Like most of us, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up so I decided to stick with the ‘school thing’. Went to York U. for one year where I was in the dance program. I had aspirations of becoming a dance therapist. After one year, I decided that I would need therapy if I hung around those artsy types much longer. They were weird!! Michael Arkin (hi Michael!) seemed to be enjoying himself at McMaster U. so I transferred there. It was great. I really enjoyed the social psych program. My diploma says I graduated ‘summa cum laude’. After that, I bought my first car courtesy of the scholarship U of T gave me to study in the criminology department. There I honed my knowledge of crime prevention through environmental design. It was insightful and I got paid to write my thesis so life seemed good. My next project involved the redesign of the Prison for Women in Kingston, Ont.
Too bad the Feds didn’t incorporate my unique ideas.
One of my grad school colleagues hailed from Vancouver and he returned there upon graduation. He suggested I come visit in the summer of 1978. What a contrast from Toronto. I feel in love with the people, climate and scenery. No, not the guy! So, I packed up the U of T car and drove across Canada with my mother. The girls had a great road trip!
Life in Vancouver has been wonderful! Upon arrival I secured a position with the transit authority as a security consultant for the new rapid transit system. Budget cuts cancelled all security measures. That dumb move is costing us dearly now. As it was the Year of the Disabled and there was no public transportation for the physically challenged, I was hired to design the province wide system ‘handiDART’ system. It was a really worthwhile project.
From there I spent 4 months as a ski bum in Whistler, obtained a private investigators license, volunteered as a Victim Witness counselor, got paid to umpire professional tennis, built my own wooden kayak, walked through Switzerland and eventually landed on my feet as a self-employed registered financial planner. I’ve been at it for 21 years and still love helping people understand their relationship to money. Life at work is never dull.
Over the years I have kept in touch with McMaster U and helped out with the local alumni branch. For some reason, they felt I deserved to be inducted into the Alumni Gallery. This prestigious hall includes people like Roberta Bondar. Martin Short was one of my fellow inductees in 1985. No, I didn’t get to meet him as he missed the ceremony. It was a wonderful honour.
In my spare time I still play tennis, paddle when possible and train for the next triathlon. Not-for-profit board work keeps me in touch with the Jewish community.
In 1985 it seemed like a good idea to get married so I did. Nice idea but wrong guy. What can I say – live and learn. If you know any Jewish super jocks who live on the coast give them my name – you never know.
Last October, when Linda Fraser was in Vancouver, we met for coffee and joked about how wonderful if would be for all of us to get together for a joint birthday party. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to pan out. Thanks to Evie & Rhonda for a stellar job of finding us all. Can’t wait to see you all. Yes, you’ll recognize me – I still haven’t grown!
Cheers!
