REMBER THE PAST? BLOG # 2045; Aug 12,2016

"LIKE YOU KNOW LIKE I REALLY LIKE DON'T LIKE  MY LIKE MISTAKES BUT.....LIKE...

THE MESSAGE:

A while ago I was reflecting on some of the mistakes in my past that were particularly disturbing. In each case I was able to determine that the bad choices made were the result of my immaturity, selfishness, impatience, inexperience, stupidity or some combination of all the aforementioned.

If I could turn back time I'm not sure that it would serve any purpose. Would I be able become a different and smarter person?   I know that there were  moments in my past that would call for a do-over?

  

What is it that prompts us to act irresponsibly when presented with a given stimulus?

Young children simplify the issue by saying, "The devil made me do it!" 






Teens claim that, " It's my life and it's nobody else's business" 








Adults solve the issue by hiring a lawyer to win the day.

THE BLURB:

I have come to the realization that dwelling on retrospective regret is a futile endeavour when trying to come to grips with reality. There is however, value in remembering and understanding the total picture that portrays  one's passing life. 

MY CHILDHOOD

Growing up with parents who were hardworking Italian immigrants to Toronto was not easy. They had acquired ownership of a grocery store business in the city's uptown area at Yonge and Eglinton. Their education did not go beyond grade two and they could not read or write English. They spoke broken English with a distinctive  accent.

Their own childhood in Italy was a life of hardship, farm work and discipline. There was no time for play,  games or friends. Thus it was that my early childhood unfolded under much the same routines and behaviours. 

My parents worked the business from 6 AM to 10 PM. Looking back, it is obvious that they could not be expected to grasp the concept of playing with friends. They had no understanding that the actual job of a Canadian child was to play. My dad was the boss/dictator. There was no time for participation in community sports, play dates with friends, noisy fun or comic books. I was not allowed to help out in the store or leave the small, gravely backyard behind it.  Compared to my classmates, it seemed quite a lonely life.

108 Hillhurst Blvd. Renovated since we lived there

Things changed suddenly when my parents sold the grocery store business. We relocated to a residential community where I could meet  friends, hang out or  play ball hockey on the street after supper. It was here  that I hung out with a great girl named Joyce who lived across the street from our house. She was 15 and I was 8. We became inseparable! 





Joyce's father, Ace Bailey, played with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1926 to 1933.

My happiness was relatively short-lived. Dad had spent the 'happy' years building some new stores in North Toronto. We sold our community home and moved into  the apartment above one of his Avenue Road stores. You guessed right. He opened a new grocery store and it was back to the Spartan life for me.

Sister Christine in front of 368 Spring Garden Ave.
Renovated since we lived there.

Finally after 2 more years dad decided to sell the business and concentrate on building homes and buying vacant land. We moved into a residential community in Willowdale, where a new and exciting life began for me. New friends, sports and game time re-entered my  life at age twelve. Comic books, however, were still taboo and hard work loomed ahead. Summer jobs consisted of cleaning basements in homes under construction, mixing mortar, carrying bricks and cement blocks, digging trenches and maintaining the large yard at 368 Spring Garden. The weekends provided time for pickup games of baseball and football. 

Upon reflection today, I realize how much I loved  and respected my mom and dad. I had a few scars  which would haunt me in future years, but I knew love from my parents, Angelina and Gerardo, my sisters, Cynthia and Christine and  my older brother John.

MY LIFE TODAY

Consider the life of a  child growing up in the ghettoes of large cities or in developing countries with not enough to sustain their fragile existence.

I had it so simple and easy; loving parents, supportive family, good schools, the opportunity to develop into an educated person with two wonderful careers. 

1. TEACHING AND COACHING In 1964 I   married  Ann Marie Kirby.  Ann Marie had begun her teaching career in Toronto. We moved to the Kawartha area where Ann continued to teach and I began my career at the high school in Fenelon Falls, Ontario.

After 32 years of teaching and coaching at FFSS I retired. It is difficult to describe my experience at the school as a 'job'. The students were exceptional. I  learned so much from them. The student athletes were coachable, bright, energetic, and hard working. The classes were for me if not the students, fun and enjoyable. Ross Sturgess was a fine Principal and mentor.  

2. CABLE CABLE INC.  In 1983, a fellow teacher, Dave Pendlebury, approached me with the idea of bringing cable tv to the Fenelon  area. With the help of a company called Cancom, Bill Self, an engineer, the local Bank of Montreal and the good people of Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon, we were off and running.

We began with the electronic equipment in Dave's basement, and the accounting desk in my dining room. As the business grew, we moved to a rented office in Fenelon and eventually purchased a vacant 4 acres of land at County Road 8 and what is now called Cable Road. With the assistance of our tech wizards, Allan Clutton and the Armstrong brothers, Jeff and Greg, we had grown into 3 companies: Bobcaygeon Cable, Fenelon Cable, and Cable Cable.

In 1998 Dave decided he no longer wanted to be involved. I managed to purchase his half of the business and hired my son Michael to help me run the companies. Michael is now the CEO of the merged companies under the banner Cable Cable Inc. Today CCI employs 23 dedicated employees and has become a telecommunications firm providing television, internet and telephone services to over 5,000 customers. 

Dear Cable Cable,

You are still the best and I wanted to thank you for being so good me.

Television Subriber, Fenelon Falls (81 years old)

THE FAMILY


Although I am retired today, I have been blessed with a beautiful wife and great soul, 6 incredible children.

Michael is the CEO of Cable Cable and resides with his wife Gwen in Fenelon Falls. Jennifer, and her husband Brian, are well-respected teachers in Antigonish, N.S.  Stephen,  is a Broker/ manager for National Bank and lives with his wife Jennifer in Calgary. Nancy is a successful doctor and business partner in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Robert, our special needs son who has become a wonderful human being, resides in Hamilton. Stefanie, our darling daughter and true spirit has passed away. Her husband, David,  has continued to raise the three children who are totally amazing. 

My wife and I are Nonna and Nonno to 16 grandchildren. 

With Great Grandma, Helen Kirby.

We are leading a peaceful and enjoyable life today with so many good friends, relatives, fond memories of student/athletes, and much hard work.   

THE QUESTION:

Does a person ever really grow up?







THE LEMON: 

This week's award is given to the memory of Benito Mussolini for creating the Fascist Party in Italy in 1919, eventually making himself dictator prior to World War II. 

THE QUOTE: 

"When anger strikes or someone or something upsets you, remember to  take time to 'feel the love'."-Tony @ ten



THE CLIP: