I was in high school when this song was in rotation on Canadian rock radio stations. It resonated with me because I had a dream of being a radio and TV repair man. After much resistance from counsellors, I was able to enrol in an electronics course.
Check out Keith Hampshire's hit here:
One career I never believed I'd end up having is writing. Back in the seventies, nobody had personal computers with screen readers to speak what was on the monitor. Neither were there electronic magnifying devices like the one I have now. In fact, I began that decade using two weak magnifying glasses held together to read with.
My dream of repairing electronic equipment fell through when the course had us work on televisions. The voltages inside them were far too dangerous for me to touch the components. That was the first of many course corrections I had to make.
God certainly had different plans for his people throughout the Bible. Noah doubtless never thought of building an ark before God called on him. Neither did Moses figure he could go back to Egypt and free his people. Jonah hated the Ninevites and never expected the Lord would send him to preach repentance to them.
My job history wasn't nearly as expansive as the man in Keith Hampshire's song but it did have a few surprises. I never figured I'd be a security guard. Neither did I expect to work for the Government of Canada.
When I was laid off in 1995, a career counsellor suggested I become a freelance writer. Though I didn't succeed at that, and my memoirs didn't sell, I'm glad I followed that man's advice.
Now I look forward to retirement and to enjoying all the bounty the Lord has given me. I might still write but I'll have no more pressure from disability counsellors to find paying work.