50 Years of Friendship, Laughter, and Epic Adventures
Gary Bezucha and Greg Klatkiewicz
Transcript
INTRO: When Greg “Goomba” Klatkiewicz (71) moved into Gary “Zooks” Bezucha’s (70) basement in college, they didn’t know it would be the start of a lifelong friendship. They shared a sense of adventure and soon bonded over their love of camping, canoeing and cheap beer. Since then, they have leaned on each other while navigating life’s joys and struggles: divorce, marriage, kids, near death experiences, plenty of shenanigans, and the loss of Gary’s wife, Janet. They came together at StoryCorps to reminisce about old times and to share how much their friendship has meant over the years. Here’s Greg talking about the first time they met.
Greg Klatkiewicz (GK): I remember seeing you in the Medical Library, the smoking lounge. We used to hang out there. And I used to bum cigarettes from you all the time.
Gary Bezucha (GB): Yeah, you smoked OP's.
GK: That's right, other people's, yeah, they're the best.
GB: I remember you coming up and asking me once if I had a spare room, in my apartment.
GK: My marriage had broken up and you were kind enough to take me in. I had to provide a case of beer a week. That was my contribution.
GB: You know, we lived together our last year in college. What do you remember most about that?
GK: I remember the long week. There was a lot of partying going on.
GB: It was an entire week of partying. I think that's why we called it the long week.
GK: Somehow you hurt your ankle. And you were going upstairs with your crutches, and didn't quite make it, came down the steps and put your ass through the wall. There was a big hole in the plaster.
GB: I also remember the time that our other roommate, Joe and I hitchhiked to Colorado to go skiing. And by the time we were hitchhiking back, we had completely run out of money. We didn't have any money. And we got as far as Dubuque, Iowa and it was late at night and we both just wanted to get home. And so we bummed a quarter off somebody and called you. And you drove all the way from Madison down to Dubuque in the middle of the night and picked us up and brought us home.
GK: It was two o'clock in the morning. I remember it vividly.
We kind of parted ways after graduation and your first job was at a hospital in Marshfield?
GB: St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.
GK: Right. And you had a unique work schedule that was seven days on, 12 hour days, and then you had a week off.
GB: Yes. It was horrible.
GK: I took a job at the VA in Milwaukee and got this one-bedroom apartment in a questionable area of town. And it was probably the loneliest time of my life. And the one of the greatest phone calls I ever got was you called and said, “Hey, Goomba you want to get an apartment together in Milwaukee? I'm moving back.” And I said, “Hallelujah!”
We started a few memories then. I think that was where we developed the dishes joke.
GB: Yes, the tradition of the dishes joke, where whoever is drying the dishes has to come up with a joke that the other one has not heard before.
GK: Which was difficult after we lived together for a while.
GB: It's also where we developed the method of disposing of all of the leftovers from the week, where on Fridays, we would come home and smoke a joint and then eat everything in the refrigerator.
GK: Yeah, we had some great times on Oakland Avenue.
GB: We were living there when you introduced me to Janet.
GK: I was the PT at Wood VA and I think Janet was a student PT. And she was just a hoot. She had a hell of a sense of humor, good looking gal. And I said, “You know, I think Zooks would like this gal.”
GB: We started dating immediately. And never stopped. I owe you one for introducing us.
GK: So when Debbie moved in, that was kind of an awkward time for you, I’m sure. I know you did not have a strong liking for cats and...
GB: I hated cats.
GK: Debbie brought her cat with her and moved in with us. The day she moved in. You were slouched on the couch and Rocky immediately jumped up, crawled up on your chest, and jabbed you in the face with her paw and then jumped back down. And it was like, “I'm here you son of a gun.”
GB: I remember that.
GK: During that period of time, I went on my first canoe trip into the Quetico. After that trip I was just totally hooked on canoeing. And, in 1974, I bought a smoker craft canoe, which I still have. It's in the barn. And that was the beginning of many adventures for us.
The maiden voyage of that canoe was when you and I...
GB: Yes, we went to a wedding together up in Superior.
GK: We drove, like all night and we wound up at Spillerberg Lake. The sun was just coming up, and we put the canoe in Spillerberg Lake, and that was the maiden voyage of that canoe.
But the first overnight trip with that canoe was on the Wisconsin River. I can't remember where we put in.
GB: Prairie du Sac dam.
GK: But we missed our takeout by 15 miles.
GB: Went all the way to Muscoda and had to hitchhike back to where the guy was picking us up at Lone Rock. We were having so much fun we just went right by our takeout point.
GK: Another trip on the Wisconsin River. We had the girls with us.
