new church life: march/april 2016
years shared these words: “Reade was meticulous with details and his thinking
was always sound [and] well-reasoned . . . He readily impressed others with . .
. his accurate and sagacious judgment.”
Speaking of sagacity or wisdom, a principle of doctrine comes to mind: “To
know effects from causes,” we read, “is to be wise.” (Divine Love and Wisdom
115) As a spiritual quality, wisdom is not just knowing a bunch of stuff; it’s
knowing how effects are derived from causes; knowing how and why things
are the way they are and how and why they got that way. This description of
wisdom sounds a lot like Reade. He did know a bunch of stuff, and if you
looked in his shed or in his garage, you’d see that he also had a bunch of stuff.
But any of us would be hard-pressed to find something that Reade knew or
that he kept that he couldn’t tell you the use of, original or improvised.
One last facet of Reade’s keen and curious mind is the joy he got out of
helping others find things out the same way he did. With what he knew and
with the expertise he had, it probably would have been the easy way most of
the time just to say, “Look, do this and this and this and you’ll get the result
you want.” But instead, he loved to help people see for themselves what the
situation was, to see what their options were and then he would let them have
the delight of making and benefitting from their own decisions. And watching
that happen would be even more delightful for Reade.
This brings us to the second of the three qualities we are reflecting on:
Reade’s steady and unhurried, calm and patient approach to problem-solving
and getting things done. A young friend of the family once asked Reade how he
knew so much about so many things. Reade’s answer was simple, compelling
and emblematic of his character. “When people talk to me, I listen.”
An aviation friend of Reade’s who lives in New Zealand shared this story:
Reade and I participated in an Around New Zealand Air Race some seven years
ago. It involved about 35 planes and 95 aircrew, lasted the better part of two weeks
and overflew both islands as we took in most major spots to see in this beautiful
country.
The days were pretty much full on with flight planning, navigation and the logistics
of feeding and housing and fueling all these planes and all these people in so many
spots in a limited time. It would be a challenge for a stranger from another country.
. . unless, of course, you are Reade Genzlinger.
Reade’s easy going nature and astoundingly thorough knowledge of aviation and
aviation history opened all sorts of doors with the other contestants. A skilled
raconteur, he kept the groups entertained and always with a smile and a chuckle
when a point or punchline was made.
I could not have asked for a better copilot or friend.
“Reade’s easy going nature . . . ” No matter who is talking about Reade and
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