"In the last 17 years of his working life, my father was finally rewarded with having landed a great job as first, a maintenance engineer, and then a senior locksmith with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York"

Tony Visconti’s reflection on his father’s career highlights a profound narrative of perseverance and eventual recognition. Seventeen years is a notable span, suggesting that his father’s earlier working life may have been marked by struggle, modest roles, or positions lacking prestige and security. The use of “finally rewarded” carries an emotional weight; it implies years of hard work, sacrifices, and perhaps a longing for the kind of validation that comes with professional success. There’s a sense of justice here, a culmination of effort where persistence yields tangible results.

Landing a “great job” signifies not merely a better paycheck or a more impressive title, but a transformation in his father’s daily experience and self-worth. Becoming first a maintenance engineer and then a senior locksmith at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York suggests a progression both in skill and in responsibility. The Federal Reserve Bank, an iconic and critical institution, adds a further layer of prestige to his father’s accomplishments. It implies trust, reliability, and expertise, the bank would, after all, employ only those individuals they considered highly capable and trustworthy.

There’s an underlying element of personal pride as well. For a son to recount his father’s journey in such detail hints at admiration. The specificity, maintenance engineer, then senior locksmith, emphasizes the concrete nature of his father’s work, valued not just for titles but for the actual contributions made. Working with one's hands, ensuring security in such a vital institution, these are not only respectable positions but ones that carry a sense of purpose.

Beneath the surface, the quote speaks to broader themes: the dignity of labor, the quiet triumphs of working-class life, and the ways in which perseverance, often underappreciated, eventually finds its reward. It underscores that success is not always immediate, but it is deeply meaningful when it arrives through years of unshakeable dedication.