Simon Says

I just needed a small part replaced on my sewing machine while in the midst of sewing lavender sachets for a fundraising project.  (My usual repair guy died.)  Remarkably, I found another only a few miles away.  At 2 pm I made an appointment by phone for 5 pm (on a Friday night!) I thought it would be a quick 15 minutes.  Nooooo...

I met Simon at his house where his business is also located in the basement.  There were sewing machines, embroidery samples, and tools  everywhere.  Even the ceilings were covered with stuff.  He showed me a big room where he has 3 commercial multi-head embroidery machines of various sizes.  He and his wife Aida fulfill contracts for the Cleveland professional sports teams as well as suburban schools, and international businesses as far away as Japan.  He even helps people repair commercial embroidery machines via online video.

But that was just the beginning.  Simon lives on 2 1/2 acres where he and Aida grow fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, but mostly LOTS - and I mean LOTS - of elephant garlic.  The heads weigh roughly 1 pound each.  They are drying everywhere and beds are still full with more to be pulled.  Every inch of ground, balcony, porch, and cellar is full.  His wife Aida waived from down at the creek where she was washing off freshly harvested garlic heads.  He says everything is grown organically.  Simon gave me a mini tour to show me his burnt tree ashes, irrigation system, mulch and compost piles, etc.  It was overwhelming to say the least.  He mentioned he has orchards elsewhere and a total of five businesses.  He and Aida handle it all themselves with no employees.

Which brings us back to the elephant garlic.  He got very animated talking about it.  Simon says he is a doctor and that he cures people of all kinds of ailments with his elephant garlic and other natural substances.  I did a cursory search online and found some scientific research about the medicinal benefits of elephant garlic.  He claims he has never had health insurance or seen a doctor since he moved to the US.

Simon and his extended family escaped Soviet Georgia in the 1980s, lived in Italy for awhile, and then moved here.  

I'll say one thing:  Simon has a lot of energy.  And he likes to talk.

I paid his annual sewing machine maintenance charge to get my machine "in line." I brought my sewing machine back home to finish my project.  He'll order the needed part and will have my machine for 3 - 4 weeks once I take it back to him later this week. 

Wow...I didn’t expect all of that!