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| My LEGO logo sitting on Mom & Dad’s neato, lace, churchy, table cloth, that I ate off of most nights, when I went to their place for supper. |
Dad was a Presbyterian pastor. His first church was Cranberry Portage, Manitoba. When I was 1, he moved to a church in Innerkip, Ontario, near Woodstock. I was the firstborn. My brother Mike Ketchen and I were both born in Flin Flon, Manitoba. My brother Steve was born in Woodstock, Ontario, at the end of our time in Innerkip. Then, when I was 5, Dad took a church in Sydney, Nova Scotia, on majestic Cape Breton Island. Sydney wasn’t majestic, at the time, but the rest of Cape Breton was. Sydney (in the 1970’s) had pink sky, due to its steel plant. When I was 8, we were still in the Sydney church, but as a family we moved to Sydney’s neighbouring village of Coxheath, which I still hold in my heart to this day. I loved Coxheath, Nova Scotia! When I was 14, in 1982, Dad took a church in Duanesburg, New York, in the Albany area. He was there from 1982 to 1991. During the end of his time there, I worked in Toronto for 13 months, from the summer of 1990 to the summer of 1991. Then I moved back in with Dad and Mom, but in a new location. They had just moved to Valparaiso, Indiana, near Chicago, but my brothers remained and continue to remain in the Albany, New York area. Valpo, Indiana (as they nickname Valparaiso) was Dad’s last full-time pastorate. He officially retired in 1996, but, of course, kept preaching anyway, for another decade or so. Just before he left that church, he bought a housecleaning business called MAID EASY. I graduated from Valparaiso University in December 1995, and I started working for Dad in early 1996 until late 1998 when Dad, Mom, and I left Valparaiso, Indiana for Dad’s temporary “interim pastor” role at his former Duanesburg, New York church, while they were between pastors. It was wonderful. You “can” go home again. We moved back into the same house and renewed friendships with the same people of his old congregation, plus, we were near my brothers and their families again. A year later, Mom, Dad, and I crossed the border back into Canada, on December 29, 1999, Mom’s brilliant and successful attempt to avoid any Y2K problems at the border. We made our new home in Guelph (pronounced “Gwelf”), Ontario, Canada, eh! We moved in with Dad’s step-mother Ruth who was recovering from a stroke. She recovered quite well. 10 months into our time in Guelph, I got my own apartment in Guelph. I’ve been in this apartment for over 17 years. I still went to Dad, Mom, and Grandma Ruth’s place every night for supper, though. I fend for myself now. Ruth passed away in 2009, Dad in 2016, and Mom in May of 2017. I’ve been happily retired on Disability pensions for my http://bit.ly/SevereOCD since age 36, in 2004. I enjoyed most of my jobs, but I don’t miss any of them. My OCD kept killing my jobs, so I got the help I needed with the pensions, and other supports, plus the major support of my parents feeding me; which has now carried on in the form of a Hansen Trust set up for me by Mom before she passed. Instead of inheriting one third of her estate with my two brothers, the Hansen Trust was set up to work in conjunction with my Disability pensions so that I get extra money each month from the Trust, but not so much that it would impact my Disability pensions. I’m so thankful for so many things. I just wish my brothers lived in my area, but all of my other relatives do live here with me in southern Ontario, so I’m happy. Also, I live alone, but I’m not lonely. I’m a loner — I get that from Dad. He preached for a living, but Sunday was about the only day we heard his voice. 😶
© http://JTK.CA
Tad “JTK.CA” NudistPoet
(http://NudeCreations.com)
© Jonathan Tad Ketchen
http://TadCreations.com
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
http://NudistPoet.com
519-780-1057 (Home)
Tad@NudistPoet.com
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