Born in Ottawa where I spent my early childhood, then on to Montreal where I barely survived grade school and experimented with a handful of juvenile delinquent encounters with the local police (Outremont, QC), they being most adept at 'catching me'. Then banished to a boarding school for my first year of high school (Rigaud, QC); barely surviving that experience as well.
Moving on to more misadventures in Ottawa to finish high school and attend university (Ottawa U. aka the U. of O.), from which I promptly dropped out when my father dropped dead. After a few years of misspent youth and rather mindlessly starting a family, I didn't have a clue what to do with myself. In quiet desperation I decided to start over and go back to school. Carleton U. was gracious enough to take me in and it was during that period that I acquired my first computer (an uncommon move at the time). Working a variety of jobs as I studied, I eventually graduated with a B.A. in Law (High Honours) and a minor in translation (Class of '88).
Not having the right temperament for a career as a criminal, the first 15 years or so of my working life were in sales and its close cousin, fundraising. I was fairly good at both endeavours and earned a decent living, yet I can't say that I much enjoyed the work.
Having dabbled in business during my teens & early twenties and realizing as I approached my forties that this route held the most promise of fullfilment for 'moi', I dove in. Some 25+ years in business followed. Burning with ambition at the outset (blooming late, as it were), I was fortunate enough to be successful at it; such that retirement in relative comfort as my sixties approached became an option.
Too stupid to quit (as I like to say), I chose instead to leave one business and start another, along with two of my three daughters (in order to have someone to tell me what to do and when — I have not been disappointed on that score). The result being that the night & day job became owning – and working in – a document translation agency.
Having recently turned 65, I have been thinking about 'retirement' and what that would look like for me. I can't imagine not working at something and the environment I live in affords me the opportunity to devote myself to a lifelong passion, namely, roughing it in the bush (where my home is located).
So, it's official, the 18-year Plan is officially launched. I have, in recent years, shared with close friends the many environmental wonders that make up the forestry parkland that surrounds my home. I would like to widen the sharing circle by recounting stories related to my 18-year Plan in these pages.