Michael R. \u2018Mike\u2019 Smith writes in his self-pubished book of his exploits as a: Militia member, taxi driver, construction labourer, underground miner, insurance salesman, salesman, hobby farmer, political candidate, home renovator, fisherman, hunter, father, husband and storyteller\u00a0<\/p>\n
The foreword to a book, when written by the author, often describes how the idea came to be or the process behind its publishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the forward to Sudburian Michael R. \u2018Mike\u2019 Smith\u2019s self-published book, detailing his eclectic life and career, there is a small request.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpelling and grammar were never my strong points and I am afraid I write the same way I talk,\u201d he writes. \u201cSo, try not to judge too harshly.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an interview about his new self-published autobiography, Lucky Breaks or What! (Hunter, Fisherman, Industrial Bearing and Power Transmission Salesman, a man of the road) Smith gave a little more information about that request.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe book’s not written by AI, it’s written by me and I write the way I talk. I tend to use a bit of foul language at times, because that’s the kind of guy I am,\u201d he said with a laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With 44 chapters in a full-size 8.5-by-11-inch book, the 76-year-old said he was inspired to write the book after reading the obituaries of friends who had passed. He said would read a story he\u2019d never heard before, even about someone he had known for years. Smith told Sudbury.com he wanted a chance to tell his stories for his family, and perhaps, for others who aren\u2019t quite sure where their path will take them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though he was born in Barrie, Smith spent his teens in Sudbury and attended LaSalle Secondary School and Cambrian College.<\/p>\n
His story begins as a \u201cfairly normal kid\u201c becoming a life that brought titles such as: Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Militia member, taxi driver, construction labourer, underground miner, smelter labourer, insurance salesman, steel-building salesman, industrial bearing and power transmission salesman\/consultant, hobby farmer, federal political candidate, home renovator, fisherman, hunter, world-traveller, father, husband and storyteller.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s a \u2018Mike\u2019 of all trades, you could say.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But none of that was in his mind in Grade 9, he said. \u201cWhen I went to high school, I was only interested in girls and duck hunting.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mother had big educational dreams for her son, wanting him to become a veterinarian, but that required high marks and five years of post-secondary school. Smith was about to fail his courses ahead of Grade 10, and was advised to move to the technical courses offered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a \u201clucky break\u201d that he did, he said, as he learned the skills he\u2019s used throughout the careers he\u2019s loved.<\/p>\n
It’s part of the reason for the title, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I was proofreading it, many times I said \u2018Was that ever a lucky break or what?\u2019 Because my whole life seemed to have lucky breaks.\u201d<\/p>\n
He worked in Saskatchewan for four years of his life. Why? He went hunting there, liked it, and as luck would have it, he was able to get a job there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He came to Sudbury for his wife, who is from the Nickel City and missed her family and Francophone community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In fact, he considers his wife of 30 years another for the lucky break column.\u00a0<\/p>\n
First, the two meet on a blind date. They quickly learn that not only did they grow up on the same street in Barrie and attend the same elementary school, but they even had friends in common.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree weeks later, I’m back in Sudbury, dropping in to see a buddy and he begins to tell a story about his friend and wife who had split up. And the way the story is going, the parallels\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Smith said he paused before saying to his friend: \u201cUm, I think I\u2019m going out with your best friend\u2019s wife.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve been together ever since, said Smith, even though they both came with their own lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOn that first date, she says, \u2018I come with baggage. I\u2019ve got three kids and two dogs.\u2019 I looked at her and said, \u2018Well, I have two kids and three dogs. So we have five kids and five dogs between us.\u201d<\/p>\n
And though Smith points to luck in many of his stories, famed Canadian humourist, Stephen Leacock once said \u201cI am a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
So is it lucky breaks, or hard work that has propelled the life story that Smith tells in his book?<\/p>\n
\u00a0A bit of both, he said. A willingness to take chances, to make mistakes, but also, to learn new things.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For instance, it was a man he refers to as a \u201cyoung office nerd\u201d that taught him, at age 50, to use Microsoft Word to put pictures into a document along with text. It allowed Smith to make catalogs for his customers, which he said set him apart from the rest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the same technique he used to create the book.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And as he hoped, the stories within \u201cLucky Breaks\u201d are sharing the full picture of who he was, in every iteration of his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re getting lots of giggles and laughs and surprises, absolutely,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n