CSANews Issue 106

On The Road Again

It is late April and it is high time to get our taxes filed. We are driving home (in a friend’s van) for the first time in 10-plus years. The route has been carefully calculated, but my guess is that we will probably stray from the dotted line to explore. Not having “endured” the long drive for a long time, we are curious about what has changed, what is new, and what challenges and joys we will encounter.

It all began with our wonderful dog Tess, who passed away from cancer at the age of 10, a few weeks ago. Her twin brother Angus was distraught, as were we, and he developed serious hormonal issues. Much of his hair fell out and he ended up with a surgical procedure and a drug regimen that would make even we seniors stand up and take notice. But now he is fine!

We were unwilling to crate Angus up and ditch him in the cargo hold of Air Canada or WestJet, and we started looking for a better resolution. We really had to drive him home – therapy for him and therapy for us, too. Our friend Ted said, “Of course, we will fly home in comfort while you suffer the 1,250-mile drive.”

And here we are! Winding our way from southwest Florida to Ontario. We have made this drive 15 or 20 times over the years but this is the first time that we are really excited. We are on an expedition! Not quite the Galapagos or the Antarctic, but an expedition nonetheless. Wish us luck; I hope that you have arrived home safely by the time you read this, and were able to avoid the ice storms.

Whatever happened to “March going out like a lamb”? April is the lion this year. On April 15th, my mother-in-law had to wait on the tarmac in Toronto for almost an hour before getting off the plane bringing her home. The doors had frozen shut! I suspect some of you were on that plane, too.

Happy spring!

Sincerely,

J. Ross Quigley
Editor