A Checkered Path to Destiny is about the survival of a young man born in a rural area of Jamaica into the Lower Class of Society. It tells of his constant desire to find a place to call home and a fit for him in Jamaican society. Ivan really digs deep to open a window to the world he survived. Every child has the right to a name, a home and an education. Sadly, a lack of those basic rights plus hunger and abuse all became a normal part of Ivan’s severely limited childhood. Some of the odds against him were: a broken home, being placed as a servant in the care of others, a lack of education and many of his trials were self-imposed. The Checkered Path in Jamaica took a dramatic turn that changed his life forever.

Ivan indicates in this book that he has always been inspired by people of high moral values and fortitude. These were people he held up as role models, and chose to emulate throughout his life. As a result, he learns very early in life that all good opportunities come and go and like a moving platform one must chose to either hop on or watch in bewilderment as it gets out of reach. Unfortunately as he grew older, he did not always practice what he had learned.

A Checkered Path to Destiny will horrify, intrigue and delight people of all ages – globally. Perhaps you will smile as you read this book, and even question the author’s rational for being so candid about certain events, but in this writing his history shows not what he wished it could have been, but what was and what is.

“My earliest childhood memory is of the 1944 hurricane that caused devastating damage to the Caribbean Islands. Jamaica bore the brunt of its destruction. At the time, I was a young boy living with my mom, stepdad, baby sister Catherine and brother Alphonso on Spring Garden Plantation. I never knew the status of my mom and stepdad back in 1944 as pertains to their roles at the plantation. They might have been tenants or sharecroppers and later became labourers when the property was sold to the McGregors of Oracabessa in the early 1950s.

There might have been warnings issued to the citizens from the Government of the day about the impending hurricane that was headed towards Jamaica, but I rather doubt that people like my mom and stepdad would have been aware of any of such warnings. Anyway, there may only have been about two out of ten households that owned a radio at the time, therefore important information got around much slower than it would today.

The hurricane blew our house down even though my stepdad made every possible effort to try to save it. Ours was one of those houses that were made from bamboo and coconut limbs. My stepdad tried fruitlessly to save the building by using a long pole with a V shaped end, trying to reinforce the structure against the wind. But of course, he was no match for the forceful howling winds and rain pounding his face. Therefore, he abandoned the effort and beckoned to my mom to take the baby, brother Alphonso, as he picked up my sister Catherine. Next, he took my hand.

We, as well as everyone else, were headed to the home of the plantation owners. There might have been as many as six families who lived nearby that lost their houses that Sunday. All were built with similar materials.

I shall always remember that day as if it were yesterday. As my stepdad was holding my hand, I guess he must have temporarily lost his balance and let go of it and I became separated from him. I couldn’t see anything around me other than the trees rocking back and forth because of the powerful winds and rain.

I couldn’t stand on my own so I remember reaching for whatever was nearest to me, which was a small tree, and crying out aloud:

“Do Massa Jesus, I won’t be bad again! I won’t be bad again!” Incidentally, my stepdad would often use my innocent prayers as a conversation starter whenever he and the neighbours shared their experiences of that event. He would use the tale to generate laughter and to tease me.

This vivid recollection of memories from 1944 has helped me in my research to find a conclusion, which leads me to believe that I must have been born in 1939 rather than in 1941, as indicated by my birth certificate. “

The selection of the year and date of my birth might not have served me as well as I’d thought, as I’ve discovered during my research for this project. This work made me aware of the actual date of birth of my older brother Gerald, now deceased, who was born on the 19th of May 1938. As a result therefore, the actual year of my birth, would have been in the autumn of 1939 and not 1941, as my documents indicate.

The reduction of two years from my real age has caused me to forfeit about $100 per month in my retirement income. I retired from my job as an autoworker with General Motors Corporation on the 1st of March 2005 at a recorded age of 63 instead of 65 years old, which would have been the full retirement age. Actually, I could have worked longer if I’d wanted to because I was in good health and I’d become the friend everybody wanted to talk to at work.

A Checkered Path To Destiny is a revealing memoir about Ivan L. Flynn as a young man who was born in Jamaica, a small Caribbean Island Country under British colonial rule. This was a time when education in Jamaica was not a priority under the reigning monarch of England. He was considered a part of the Lower Class in Jamaica and with no formal education he invariable became a product of that environment.

Ivan is self taught and he possesses no letters of education, or certificate of any formal academic training. He taught himself life’s skills by watching others; whether it was the driving of a motor vehicle for the first time or operating a million dollar machine at one of the jobs he had during his working career. Nevertheless, he managed to perform rather proficiently in a variety of positions often equal to and sometimes surpassing those with formal training. After immigrating to the United States, he worked for the General Motors Corporation for over 29 years as a skilled machine operator, where he operated dozens of different machines. He also read blue prints, and has done professional landscaping and designs.

He has realized the shortcomings of not having formal education and has sought to help educate and encourage his children and others to be the best that they can be through formal training.

Ivan is a happily married father, grandfather, great-grandfather, church worker, mentor and he volunteers at a local hospital in his hometown.

During this journey, he learned some valuable, powerful, intimate, moral and inspirational lessons that have helped shape his life for many years.