(This is just a start. The Esperanto version is longer, though still far from complete. This English section is mostly a compilation of answers to questions from students of the Internet Free Esperanto Course, whose exercises I correct.)
When I was still in school - in the fifties - a friend was reading a book during the morning "school assembly" instead of listening to the head-master's announcements. Being curious to know what was so interesting, I later asked him. It was an Esperanto textbook. A while later I saw another Esperanto text book in the public library, and borrowed it to take a look.
I liked the idea of people in the schools of every country learning the SAME second language, and especially that it was much easier to learn than the national languages. I started learning it, in 1954. As a teenager living in England, I was able to listen to a radio program in Esperanto from Zagreb every Thursday night. I sometimes also listened to Bern (Switzerland) and Hilversum (Holland). There were (and still are) many other radio programs in Esperanto.
After moving to Toronto in 1957 I met european Esperantists who had just moved here, and could not speak English well, so I got lots of practice in Esperanto!
I was working in the laboratory at an edible-oil refinery. We processed oils such as soya, sunflower, coconut etc., for salad oil, frying fats, shortenings, margarine, and specialty products.
Unfortunately we had to work night-shifts too, because the refinery works 24-hours a day. Apart from doing analysis, for quality and production control, the lab also provides the shipping documents to tank-truck drivers when they leave to deliver bulk quantities of oil to commercial customers. Most of the oil is shipped by truck these days, and not much by rail. A few years ago the shift system was changed, and we had to switch between nights and days every week. At the same time the staff was cut by 33% even though the workload increased during the following year.
At the end of 1999 I decided to take early reirement, beacause I could no longer sleep properly either at night or during the day. Now I have more time for other things, and am able to take part in Esperanto and computer club meetings regularly. I am also a director of the computer club TPUG (specifically for Commodore and Amiga computers), and of ten charitable foundations which own and operate large apartment buildings or town-house complexes which, instead of profit for investors, provide subsidised apartments for a certain number of families which otherwise could not afford decent accomodation. In January 2004 I became Secretary of the Canadian Esperanto Association again, after a 30-year "work break".
As several people had told me, I have found that there is plenty to keep me busy after retirement!
RETURN to Ken's Homepage or look at Esperanto version of this