GB: We did, we had Janet and Debbie with us.
GK: And I can remember a couple things about that trip. One was, we did get rather wrecked one night. And we had camped on a sandbar.
Well they opened up the dams during the night. And I can remember waking up and the floor of the tent is like a waterbed. And you got up and you unzipped the tent and you said, "Goomba! There's a fish swimming under our tent!" So, there we were, middle of the night, sloshing around dragging our tent up on some dry land.
And the other thing I remember about that trip was it was very hot. We're all standing in the river, and I had to go to the bathroom really bad. And I thought, you know, what's the difference? I'm in the water up to my neck, so I just went. Well, you were downstream of me and you were standing there and you said, "Hey Goomba, I found a warm spot!" I almost didn't have the heart to tell you.
GB: Do you remember the first falls chain trip? The first fly-in trip?
GK: Well, that was when I almost lost you.
GB: Yeah.
GK: That was in 96. We had a terrible winter, a ton of snow, and the water level was just unbelievable. They had to change some of the portages because the water was so fast and rapid. And we had to go around this island. I put the paddle in to make the turn and we capsized. I was fortunate enough to be next to an island and got up on there. The canoe and a couple of packs got washed off into a bay. And you unfortunately, were swept away down current, and I'm watching you and you're trying to recover some of our gear and I'm, "Zooks, you gotta swim!" You were like, feet from going over the waterfalls, and you managed to grab onto a branch and pull yourself up on shore.
GB: Yeah. I think if I had gone over that waterfall, it would have been the end of it.
GK: Yeah, it was kind of terrifying. I can't even imagine what you were thinking or going through, Zooks.
GB: I wasn't thinking. I was swimming for my life with boots on.
GK: We continued on our journey and that evening, we set up camp and had our traditional cocktails and we decided to have our picture taken. I had a camera with a timer, and I took our picture. And I still have that picture sitting on my desk. It's quite a memory.
GB: On a lighter note...
GK: Yes
GB: I remember the day before this incident.
GK: Yes?
GB: We were paddling in and you know, as sometimes happens when you're drinking questionable water, your bowels start to overreact. And I remember, we always kept the shovel and the toilet paper close on the top of a pack so it'd be easily accessible if an emergency arose. And you suddenly declared an emergency and said, “Beach the canoe!” And you went flying out of the canoe and you said, "Throw me the shovel on the toilet paper." And I threw it to you as you were running. And you ran off into the woods and you know, there were no toilets. So you got to bury everything. And by the time you came back, I said, "You know, this isn't actually a bad place to camp. Why don't we just camp here for the night?" So we unloaded our gear and camped there. I think we did some fishing and made dinner and everything, and I had to go back into the woods and use the facilities. And I took the shovel and the toilet paper and looking for a spot. And I started digging, and I, I found a pair of underwear that I dug up. And I think in all these years, I don't think I've ever told you that I found that underwear. I figured these things were meant to stay under the ground. Did you want it back?
GK: Well, yeah.
GB: We could, we could go up there and dig it up. We could probably find that spot.
GK: You know, when you're paddling for hours on end, you got to keep yourself entertained, so I used to like to, you know, serenade you from the stern of the canoe.
GB: Yes. And you're the world's worst singer. Actually, you're the world's second worst singer. Janet was the world's worst singer and then you were just slightly behind her.
GK: What else do you remember from those trips?
GB: Well, one of the traditions was always grilling steaks the first night out, but one of the other traditions was dessert.
GK: Oh, the mystery pudding!
GB: We would have instant pudding for dinner every night that we would make in a kettle and we never knew what kind of pudding it was because we always threw away all the boxes. And it was the highlight of the day to find out what the mystery pudding would be.
GK: The favorite was the pistachio. The night that you opened that up and made the pudding and it was green. Oh, man pistachio night. It was perfect.
GB: It was. We knew life was good that night.
GK: Oh the Arketukus award.
GB: Oh yes. The Arketukus award. Your brother in law Fred came up with the idea of presenting an award to one person on the trip for doing the stupidest thing of the week.
GK: Who did the most boneheaded thing on the trip?
GB: I was the first winner of the Arketukus award.
GK: Yes, you were. We're all sitting around the campfire. And it was late and I and I think you had decided that you were going to get ready for bed. You went down to the lake to wash up or brush your teeth or whatever. And then you went back to the tent. You were there for a while, then you went back down to the lake. Then you go back to the tent. And this went on, like several times. And finally, you came up to us at the campfire and you said, "Hey, anybody seen my flashlight?" and we look and there's a glowing light coming out from your pant leg.
GB: And I couldn't find it.
