Harold Bennett was Thomas’s closest friend. They’d met in their twenties, unloading fabric rolls in a warehouse near the river. Harold went on to build a thriving hotel and property company; Thomas stayed in textile distribution before becoming one of Harold’s earliest business partners, supplying linens and custom furnishings to hotels.

Their finances eventually looked very different. Their friendship never did. Harold could arrive in a chauffeured sedan and still spend an afternoon eating grilled cheese at our kitchen table while Thomas complained about the Cubs.

Success never made him act as though we belonged to his past.

For years, I believed that quality came naturally to successful people. Then I watched my son become one.

Chapter 3 — Fast in the Wrong Direction

Daniel was intelligent, driven, impatient. As a boy he skipped instruction manuals because he wanted the finished result immediately — built model airplanes without reading the directions and grew frustrated when the wings wouldn’t line up.

Thomas would take the pieces apart and remind him, “Fast is only useful when you’re moving in the right direction.”