La Plata — In the downtown apartment building where he lives with his wife, Julio Drut maintains a small workshop in a back room above the lobby that might otherwise be left for storage.
“In this life,” he says in his gruff voice, “you have to take care of things, day by day, so that in the end, you wind up good.”
At 84-years-old, he hoists a heavy power drill unwaveringly into the air with one hand while fingering for the key with the other. Short, muscular and still moving about with ease, Drut appears to be a man who lives by his word.
He is an accomplished upholsterer, carpenter, furniture store owner and former bank president. Drut says he still works a little every day, crafting needed furniture for his daughter or son, in addition to handling the family accounts.
Explaining away the secret to his success through thick glasses, he says, “There are people who don’t have luck and there are people who don’t know how to look for it.”
“I don’t know if I was lucky,” he says, “but I made my own luck. That I know.”
The achievement of which he is most proud, the one he mentions over and over, is his family.
“All are sane,” he says, “are professionals, have their own house, car, are not on drugs. This is something special.”
Drut admits he’s not sure if this is because he was a good teacher, but that nevertheless, he is grateful.
Regrets
Drut mentions education as one of his greatest regrets. “Education, culture and profession,” he says, “are the keys to maintaining yourself well.”
But by the age of 14, though he says he earned top grades, he had to leave his studies to find work with his older sister in
“I couldn’t keep studying because my father wasn’t rich,” he says. “He was a worker.”
Paradoxically, Drut has never stopped studying his whole life, modestly framing his education in the context of improving upon practical skills.
“I studied drawing but was an autodidact,” he says. “This only carries you to a certain point, after which you lack the training to carry on and become a real artist.”
A few of his adroit sketches hang from the wall of his office. One of them is his reproduction of a self-portrait from his favorite artist, Vincent Van Gogh.
He earned a degree in construction that permits him to build up to two stories on any building and has been taking English classes since he was a child.
“Next month,” he says, “I’m going to learn how to play golf with a friend because I recently hurt my knee and can no longer play tennis.”
Drut also loves modern technology. He has a cell phone and uses his computer to surf the web and write emails.
“A lot of my friends,” he says, “professionals in their day; I ask them to send me an email and they don’t know how.”
Changes over Time
“In this period,” says Drut, “people don’t even pay attention to the changes.”
He remembers in amazement the days when he cooked all his food with charcoal and if he wanted butter, had to keep it in a box with ice.
“Now,” he says, “you have gas (for cooking), refrigerators, cars, computers, telephone. It all seems to have happened naturally.”
Drut remarks on how early the responsibilities of his life bore down on him.
With a chuckle, he says “Nowadays, a 24-year-old is just starting to take his boogers out by himself. At that age, I had a child with polio.”
Fishing
Drut explains that through it all, fishing in
“I have fished since I was a kid and I don’t have any big fish stories,” he says frankly.
“But the great thing about fishing” he says, “is you need patience.”
Drut passionately describes how much he likes talking and listening to the fisherman go about their business.
“I liked going at 4:30 in the morning,” he says, “watching the sun come up; it’s a beautiful show. And that fills me up with satisfaction.”
With a pensive look on his brow, he says, “It doesn’t matter if you get the fish.”
“Going fishing” he says, “is an invitation to yourself to have a relaxing moment.”
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