Who Am I (Part Two)

So last week I told you Who Am I (Part One), today I tell you a little more about who I am!

After driving in circles around Winnipeg, Manitoba for two different courier companies, I went out and had a brief stint as a security guard, something that i absolutely hated doing. But not long after an opportunity for Judy and I dropped into our laps. A small town general store needed a couple to manage it, and we packed up our house and son, and moved out of Winnipeg and into a tiny former gold mining community called Bissett, Manitoba.

Bissett was a shock to the system, but it was manageable. We lived there and looked after the store for just over three years, and in that time our two youngest boys were born, two years apart on the same day! At first we lived in a run down house, but eventually a mobile home was attached to the store. It caused great upset in the community, even though we were trying to be progressive in a regressive town. But money was tight and politics of the community were rough and it was time to move on.

Another opportunity arose, but this meant an even greater change to our lives. A convenience store and gas station was reopening on an Aboriginal Reserve in Northern Manitoba in a town called Cross Lake (Pimichikamac). The store was owned by a local who was bringing in outside management due to issues in the past. I was hired by the management company to operate the business. This was a huge undertaking. The store was closed and in total disrepair. It started with cleaning and painting the interior and ended with stocking it with everything from chips and chocolate bars to auto parts.

The business was highly successful and by the time I left five years later it was grossing over $2 million a year. I had enticed the bus depot to relocate to our location and on occasion during festivals, the store would operate 24 hours a day. But the community had a huge drug and alcohol problem, and that along with the fact that my kids were being bullied at school, meant it was soon time to move on again and this change was going to really affect us all.

In 1996, Judy and I purchased our own grocery store in another small community, Rorketon, Manitoba, where we still live today. At first things were good, but small town stores are hard to operate. Our customers were all ranchers or attached to ranchers and in 2003 Mad Cow Disease was found in Canada and beef exports stopped. This caused the price of cattle to plummet and our customers started to watch their money much more closely. The local gas station closed not long after, and it just became a struggle, but we tried. Our children were growing up and moving on after graduation, and with them went the cheaper labour that they offered.

Early in 2009, I left the business in the hands of Judy, who was recovering but still suffering from mental health issues, and moved to Winnipeg to seek employment. I got a job very quickly doing billing and technical support for Bell Satellite TV. But as luck would have it, not long after I got hired, Bell moved all their tech support to India and I was looking again. I got hired quickly again doing sales support for an energy drink company, but I really didn’t enjoy it.

In the back of my head I had a dream, but could I follow it?

Next week I’ll conclude the story.

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Amazing Prophecies: Daniel & Revelation Made Easy

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