5 Questions With: Dave Knechel

Posted October 20, 2008, 11:15 am in Conditions & Diseases


In our ongoing series called "5 Questions With," Growing Bolder looks for insight and advice from people who are living life with attitude, proving that it's never too late to go after dreams. Growing Bolder member Dave Knechel has made quite an impression with his unique profile picture, and as we found out, he's been able to smile through some tough times, and to come out offering inspiration to others. To read archived articles from our 5 Questions With series, click here.


1. Describe yourself for Growing Bolder members. What experiences made you the person you are today? If you had to describe yourself in 3 sentences, what would you say?

Certainly, I have my own personality, like we all do. I remember developing unique and distinctive traits at a very early age. What did my relatives see in me when I got an oil painting set at 4 years old? Something, I guess. I also recall telling teachers "NO!" when they grabbed the pencil out of my left hand and told me to use my right. It went right back into my left. That was in kindergarten and first grade and back in the fifties it was a sign of evil to some. This was in public school, to boot. We all have experiences that help form us throughout life. Hopefully, most are good, but some leave scars. It only takes one time to touch a hot stove before we learn to never do it again and it's the part of life that teaches us how to take the bad with the good and continue on with a smile.


I’ve always had a lot of friends growing up. I'm a social creature. Over the years, my list of old friends has dwindled, not for lack of affection, but because the older we get, the more things change. We move away. We get married. We raise children. Many of us now have grandchildren we like to dote over. Some have passed on. We make new friends. It's almost as if we're socially nomadic by nature. There isn’t a day that goes by I don’t think of some of my old friends, though. Sometimes, we reconnect and that’s a very good day. Plus, my best friend has been around for 40 plus years and we still tease each other like we're teenagers. It's reassuring to have friends like that and it says something about one's character and integrity. His, anyway. I think strong friendships are one of the keys to maintaining happiness and that, in turn, helps keep me sane and balanced.


I spent many years in the restaurant business so I've learned a lot about people and how to strike up conversations with strangers. Because I am a friendly person, I’ve never had a lot of problems with others, but we’ve all had good and bad experiences with people we just met or hardly know. How we interact with society and handle others every day impacts who we are and this is a constantly changing thing as society and the rules of etiquette evolve. Certainly, we approach strangers differently than we did 40 years ago when people were a bit more open and caring. Look at how people treat cell phones as the center of their universe today. You could be carrying on a very pleasant conversation with someone when their phone rings. They stop, dead in their tracks, to talk to the person on the other end while you are left standing there, looking and feeling extremely unimportant and somewhat lost. What are you supposed to do? Wait? Leave? That sort of thing has a way of distancing people. How rude and everyone with a cell phone has been guilty of it. Same thing with when they call and you don't answer. They get very irate because they know you have it with you.

Obviously, technology affects us in other ways, because without it, we wouldn’t run around mimicking characters from the entertainment world the day after it reaches the public. “I'll be back.” I'll bet you've used it before. We pick up lines we select from all sorts of genres; movies, music, TV, books, et cetera, and they become a part of our lexicon. Anything we see, hear or read that inspires us has an impact. The Moody Blues always sang passive songs. John Lennon will be remembered for wanting to give peace a chance. There were others, but they inspired me tremendously and, to this day, I would never own a weapon. I think the era we grew up in and our subsequent age have something to do with it, too. Did Gangsta Rappers ever sing happy songs about peace and love? Has that style of music ever incited violence? Would I ever walk around with my baseball cap on backwards while my pants hang below my underwear? I think I'd look very much out of place.

I guess if I had to describe myself in 3 sentences, I would say:

• Not telling the truth makes me very uncomfortable and because of that, my friends trust me implicitly.
• I like to make people laugh because humor is nourishing and something that helps sustain us.
• I love helping people whenever I can, especially those who really need the support.

2. What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them? What lessons did you learn through the tough times?

“Growing Balder” was never a challenge to me, although I do like to kid about it. Hey, I save money on shampoo! The Florida sun can be challenging at times, but I’m very careful about the top of my head, in particular.

We’ve all had personal challenges in life. We learn to live with them. Years ago, a woman I loved very much broke up with me. I was devastated and dropped 40 pounds in 3 months. Oh, I got over her eventually, but what really surprised me were the rumors I heard through the grapevine questioning my health. “What happened to Dave? He got AIDS or something?” That hurt. Didn’t they ever consider what my heart was going through? Anyway, yes, time heals all wounds and it’s best to forgive and forget, although I did lose a little bit of respect for some of those “so called” friends. As far as Ms. X is concerned, I will always wish her the best in life. After all, during that time we spent together, she was perfect to me in every way. Suddenly, she turns rotten? I don’t think so. In spite of what is said about the fine line between love and hate, I could never despise anyone and to think otherwise would only embitter me. I've met a few people who, you can just tell, are filled with hate. How sad to feel that way.

