By reading the headline of this post, you may think there’s nothing remarkable here. But this story is very remarkable. In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, there lives an old man. For identity security we’ll call him Jim. Jim is 76 years old today (happy late birthday, Jim!). And, yes, you read that right. Jim is 76. His story is remarkable because at this prime age he decided to come out of retirement because, in his words, “repairing appliances in Vancouver BC is so fun!”
I happened to meet Jim when he was repairing my dad’s broken washing machine and I loved his story so much I decided to post about it. Jim, for over 30 years, taught junior football for various middle schools across British Columbia. If you’re a big fan of local junior football, you may have even heard of him. Jim’s childhood dream was playing in the NFL but due to a minor bone disease he was at best only able to coach football. Jim says he has more energy than most 20-year-olds, and was only in retirement for three weeks before, as he put it, “craved something to do so bad he took up fixing the neighborhood’s appliances.” It only took about a month of this before he decided to submit a resume to work at the first appliance repair company in Vancouver BC that he could reach.
Jim still loves football, and he never misses a game for the team he used to coach. They have a new coach now. And even Jim admits the new one is better. He’s very proud of his team, but not as proud as his wife is of him for bringing home all that extra cash from fixing appliances. I think this story is a great motivational lesson for people like me who fear old age. Jim is a great example of staying young at heart. He plans to keep attending football games and repairing appliances right into his 90s if he can.
Today you can find Jim, under his real name of course, at one of Vancouver BC’s best appliance repair companies: http://www.werepairappliances.ca/
Jim is a great advocate of working hard, and I look up to him for that. Working for an appliance repair company may not be romantic or ideal for many, but Jim is very content. He’s satisfied with the life he’s lived and throughout British Columbia hundreds of young men remember him as their favorite football coach. I for one can vouch he’s a good man. And he’s very good at fixing appliances. It’s no wonder he chose this field. My dad’s washing machine works better than it did a year ago. But I doubt he’s better at fixing washers than he used to be at coaching football for minors. BC junior football owes a lot to this man. I’m very proud of him. My dad has become somewhat close friends with him as they have a lot in common. I for one hope I can have a friend like that when I’m in my 70s.
So thanks Jim. Thank you for being an inspiration and help to my family. You’re the man!
For my regular readers, let me know if you enjoy interesting stories like this. My plan for the future is to focus more on junior football, but if you like stories like this I have a lot more to share. Don’t forget to stay motivated and check back frequently for more posts and updates. Bye for now!