How do you begin at the beginning? How do you begin at the beginning? What does that mean? Well, it means, of course, how do you begin at the beginning of your life? So I would like to relate how I began, and it was very difficult for me to begin.
So I grew up in that village, I think I mentioned before. Wonderful time really as a child and then after a great deal of difficulty, I graduated from high school. Now prior to graduating from high school, I was, bit of an academic failure to say the least, and our dream was to, become rock and roll stars. We saw rock and roll stardom, if you will, as a ticket to freedom, peace, and you would end up with probably a car and a girlfriend. So I played in a rock and roll band.
I played the piano, long hair. I had an earring. I wasn’t very good, but the lead singer, Hume Ayford, was really excellent. Really good. Fabulous, really.
International quality and a good looking too. He had a blonde beard, and the beard was so white that it was incredible. He was like a sun god in a way. So in grade 11, he announced that we’re going to quit school. Great, I thought to myself.
So I went home with great excitement, and I told my mother, mom, I’m quitting school. And there was a pause. There was no response. Now, normally, you would hear from your parents, good luck, all the best, Something to that effect. But from my mother, nothing at all for a very long time.
So she waited and I waited. And then eventually, she began to vibrate and something primordial came out of her mouth. You’re not quitting school. Okay. I was so shocked that I didn’t quit school, but Hume did and he went off.
So then I graduated from high school and actually, miraculously, I I got very good marks in theater and in French. My GPA was actually very high. But I’m in this little town, and I don’t know what to do. So I was offered a job with, Westway TV selling stereos and televisions, and I was very good at it, actually, very good. The owner, Ron Colson, he sees that I’m good at this and he offers me a partnership.
Leon, stay 5 years and you’ll be a wealthy man. Jay, it’s hard to know what to do. Right? You’re in this little town. You never been really anywhere.
I’ve been to Europe once for a month, but seen nothing really. Knew nothing. Innocent as well. So I can’t decide. And in the shop, there was a man by the name of Sander Naderberry from Hungary, and he was going back to Hungary for a trip 6 weeks or so and he asked if I’d like to come along.
So here we have the choice, you know, the great dilemma if you will at, at 18 years old between staying in the little village and becoming rich or taking a chance on you, The great monomyth from Joseph Campbell. Right? The hero’s journey. Are you willing to take a chance on you? I can’t decide.
So the night before I had to make a decision, I had an argument with my girlfriend and that decided everything. So I went. I went to Hungary and then my sister came and met me and then I went to France and so on and so forth. And then, my story. I’m in France going to school, learning French, and feeling as if I’m somewhat accomplished, and then I ran out of money.
So I had this Fender Rhodes electric piano. It was worth, about the time was expensive, about 2,000 US dollars. So I wrote my mother a letter and I said, mom, would you take a mortgage on my Fender Rhodes electric piano? And she wrote back long before the Internet and telephone calls were very expensive and hard to do. So letter writing was everything.
So she wrote back in agreement. Low and behold, she enclosed a check for $800. I remember this. It was a lot of money but, you know, you’re young and you’re living in Paris and so on and so forth and the money is soon gone. So I wrote again, dear mom, I’m studying very, very hard.
Could you please send me some more money using, of course, the piano as security? So she agreed and she sent another $800. Oh, good times. So once again, I ran out of money. So I wrote again and my mother used to write these long long letters.
Who’s got time for the letters? Where’s the check? I look for the check. There’s no check-in the letter. And at the very end, I’m forced to read the letter, and her closing sentence or sentences were, dear Leon, your father and I love you very much, But, we feel that if you want to stay in France and study, please stay.
If you want to come home, you’re always welcome. Either way, you have to work, underlined, work. So okay. Quite put off actually. So okay, so I did.
I went north to Sweden, and I worked the summer, came home or came back to Paris. Still not enough money. So I decided it’s time to come home. But at this point now, I’m quite put off with my parents and I’m not gonna ask for money. I’m gonna do it on my own.
So I had enough money to fly from, gosh, from Amsterdam to New York City and I took a train to Montreal and then, you know, now I’m 19 years old. Right? Little bit wiser. So I asked someone, how far is it to Vancouver? It’s the wintertime, you know, November, not very nice weather.
And somebody sitting in this cafe that I was sitting in said to me, oh, it’s not bad. If you leave in the morning, you’ll be in Vancouver probably that night. Now, Vancouver is around 5,000 kilometers from Montreal and really anyone would know you’re not going to be in Vancouver that night, but I didn’t. So I set off and you know what does Alice in Wonderland tell us? Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the very end, right?
So I set off. Not enough money of course and I was sleeping in the ditch. Now every kook, gangster, bank robber, etcetera, etcetera seemed to pick me up. I had quite the adventures along the way. But I didn’t die.
And I finally got back home feeling a little bit wiser, a little bit more intelligent. And as I arrived home, the front door, of course, was locked, so I went to the back door which was always open. But my parents had a new dog, and the dog doesn’t know who I am at all. I went to open the door and the dog grabbed my hand, And then the dog got very angry and chased me away. So that was my homecoming.
Right? But I realized that at that point that you needed the beginning and it was done. Now I’d had a beginning and I could go forth in my life. I could develop what I wanted because I always had that belief. I think we’re all the same, really.
I had that belief that somehow I had to do something with this piece of life. And it unfolded. Not all good but certainly not all bad. In the end, it was a lot of fun. And you know what they say.
You know what they say. Critical thinking is necessary, and critical thinking is great.