john-parker77

Hello to all:

I've recently come back to chess after 40 years absence and am slowly relearning this great game!  chess.com appears to be the ideal place for me to learn and play. I particularly appreciate the video lessons and the Tactics Trainer.  Playing games online and chatting with people all over the world is wonderful thanks to the internet.

Regarding me, I am now retired.

My history:

Quit high school early and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, trained and served as an airborne radar tech. in Summerside, P.E.I. for 5 years. Those were the days of the cold war with the Solviet Union and the Cuban missle crisis. I serviced P2V7 Neptune antisubmarine aircraft mainly. I also got married, had 3 kids and completed my high school.

After 5 years, I left the air force, moved to Toronto with my family and worked for Litton Systems testing inertial guidance systems for fighter aircraft and space craft for another five years.

Then joined Honeywell Information Systems Computer Division servicing large mainframe business computers in the Toronto area, was promoted a few times to become district service manager.  I also got remarried at this time to a wonderful woman that had been previously married and had three kids of her own. We are still happily together and celebrated our 36th anniversary last year!

We moved across the country to Kelowna, B.C. in 1976 and have been here since with three of our six kids. The other three are still in the Toronto area. We have 17 grand children and I can't keep count or track of the great grandchildren!!

In Kelowna, I worked as a photocopier tech then switched into copier sales. Got saved with my wife in September, 1980. Went to India with my wife in 1982 on a two month missionary trip with another couple. Fascinating - the poverty, the love, the disease, the demonic possessions and the miracles. Got a virus in India that attacked my pancreas causing insulin dependent diabetes.

Back in Canada, we trained as Pastors in Bible School in Calgary, then pastored for a number of years in Calgary, Vancouver and Kelowna. I retired from pastoring a few years ago due to deteriorating health. We now manage a 48 suite apartment building and my wife is controller at an rv dealership.

Life is good, but Heaven will be better!

A stranger is a friend I haven't met yet.

"A friend loves at all times" Proverbs 17:17