Departments
10 (or so) questions with... Jim Gander
By Steve Lange
JG: I hope my friend doesn’t see this. I recently went on a cruise and, not that it was a bad vacation, but the floating Old Country Buffet didn’t turn me on. Getting off the boat was fun. Spending time with my friends was fun. But I worked out in the morning so I’d be up top, and from up there it looked like an anthill, with the people coming in and out of the buffet nonstop.
RM: Best road you’ve ever driven on your Harley?
JG: Driving on the Going-to-the-Sun Highway on the way into Glacier National Park. I want to ride in all 50 states before I turn 50. I have four left, and I am 48. I have Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado and New Mexico left. I’ll be riding in Alaska on September 8th.
RM: What’s your favorite plumbing joke?
JG: There are three things you need to know to be a plumber: [Stuff] rolls downhill. Payday’s on Friday. And “Don’t chew your fingernails.”
RM: Mine is: Did you hear that someone broke into the local police station and stole the toilet?
JG: No.
RM: So far the cops have nothing to go on.
JG: That’s funny.
RM: Tell me about your family.
JG: My wife Lisa worked in the business for ten years. She currently does a lot of volunteer work at Hiawatha Homes, Gift of Life, those types of things. My oldest boy Bob is the head golf pro at Trappers Turn at the Dells. My daughter Jennifer has two little girls, and I better remember to mention my granddaughters, Mary Kate and Anna Mae. My next son Eric works for Superior Mechanical Systems. My youngest son David works for First Supply, which is a plumbing wholesale company.
RM: Strangest thing you’ve ever found in a pipe?
JG: Believe it or not there are sewer rats and I found one. It was when we tore down the convent at Lourdes. I was working as a janitor there at the time. It was dead. It was in my hand.
RM: Did it freak you out?
JG: Oh, yeah. And I still got into the plumbing business.
RM: I heard about the opossum that attacked ...
JG: [Laughing] Krist Hansen. Boy, you have done your research.
RM: That has to be pretty uncommon, to be attacked by an opossum.
JG: What was funny is we were working on the inside of the house and he was in the crawlspace. And we’re saying “Hurry up, Krist, hurry up.” We could see this thing wiggling in a corner but we didn’t want him to see it. It jumped right on him. It was the middle of winter and we were working on some frozen pipes. Woke that thing right up out of hibernation. It was hanging right on his back and he was running around trying to get it off. That was funny.
RM: This is a bad transition, but what’s the best restaurant meal in Rochester?
JG: I like the walleye at Michaels. It’s a nice big healthy filet and it’s batter fried. I also like the Greek chicken.
RM: You’re a big fish guy?
JG: I’m a big fish guy since my heart attack, which was four years ago right now.
RM: Did that change your life?
JG: Yes. Now I exercise every day. I had played three sports until I was 42 and then I basically quit sports. At 44 I had my heart attack. I was eating and drinking way too much. I weighed 280 pounds when I had my heart attack. After that, I stopped drinking for eight months and ate healthier and started exercising and lost 80 pounds or so in eight months.
RM: You’re wearing yellow. Is yellow your power color?
JG: No. I don’t like yellow, but everybody compliments me in yellow, so I wore it today. I’m a white and gray and blue guy, but I get unbelievable compliments in yellow.
RM: It looks nice.
JG: See?
RM: Nobody ever gets this one. What’s 30 feet high, 20 feet wide, and 1,500 miles long?
JG: The Great Wall of China?
RM: Excellent.
RM: Have you ever worn parachute pants?
JG: No.
RM: A beret?
JG: I'm sure I have.
RM: A fanny pack?
JG: My wife won't let me.
RM: But you would?
JG: Sure. Especially when we go on trips like to Mexico. But she won’t let me.
RM: That’s probably for the best.