12 - The Demon Drink

I have been an alcoholic for years. Oh - nothing major, I am not talking tramp in the gutter level. If I were, I would hardly be typing this. I held down a job, got to nearly the top of my profession, and raised a family - fairly well I think, though they may disagree. In my daughter's case I would expect it - we have never seen exactly eye to eye on anything.

It was just a couple of whiskeys of an evening, and a couple beers. You know, just to wind down after a hard day. Except the couple of whiskeys became seven or eight. The couple of beers when I got home became six. A glass or two of wine with dinner, well, that was just icing on the cake.

11 - Writing time

10 - Technophobe to technophile in 3 easy steps.

9 - A new profession

8 - Life is.

7 - Hello again, dearest Death

6 - It's Tommy this and Tommy that.

5 - Promises gone bad

4 - Ripping up Roots

3 - Being a Kid

2 - So who am I?

I was born in time for tea.

My mother and father emigrated to Canada when Mom was 6 months pregnant with me, so the standing joke in the family has been I came out stamped "Made in the UK, for export only." Not the best of times to be born, with most economies in the toilet, but you take what you get. Dad did - working two jobs to get enough money to feed and clothe a family, and living on lettuce sandwiches to make sure that Mom and I had enough to eat.

We settled in the small town of Napanee, Ontario, primarily because two of Dad's sisters were already living there with their husbands and families. Dad found the back half of a house to rent, and we lived there for 5 years, until my sister was born.

Like most people, I don't remember a whole lot of things from my first four years. I remember the apple tree in the back yard, which was hollow at the base. I remember finding a bat on the ground under the pine tree. I remember learning to skate on the Napanee river, the winter I was three years old, and being given a fishing rod by my cousin the following summer. The fishing rod also gave me my first, impromptu swimming lesson - I hooked a massive catfish and didn't let go of the rod, much to my cousin's disgust and Mom's terror when she found out.

1 - Hello, Good Evening and Welcome.

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

- Time in a Bottle, Jim Croce

This is written for my dearest daughter and grandchildren, so they know exactly where they come from.

My life has been fairly eventful, in a small scale, everyday sort of way. More's the pity really, a normal life would have been interesting to try.

It seems that sometimes life just keeps on bending you to see you break. Normally, you don't. You just slip, then get up, dust yourself off, and carry on trying. If you are lucky, you have someone to help you to your feet again. If not, well, you can struggle up again anyway.

I remember once, at school, each class member had to summarise themselves in a single sentence. My summary was just one word: "Here." It still applies, though "A good man with his hands," describes me just as well. Not, I hasten to add, in the Mafia sense.

I have laid this out part chronology, and part on various issues, so there may be the odd repeat here and there - 'tis not the old man going senile, just wandering through a few bits of the past that few people know.