Issue #929
Including:

From Russ
The Ontarion

Hi All,

Perhaps its time to get on with some positive things in life but I’ve got one more gripe I need to get off my chest…. I will never, ever, fly with Westjet again. They started out as the airline that was going to save us all from the corporate indifference and greed of Air Canada but it didn’t take them long to become just as callous as them. We flew Westjet in January when we dashed back to visit Lorne, simply for the convenience of flying into KW. They got us there and thats about all they did. We flew with them again last week and yes, they did get us there but barely although our luggage didn’t fair so well and eventually they did get us home but it didn’t seem to be something they actually cared about.

Westjet, hereafter refereed to as simply WJ, still thinks like a small regional carrier and therefore it’s scheduling is the absolute pits. Flying from Vancouver, one must catch the 6am flight if one wants to catch the only connection headed for KW. Now, you’d think they could at least work out their connections so they’d work but that doesn’t seem to be much of a priority for them. The arrival gate in Calgary is about as far from the departure gate to KW as is physically possible to be. After arrival, one must walk (make that run) about 4 city blocks through underground winding tunnels in order to catch the little shuttle busses that races for another 10 minutes toward the other end of the terminal. However, it can only take one most of the way, not all the way. There is still another 3 or 4 city blocks to run to get to the departure gate. As one hurries along, one can hear the intercom telling passengers that last call for boarding is over and the doors are being closed. As we approached the gate the doors were indeed closed. An attendant that was in the area told us to go through and if the airplane door was still open we might be able to get on. It was and we did but of course our luggage didn’t make it. And this is a WJ connection. Great scheduling.

Heading home, instead of being impossibly short, we had the choice of a 3hr wait or if we wanted to pay another $115 each, a shorter 2hr wait for our westbound connection. No way in heck we were going to give them another $230 after the ridiculous amount we had been forced to pay for the flights in the first place so we opted for the 3hr wait. As time went on, we started getting notices that the flight would be delayed, over and over. As well, we could hear other WJ flights being delayed, along with gate changes. Total screwup of their system I would assume. Then, as with the other flights, the flight to Vancouver was so crowded that one couldn’t breath. The seats are so close together that we could barley squeeze into our them, and we are not big people. Quite humiliating to be jammed in like that. We did somehow make it back to Vancouver, several hours late. That does actually have an advantage as getting though the city is easiest in the middle of the night. We got home about the same time people in Ontarion would be getting up. Air travel used to be a fun adventure. Not any more. Walking would be preferred. However, we are home and this pic is the kind of local scenery we were greeted with. This shot is from at our favourite lookout, but instead of looking north or west as we usually do there, its from a southwest perspective.

doug

****

We have lost one of our cherished regular contributors and he will certainly be missed by all. Lorne somehow managed to come up with something to write about, often with his dry humor abundantly injected. He also managed to write and contribute almost to the end and was quite upset when circumstances prevented him from doing so. His contribution to this letter can never be replaced but I’d like them to perhaps be seen as an inspiration for those who may decide to add a bit of their own lives to our letter. Everyone has something of interest to say. Lets give some thought to filling this space, his space, as often as possible, perhaps even on a regular basis. It can be both fun and rewarding.

****

From Russ

Why do we wait.....?

Why do we always wait for a Wedding or a Funeral to bring the “whole Gang” together?

Lorne’s funeral was a good example. We were all there to honour a good man and to mourn his passing. And it was a great send-off for a great man. The funeral service was beautiful with ‘music’ being the main theme – right up Lorne’s alley! I was seated right next to the Twin City Harmonisers – so close I could see the tears in their eyes. I could picture Lorne among them thoroughly enjoying the second love of his life. Music. Vivyan of course was his first love.

I was very happy to see most of my relatives and friends at the funeral and appreciated all the condolences, those warm hugs and ‘juicy’ kisses!

And, Greg; although you didn’t kiss me, I sure appreciated your showing up – considering your recent head surgery. Hope you didn’t think I gave you the ‘brush-off’ – had to say Hi to my abundant relatives onhand.

We don’t get as many visitors here at Ontario’s West Coast since Evelyn and Eddy passed away, and we miss them muchly. The most frequent visitors lately were Lorne and Cindy. We would reminisce, play cards, go for car rides both near and far, frequent the restaurant here in Point Clark for breakfast/brunch (it always surprised me how good an appetite Lorne had – he could ‘out-eat’ me every time!)

PS Before I die (or shortly thereafter) I’d like to see a sort of “Reunion” comprised of the same “mix” of beautiful people who would normally attend the wedding or funeral of ‘one of our own’. So you wouldn’t have to say, “How nice to see you – too bad it was under sad circumstances”

Hmm.....

Uncle Russ (one of two)

****

Greg is not available for this week. Hopefully will be feeling better soon.

****