GK: Couldn't find it.
GB: So I got the Arketukus Award for, they called it “Light Pants.”
GK: Yes, you did.
Gary: Do you think our friendship would be different if we hadn't taken all these canoe trips?
GK: Well, yeah. I mean, it was a big part of our friendship. Of course, you know, the other big part were the ski trips.
GB: That tradition lasted decades because we were still doing our annual ski trips even when we had kids.
GK: Yep. That's where your son John, we, he got the nickname Condo Johnny. Cuz we stayed in a big condo on that trip, and
GB: He was, I think he was only a year old
GK: Or less.
GB: Yeah, we took him in a hot tub with us.
GK: Yeah, and then taking him to the restaurant. And he's in his little bassinet next to the table, and...a lot of memories on those trips.
GB: I think we'd have a lot less to talk about when we get together if it weren't for all these canoe trips and ski trips, because we enjoy talking about them, and just reliving them.
GK: When we'd all get together, you know, it kind of became a joke. Well, let's see if we could remember all of the ski trips, and there were like 20-some, and I think that prompted Jan to make a list.
GB: She did. She tried to write a chronology of the ski trips. And we found that after she had died.
GB: What do you remember about when I first told you Jan was sick?
GK: I know that I tried to contact you for weeks and weeks and months and months and I wasn't getting any response. And I figured that was your way of dealing with the worst nightmare anyone could ever have. It was horrible.
GB: You know, one of the things that sticks in my memory is, all the canoe trips that we did, you were a fastidious journaler. You kept incredibly intricate notes of every day on every canoe trip. And I remember you coming down when Janet was in extended care, and you brought one of those journals with you, and you read to her about one of the trips that we took. And I don't know if she heard you. But I did.
GK: That was the one of the fly-in trips to Mack lake. That was the only one she went on. And I just thought it might be fun to relive that.
GB: I will never forget that. I'd like to think that she did hear that and maybe enjoyed reliving that during a dark period in her life.
GK: One thing about Jan.
when Debbie and I and you and Jan you know we'd get together. Debbie usually was the first one to retire for the evening. And it was always you and I and Jan.
GB: The three amigos.
GK: The three amigos. The Three Musketeers. We always got into trouble or did something wild and crazy. And I know Jan would always want to be part of whatever trouble we got into.
GB: I think in her memory, we should go out and do something really stupid.
GK: Well you remember the He-Man Club?
GB: Oh, yeah.
GK: We had to do something naked to get into the He-man Club. And I think I remember telling you and Jan about this. And I said, "Well, you guys got to get in the He-man Club." And you were living in some condo in Wausau. And late in the evening, you and Jan got in the He-Man Club.
GB: We did. I think we had to run across three backyards naked. This was on our first anniversary.
GK: Well, what a way to celebrate. I think I called my old college roommate at two in the morning because he was the president of the He-man Club. And we got you officially inducted that night.
Diane Bezucha: What is it that you guys think, you know, has been your friendship last this long?
GB: Nobody else wants to be our friend.
GK: We're stuck with each other.
GB: In my whole life, I've never met anyone as non-judgmental as you are. I don't think there's anything I could do that would cause you to not be my friend.
GK: And the thing about you is your spontaneity. You're fun and you're not afraid to do things. And I can remember, I don't know whose wedding we went to. The reception was at a hotel. And we were going to cut through the pool area to get back to our room. And we're both dressed, I mean, to the hilt, sport coats, ties, the whole works. And obviously, there were some alcohol involved. But I can remember walking by this pool, and you looked at me, and I looked at you. And we smiled, and we both jumped in the pool. We’ve had a lot of good times.
GB: We have. We've had good times and bad times.
GK: Yeah. And hopefully many more times to come.
GB: You know, we had things that we always did as couples. And I know for the first couple of years I felt like the fifth wheel, you know, the pathetic widow that you allowed to come along. And I know that you guys always tried to make me feel like a part of everything. And I always appreciated that.
GK: It just meant so much to all of us to have you there and having you there was like having Jan there
GB: You've been a great friend. You know, when I hurt my back last winter, you came and took care of me. I didn't even ask you to. I could not have come home from the hospital had you not come here taking care of me. And I don't know that I've ever adequately said thank you. But that along with everything else you've done over the last 50 years. Thank you.
GK: It's a two way street. You always opened your house and your heart like you have over 50 years. Thank you for that.
GB: I love you, Goomba.
GK: Love you too. Always.
OUTRO: That was Gary Bezucha and Greg Klatkiewicz reflecting on their fifty years of friendship. Their interview will be archived at the Library of Congress along with hundreds of thousands of others.
