Brent Avery:
CLASS OF 1972
Earl Grey High SchoolClass of 1972
Winnipeg, MB
Kelvin High SchoolClass of 1975
Winnipeg, MB
Brent's Story
I would like to begin by saying that I do appreciate those of you that have visited, I would in all honesty have replied except for the fact that, since I do not use credit cards anymore at this point and I cannot upgrade, I am unable to respond to your messages. I should make an effort to borrow someone's though! Now that I am off to a good start how to go about it. Since leaving Winnipeg back in the Summer of 1975 - not by choice as I followed the rest of the family to Vancouver. My sister Janet took the move the hardest as she had so many friends at Earl Grey. I lasted one year before heading back to Winnipeg on my own and before one of those wonderful Winters arrived joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1976. I won't bore anyone with the details except I ended up serving at C.F.B Calgary from mid 1977 until September 1980 when I left the military. Apparently it did not agree with me. I have to admit though, I loved Calgary back then, and it is where I bought my first new bicycle ( read expensive Italian racer). Outside of whatever job I had cycling was something I did above all else. Where was i ? Oh, yes, after being discharged from the armed forces I pointed my 1972 Volvo station wagon West and headed for Vancouver (again). I will say Calgary was a great location for visiting the family in Vancouver and some friends in Winnipeg, I made quite a few trips and still missed Winnipeg so being there in the Summer when I could and riding around the places I remember was a lot of fun. Since arriving in Vancouver in 1980 I have stayed put and did some short term jobs for a few years, mainly because I had no idea what I wanted to do. Which takes me back to my time in Kelvin High School - instead of going to Tech Voc I basically wasted three years in an academic school which was the wrong choice, but hey, I was an inexperienced teenager, what did I know? At this point in time it is 1989 and I started to get the idea that I might like to try working in automotive parts, for someone that ...Expand for more
enjoys cycling as much as I do it may seem an odd choice. but I also had an attachment to cars, specifically Volvos ( and I will put the blame on two Kelvin teachers that owned one each back in 1973-74 for giving me a life long affair with the marque ) although I also owned a '69 Dodge Charger for awhile in the mid '80's and got caught up with muscle cars for a few years. The short of it is I ended up working at a Volkswagen dealer in Richmond, and I lived in North Burnaby. We can fast forward to 2009 at which point I had been with the same employer for 20 years and I decided I needed a change. I did manage to take a trip with my brother Craig to the Black Hills in South Dakota via Washington, Idaho and Montana in Early October 2010 - we were going to take in Winnipeg but ran out of time. I was last there in 1992 but still hope to visit. Our family used to spend Summers at Victoria Beach so I have very fond memories as I grew up staying at the cottage through the 1960's and early '70's. It seems like another world now. So here I am semi retired in a city that unfortunately cannot stop growing and I would much rather leave for a smaller place but unfortunately my present circumstances at the moment will not allow it- I hear Nelson, B.C. is nice! I still get enjoyment out of cycling and just recently purchased a touring bicycle that is worth quite a bit more than my current vehicle - which is an older Volvo 740 station wagon. It has been parked for two years while I decide if I will drive it again. Did I leave out anything important? I never married`- it could be I never met the "right one" but it is more likely I made the decision no one could live with my quirky personality, for lack of a more accurate description! Except perhaps my Siberian cat, but then we're both two of kind. Looking back, I will say that the single most defining event for myself that has affected me the most was meeting two of Jehovah's Witnesses when I went back to school for a few months in 1981 - I eventually ended up becoming one myself along with my younger brother Craig. So if anyone reading this has any questions please do not hesitate to ask and hopefully I will be able to answer. Cheers!
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