by Jerry Boroff

I have been writing ever since I can remember picking up a pencil and a scrap of paper. Thirty years ago, I penned the first draft of the experiences I lived in the Montreal plumbing trade. Over time, I put aside the voluminous scribbles to deal with life as a son, brother, father and mate. But I was able to really get down to work during the isolation stage of the Covid pandemic.

The genesis of this project, which I hope to complete sometime in 2022, really took shape in 2015 when I enrolled in a writing class given by Lesley Orr, at the Glengarry Encore Education Center. The first chapter of my memoir was tidied up and read to the class. How different it was to share my story with others rather than keeping it locked up in my recollections!

The autobiography begins in 1965 and goes to the present. The title is, Why Would Anyone Want To Be a Plumber?  Part 1, The Apprenticeship Years, starts with Lenny and The Red Handle Screwdriver and ends with Chapter 20, My Serendipitous Adventure. Anyone who attended my Encore workshop in 2018 titled, Memoirs of An Apprentice Plumber, will recall some of the events I shared.

Part 2, Student to Master, begins with On The Job Training and concludes with Chapter 41 Why Would Anyone Want To Be a Plumber? Some CAGAC members may remember Chapter 32, A Chimpanzee Named Rachel, which I read on stage in my first year of CAGAC membership.

The book will be self-published and have a limited printing. I will be leaving a legacy to my children and grandchildren.