Two years ago, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. There's no way of telling how many years I've had it, but with one little finger prick, my life changed forever. No more KitKat bars. Pizza? Forget it, at least the amount I used to eat. One piece now about once a month because even that one piece raises my sugar so high. Today, many people ask me about diabetes and how I cope mentally. I like to tell them that growing up left handed in a right handed world has helped me adjust. It’s not like I’ve been all that discriminated against, not in the classical sense of, let’s say race or sex, but when I was young, I never learned how to use scissors because they were made for right handed people. Subtle little things only lefties are aware of and nothing we can’t live with. The same thing with diabetes. You live with it and adjust. I think my left handed brain has helped me adapt more readily to the disease and I believe everyone has some sort of handicap they can apply elsewhere and grow from.

3. What are your goals for the future? Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 15 years?

At 56, what could my goals possibly be? To retire before I die? Find a cure for diabetes? In all honesty, I wouldn’t mind writing a novel or compelling story of some kind. I do write articles on diabetes and I hope they help others. I’d like to go back to making the marinade I used to sell around the Orlando market. It’s my own recipe and I called it Marinade King. It was top shelf stuff and people seemed to love it.

As far as where I see myself in 5, 10 or 15 years, I don't know. After spending 26 years in the graphic design business, I walked away. I'm seriously taking a stab at writing. Will I succeed? I don't know, but the drive is there. Of course, I want to be successful. I'm smart enough to know if I haven't reached a certain level of success yet, what will it take at my age? To me, success is how you feel about yourself, not what others think about you. I don't mean that in an egotistical manner, I just don't think that the amount of money you accrue makes you a better person unless you do things in a positive way by helping others.

4. Who are your heroes? They can be real people, or characters; current or historic. Have fun!

Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. Just kidding. You did tell me to have fun, didn’t you?

I wouldn’t consider myself to be an overtly religious type of person. I do have beliefs and spiritualism I am very comfortable with and that leads me to my grandfather, the Rev. George W. Landis. He was an old time country minister in a small New Jersey town, where I grew up. He welcomed everyone into his church, although it wasn’t really his. Places of worship belong to everyone, don't they? An old Sunday School song has always stuck in my mind and it’s how I would describe him and how it helped form me. “Red and yellow, black and white” are some of the lyrics. Everyone was a friend there and I was brought up understanding that all people are equal and loved the same. To me, he was grandfatherly. He didn’t bother me about religion when we did things together. When we went fishing, we fished. When we went out to eat, we ate. Well, not without saying a little prayer first, but that never bothered me at all. My grandfather was a big hero to me.


I also have an uncle, David A. Kyle, who really influenced my life. He is 89 now and still going strong. He is a writer and one of the early fans of science fiction. I guess I would have to say that he inspired me to write, although I haven’t been doing it all that long. He and my Aunt Ruth live in upstate New York. I’ll never forget the time I was visiting with another 12 year old boy and he made us feel like 10 year olds for acting the way we did in front of my aunt. He didn't punish us; let's just say we felt very humble and he was quite smooth at it. Spending summers of my youth at their home certainly opened and expanded my mind because of some of my experiences there, the thousands upon thousands of books they had to read and the people they entertained, such as Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.

My uncle and grandfather were the heroes of my youth. Today, there isn't one person I could single out. Anyone who helps others and never asks for a reward. People who put their lives on the line every day and those who save lives are my heroes.

5. What advice would you give to someone who thinks that they’re too old, too tired, too sick, etc. to make a positive change in his or her own life?

Too tired? Sleep more and eat better. See your doctor. Too sick? Maybe. If my body was riddled with an illness I could never recover from, I could see giving up the ghost, but I’d be kicking 'til the end. Too old? Never! No one is ever too old to spread joy in the world. Love. Wisdom. To that end, there is a purpose and a reason. Don’t question yourself. Instead, have faith. We are here together. Every life is a gift on earth that should not be easily unwrapped and thrown away if it's not to your liking. You cannot put a price tag on it. You are never alone as long as I'm around and there are plenty of others like me who feel the same way about you. If that isn’t true, why would I be telling you this? After all, look how you’ve already impacted me. C'mon. Let's go split a slice of pizza. Let's grow bolder together.

To learn more about Dave Knechel, or to ask him a question, click here for his Growing Bolder profile! And to read archived articles from our 5 Questions With series, click here.



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