MICHAEL ASCIAK: Many Facets of
Competence
While on vacation earlier this month, Michael Asciak
picked up his toolbox and followed his wife, Elaine, to
the elementary school where she teaches. After asking if
anyone needed anything, he put together tables, mounted
pencil sharpeners and adjusted blackboards. "He just
wanted to do it," his wife said. "He was always helping
someone."
Though Mr. Asciak, 47, crunched numbers for Carr
Futures, he was just as adept at fixing things with his
hands. "Any kind of construction, heavy work, he liked
that," Mrs. Asciak said. "It's interesting that he ended
up in an office."
At their home in Ridgefield, N.J., Mr. Asciak
converted the attic into a family room and spent hours
maintaining the yard. He often teased the neighbors about
their own efforts before eagerly showing them short cuts.
But his best student was his 11- year-old daughter. Not
long ago, she fixed the VCR by herself.
.
