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"I thought it was a ludicrous idea at first," Jackson admitted. (Pshaw â€"â€" birds nesting in exhaust vents â€" get a life!) Simon was fully prepared to work at McDonald‘s or Toysâ€"Râ€"Us for minimum wage like What does Simon do exactly? He cleans out vents (kitchen, bathâ€" room, laundry) and installs protecâ€" tive caps to prevent birds (starlings, sparrows, blackbirds mostly) and other small critters (field mice, for example) from entering and nestâ€" ing. I met Jackson in his home one morning recently; he was barefoot, in tâ€"shirt and jeans, looking just a bit dewyâ€"eyed. The youngest of three boys and a graduate of St. Ignatious of Loyola High School, the softâ€"spoken, Jamaican native said he started his business four years ago at the urging of his uncle. According to the enterprising lad, Oakville‘s birdâ€"lady always accepts them graciously. "I‘ll take care of them," she says. (But who will take care of her? Another story.) If there are eggs or baby birds in a nest, Jackson carts them down to the birdâ€"lady by the lake on Brookfield Crescent for care and feeding. It only seems fair. Indeed, even though the second year university student has a sumâ€" mer job which involves evicting birds from bathroom and kitchen vents in Glen Abbey and River Oaks, he treats them with the care and respect they deserve. 3070 MAINWAY DRIVE (at Guelph Line) UNIT #2 BURLINGTON, ONTARIO L7M 1AÂ¥1 Tel.: (416) 332â€"3343 ,/A\ Fax: (416) 332â€"8145 ASIl COMPUTERS â€" SOFTWARE â€" SALES â€" SERVICE 2 YEARS PARTS AND LABOUR WARRANTY I 24 As it turned out, there was a demand for the service in Glen Abbey and River Oaks, particularly in ravine areas where builders had It was an offer he could not refuse. He quit his job at the toy emporium and hit the sidewalk sellâ€" ing and installing his first vent proâ€" tector in no time flat. Jackson saw the potential immediately. The young entrepreneur explained, "He gave me ten vent caps, no strings, and said ‘Just see what you can do with them.‘ " But his uncle said, "Well that‘s okay â€" as far as it goes â€" but if you have your own business, you can set your own hours and work as much, or as little, as you want." most of his chums. PROMINENT TRAVEL Choose to cruise + Make your choice with us. COMPLETE SYSTEM 1890 1690 A M B RA P ER S O N A L C 0 M PU TE R S PANASONIC 24 PIN COLOUR PRINTER MICROSOFT DOS 6 MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3.1 MOUSE/MOUSE PAD 4 MB MEMORY 1.44, MB FLOPPY DRIVE SVGA COLOUR MONITOR 1 MB SVGA VIDEO CARD 210 MB HARD DRIVE MID TOWER CASE 101 ENHANCED KEYBOARD CSA APPROVED NOVELL CERTIFIED 2 SERIAL, 1 PARALLEL, GAME PORTS FOR Certain UPPER OAKVILLE Cruises _ SHOPPING CENTRE Simon grinned as he recalled, "It was kind of funny when I first startâ€" ed canvassing for business; I was embarrassed carrying around the vent protector to show homeownâ€" ers. I tried to hide it from my There were certain obstacles to overcome in getting the snowball rolling, of course. The first was his own selfâ€"consciousness. He‘d stumbled into a nifty little business opportunity â€" one that is not likely to go away as long as houses continue to sprout in north Oakville and birds need a warm, dry place to nest. (His uncle now gives him the vent protectors on consignment.) (See ‘Uncles‘s page 5) 486SCL2â€"50 MHz 2 MB MEMORY 512kVIDEO CARD 170 MB HARD DRIVE SVGA COLOUR MONITOR KEYBOARD SLIM LINE CASE MoUSE MS DOS 6.0 MS WINDOWS 3.1 MS WORKS LOTUS ORGANIZER 1 YEAR ONâ€"SITE WARRANTY ~ â€"HOUR TOLLâ€"FREE PHONE SUPPORT Simon Jackson cleans out a ventilation duct. Travel Group â€" ; ts t C.* STARDUST MOTOR INN Aug. 1â€"29 ALADDIN CAMELOT Aug. 1â€"29 3/4 Nts. SAMIcCroOSOft. ACCPAC 299 486DXâ€"33 MHz 4 MB MEMORY 1 MB VIDEO CARD 170 MB HARD DRIVE SVGA COLOUR MONITOR KEYBOARD MINI TOWER CASE MoUSE MS DOS 6.0 MS WINDOWS 3.1 MS WORKS LOTUS ORGANIZER 3Â¥4 Nts. Free show tickets 2 buflet maal tickets BALLY‘S FLAMINGO HILTON Aug. 1â€"29 (Photo by Peter McCusker) 3/4 Nts. 3/4 Nts. 7 WSQ' hur, °C o8 \Sof. )fll 0.