain.  That phrase can’t stand by itself as a complete sentence, which means it’s a dependent clause.  Therefore, you shouldn’t use a comma before but.

Correct  I would go for a walk but for the rain.

Here are a few more examples of when you should and shouldn’t use a comma before but in a sentence:

Incorrect  The dog is young, but well trained.
Correct  The dog is young but well trained.

Incorrect  Grammar is boring, but necessary.
Correct  Grammar is boring but necessary.

Incorrect  The dog is young but he’s well trained
Correct  The dog is young, but he’s well trained.

Incorrect  Grammar is boring but it’s necessary
Correct  Grammar is boring, but it’s necessary.

If you’re wondering whether you need a comma after but, the answer is that you probably don’t.

The only time you need a comma after but is when it is immediately followed by an interrupter.  An interrupter is a little word or phrase that interrupts a sentence to show emotion, tone, or emphasis.  You should always use a comma before and after an interrupter.

Correct  But, of course, it’s not safe for Spot to go outside on his own.

In the sentence above, of course is an interrupter.  You could take it out of the sentence without losing any meaning.  The only reason it’s there is to emphasize the obviousness of the statement.  If your sentence happens to place an interrupter directly after but, then go ahead and use a comma.  Otherwise, you don’t need a comma after but. 

The summer of 2017 came to a close with Hurricane Irma ripping through Naples, and along with the catastrophic damage it left in its wake, it also took its toll on our house.  Fortunately, we had our generator keeping the power on.  The house became a safe haven for several friends, and they were a big help in piecing it back together.  We’ll be heading down south next week, and we’ll see how far along the remediation has progressed.  Amanda has done a remarkable job having everyone engaged, so I’m pretty confident that we’ll be all set.

Other than that, it was a great summer with the highlight being Gabriela and Brendan’s wedding.  Giancarlo’s did an incredible job transforming the house and tennis court into a magical wedding venue, and it was a perfect summer night to spend with friends and family.

Over at the Walker Center, we have had quite a bit going on since Memorial Day.  We started things off with the opening of our new Grivani Cafe’ & Bakery [a solid contributor to the pounds I put on].  And we hit our high note with Bogavia and Pure+Fresh being featured at the grand opening of the newest Whole Foods Market.

The Walker Center also become the international headquarters for Capax Discovery.  Peter Mellett [and his whole family] moved from South Africa to take over Capax Discovery Development & Support, JJ Contessa moved from Connecticut to take over Capax International Marketing & Sales, and Mike McGrath moved emotionally from being the Advantage Co CFO to taking over Capax Resources HQ as our Chief Performance Officer.  Capax Discovery has become our main business, and it is certainly what I spend the majority of my time on.

This summer we also launched Inspired Global Resources with Jason Bird and Jeff Wynn.  http://inspiredglobalresources.org/

All in all, it was another great summer in Williamsville.  It went fast, and as much as I am going to miss Monday night dinners with the kids and earning a few bucks every Thursday at Brookfield, I can’t wait to get back to Naples.  I hope you get a chance to come and visit us this winter.  We’ll be looking forward to it.

Originally posted July 4, 2013

I never got around to thanking Elaine for teaching me to drive.  At 16, getting my license was my passport to freedom [and the end of hitch-hiking].  I took my permit test on my 16th birthday and immediately scheduled my road test for a few weeks later.  Unfortunately, I almost clipped a woman at a cross-walk and earned an immediate failure.  I think it was the last time I ever drove a car without power steering.  So, it was back to the drawing board – and another three weeks or so of waiting for my second shot.  That’s where Elaine comes in.

Elaine started working for my dad when she was just a kid.  My first recollection of her is at the ticket gate at the Twin Drive-In Theater.  It was in the late 50’s, and my father had opened up a new drive-in with two screens.

My Uncle Lou and my dad had a thing for drive-in theaters.  In 1952, they built the Transit Drive-In themselves out in the middle of nowhere.  How the screen they cobbled together stayed up, no one will ever know, but it did, and it was the start of a fascinating run of new businesses that started with the Twin Drive-In to Twin Fair to Value Home Improvement Centers.  From 1950 to 1970, they created some of the most memorable businesses in WNY.  They were a hell of a team.  My Uncle Lou took the edge off my dad, and they flourished together for 30 years until my Uncle Lou’s untimely death in the early 70’s.  My father was never the same.

I started out writing this post about Elaine, my father’s Girl Friday, but it really got me thinking about my father as a merchant.

My father was caught up in the discount-store-mania that was starting to sweep the country in the early 50’s [along with drive-ins, miniature golf, and rock’n’roll].  I remember Two Guys out of New Jersey was the first big competitor [along with IDS and eventually Big N].  WalMart, at the time, was a little late to the game [they didn’t get started until 1962], and no one gave them much attention.

My Uncle Lou and my father started Twin Fair by piecing together a series of relationships starting with John Nasca and John Bona.  My father leased out several of the departments, and that allowed him to get the requisite financing from M&T Bank.  Jim Otti [sp?] was a Commercial Loan Officer at M&T back in the day, and he was the only one who would even talk to my father about his novel idea.  Marine Midland wanted nothing to do with Italians, and if it wasn’t for Jim, there would have been no Twin Fair or Valu Home Improvement Centers.  I still bank with M&T for that very reason.

My father was an extraordinary merchant.  Although he never put his name on his businesses, and never accepted any accolades or attention – he was the man that built both Twin Fair and Valu Home Improvement Centers.  Tony Ragusa is not a name that is remembered by many in WNY, but his businesses are – and that’s all he ever wanted to build.

Along for nearly all of this was Elaine.  As I said, she became my father’s Girl Friday.  In the days of secretaries, Elaine transcended the role to become an essential element in the controlled chaos that is a merchant’s life.  My father was a widower for nearly 9 years before he eventually married his right arm, Elaine; and they spent the next 30+ years together through thick and thin.

And, yes, I finally got my license, and it was Elaine who patiently taught me to parallel park.

This a picture that I carry in my journal [and will forever].  It’s Theresa Manzella [who was like a second mother to me and my favorite woman of all time], Doc Manzella, Elaine, and my father.