Biographical sketch of Jim Canaday M.A.

June 5, 2010

So you’re reading this to learn who Jim Canaday is. I have a very full beard. I rather look like a gnome, being short. I am fifty years old. My wife is Lynda; we have been married seventeen years. We have no children. Lynda and I do have a great dog. I blog on the local newspaper’s website, write nonfiction, and hope to write much more fiction.

I live in Lawrence Kansas, a couple of blocks from the Kansas River in northeast Kansas. I was born with low vision and became completely blind at age 13. It was fortunate that I lost my vision then. That way I learned coping skills, independent living skills, as well as orientation and mobility skills while still in school. I know and treasure these important blindness skills very well.

When I was young, my family and I lived in southern California. Then we moved to rural central California at my age ten. I learned lots of country things about horses, goats, steers, ditch digging, planting, gardening, and much more. We built our own home on five acres. When I went to high school, I studied electronics and broadcasting. I started in Amateur Radio when I was thirteen. I earned a bachelor's degree at the University of California Davis in 1983. I majored in Psychology, and just missed a minor in Computer Science. Then I came to Kansas for graduate school, and stayed. Here at Kansas University I earned the M.A. (1991). I finished a student therapist practicum working with clients (1994). I withdrew from the Ph.D. program because my health prevented me from writing at the pace required. I enjoyed being a therapist very much. And I was good at it. Clinic supervisors said my reports on clients often read more like short stories.

I am recovering from Congestive Heart Failure, which started in 2000. By 2003 it was very serious, I nearly had to live in the hospital to await a transplant. But just in time my heart began to improve. I am very fortunate in that. Many people don't improve at all, or only improve minimally. If you know about the heart’s Ejection Fraction, I went from well below 28% to now at 45%. So, I nap every day, and do many other things to help my heart. Then at the end of 2004 my heart had improved enough to start walking, small amounts at first. So I got a dog. His name is Darby and He is a very handsome and affectionate yellow Labrador retriever. He looks like he has four white socks. Earlier in my life, all of my three guide dogs had been Labrador retrievers so I knew his breed well. I used guide dogs (Guide Dogs for the Blind inc.) from 1981 to 2003. Darby and I now cover more than a mile on our long walk each day. Weather permitting, we usually walk on the Kansas River Levee. The levee is a quite popular place. Though he is not a guide dog, I trained Darby in obedience, and he is a wonderful walking companion. Yes, that means I have a leash in my left hand, and a cane in my right.

I have written prose fiction and nonfiction. I have done some poetry; my friends liked it, but I do far more prose writing. I just completed an article on prewriting for our newsletter. Participating with this division has made me a much better writer, and provided some treasured support and encouragement. I am revising my first short story to submit for publication. It is a “coming of age” story; an eleven-year-old boy discovers strengths in himself and shakes off the doubts that came from suffering taunting over his deformed eyes. I have notes or storylines written for four other stories, and more rattling around in my head. In the past three years, I have posted more than a couple dozen blogs. These cover topics from potholes to local and national politics and even jokes upon a marriage.

My wife Lynda is a highly trained opera singer, soprano. She also sings Negro spirituals, black gospels, jazz vocals, etc. She teaches voice privately in our home. However, physical limitations severely limit what she can do. I am her primary caregiver.

I do follow the news closely. I also enjoy reading books every day. I especially like Historical fiction, historical fact, biographies, and a few mysteries and westerns. I attend the theater as often as possible; I fervently enjoy nearly every play I see. Our community theater in Lawrence is excellent. I hope John Steinbeck, whose works I have studied, influences me. Patrick O’brian, C.S. Forester, Bill Pronzini, are all favorite authors of mine.

My favorite music is quite eclectic. I enjoy most often listening to real western music, cowboy music. I also enjoy Jazz ballads, show tunes, doo-wop, and even Frank Zappa. Though I am a Christian, the musical content of Christian radio does not interest me. Instead, I find on the Internet the old quartet music, black gospels, and Negro spirituals.

Faith is very important to me. I am a very conservative Christian. The religious freedom I appreciate every day moves me to honor other people’s faith. Politically, I am also quite conservative.

I hope you feel better acquainted with me. Of course, I am also very happy to tell you more if you ask. I know this is a rather long bio now. Thanks for reading!

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