The Kaluza Project is a source of unforeseen inspiration

The Kaluza Project is a source of unforeseen inspiration

Addressing the court on Sept. 23, 2008, when the two people responsible for paralyzing him were being sentenced, Joe Kaluza said: “I’ve heard some people say that the tragedies of life can make you a better person. I’ll be honest with you, I really don’t see how what happened to me can make me a better person, but I am determined to not allow myself to become a bitter person because of it.”

Two things became apparent this week when Kaluza moved into a new specially equipped house built for him and his family by members of the community:

UKaluza still isn’t bitter. He’s gracious and appreciates everything people have done for him.

URegardless of whether he’s a better person or not, a whole lot of other people are better for having come to know him.

Don Murphy, one of the moving forces behind the Kaluza home construction project, tells a story about of one of the hundreds of volunteers who donated work on the house, even though in this economy some had problems of their own. The man was busy one day when Kaluza arrived in his wheelchair. “How are you doing,” the man asked. “I’m doing terrific,” Kaluza replied with a smile.

The worker, who had been feeling a little sorry for himself earlier, told Murphy, “this guy is changing my life.”

Murphy said it wasn’t uncommon when he thanked people for their donation of time, talent or material to the Kaluza project for them to thank him for letting them be involved.

Working hard and long through 70 intense days, this group managed to do something extraordinary for Kaluza and his family. They built a house valued at $300,000 that will allow Kaluza, a quadriplegic since he was shot by a robber March 24, 2008, to live a more comfortable life. He’ll be able to move from room to room without running into barriers — something that most of us take for granted, but which kept Kaluza from tucking in his children or reading his daughter a bedtime story.

A few of the unsung

Some of the volunteers have been named in other stories, but there is not space enough to name them all. Still, pressed to give a couple of names of the as-yet-unrecognized, Murphy mentions his wife, Andrea, who took on the daunting task of coordinating virtually everything involved in the construction, and Corrine Rach, who arranged with local restaurants to have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the house for hardworking volunteers throughout the project.

He mentioned Dan Rivers, WKBN-Radio talk show host, who turned a site visit into a radiothon, and a volunteer who came to do some cement work, returned to do drywall and painting, and then took it upon himself to go to Best Buy and solicit the donation of a TV for the Kaluzas. The kicker: the man’s still paying off his own TV.

Joe Kaluza, a fellow who was providing for his family by working as the manager of a KFC franchise on South Avenue 20 months ago, was robbed of $306 in store receipts and of his ability to walk. But as he said in court to the man who shot him: “you haven’t taken away my capacity to appreciate life as I must live it now.”

And a community came together to help Kaluza realize his dream of being there for his family and enjoying their love.

A few weeks after the shooting, Joe Kaluza, a country music fan, lay in a Cleveland hospital bed unable to do much more than listen to DVDs on a player given him by KFC. The discs included George Jones, Kenny Chesney and Kenny Rogers.

Tuesday, Kaluza and his wife, Lisa, left their new Ivanhoe Avenue home for an outing to the Covelli Center, where they would meet backstage with the night’s headliner, Kenny Rogers.

That’s a nice gesture from a country music star to a fan, but we have a hunch Kenny will feel he got more out of the meeting than Joe. Anybody who volunteered on the Kaluza Project can explain how that works.