By PETER DOUGLAS
THE book titled ‘Tin Legs and Toasting Forks’, written by local identity Jim McPhee, was last week successfully launched at the Monbulk Community Hub.
McPhee is an identifiable person around town, as he walks with two crutches, having had a full leg amputation 68 years ago at age 13 from osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer).
He is a long-term and actively engaged resident, being a past president and present member of the Rotary Club Monbulk and District.
With the intent to encourage others with disabilities to think positively, ‘Tin Legs and Toasting Forks’ is an astounding journey of fierce determination to be viewed as ‘normal’.
A deep internal struggle through decades of endeavouring to live an ‘ordinary life’ with extraordinary physical difficulty, Jim is the hero whose life was severely curtailed in childhood.
Now retired, most of his working life has been in the insurance industry, as a self-employed Loss Adjuster, where he dealt with fire and flood disaster situations, legal liabilities and thousands of domestic claims.
He competed on equal terms with abled-bodied persons in the team sports of cricket and table tennis.
‘Tin Legs and Toasting Forks’ is Jim’s story … it roams through a life of tenacity and fortitude, albeit decades of frustration.
It saunters along invoking nostalgic memories of yesteryear, with inspiration and testament to the power of resilience and endurance.
The book can be ordered from jnmcphee@bigpond.net.au or copies are available at The Blue Gum Deli, Main Street, Monbulk.
