TOUCHING THE EAGLES

The Lost Ticket
I got uo at 6 AM to write in my journal. I was to fly to Calgary, Alberta today, so I decided to check my plane schedule. I could not locate my plane ticket. I looked everywhere and the ticket was not to be found. Being generally careful, I am not one to misplace things, so I felt there was a reason behind the lost ticket.

Placing a call to Air Canada they informed me that I would have to purchase another full return fare to Calgary. They told me that it would be several months before I would be reinbursed. In order to purchase the ticket they suggested I be at the International Airport several hours before departure.

As a result of the change in plans I met some interesting people whom I would not have met had I not lost the ticket.

Joan
Linda dropped me off at the York Mills Subway Station where I was to catch the bus to the airport. Upon entering the waiting room at the bus terminal I saw an elderly looking lady seated on a bench.

"Her," the guides said. "Speak to her,"

I went over and sat down next to her. She talked to me first and we entered into an interesting conversation.

Joan, in her early sixties, was living with her husband in Toronto. Her son Roger was employed with one of the district Parks and Recreation Departments in Toronto. His work consisted mainly of setting up and co-ordinating school and summer activities. Roger's wife worked in the records department of a hospital.

Gerald
The bus to the airport pulled up to the terminal. As the driver was off the bus the guides informed me that he was to be my next contact. He assisted with the storage of my bags and we boarded the bus and waited for more passengers to come along. I sat in the front seat opposite him.

Gerald had been working for the transit system in Toronto for twenty-three years. He and his wife Rae manage a jewellers business in downtown Toronto. Gerald was planning on retiring from his bus driving job to devote full time to the jewellry business.

The guides told me that Gerald was approximately fourty-two years old. I asked him his age and we both answered at precisely the same time, saying fourty-two.

Gerald's daughter Paula is a university student studying gemology, the study of gems.

Fourty-three Cents to Spare
On arrival at the airport I went directly to the Air Canada Ticket Office to purchase another ticket to replace the lost one. I took a number, sat down, and waited for my number to be called. Looking around I noticed that there were four ticket counters being used. Several people opuld be called ahead of me.

"You are to go to counter six," the guides told me.

After a short wait the lady at counter six called my number. Pleased to get counter six I stepped up in front of her and told my story. After checking the computor and confirming my flight reservation she checked the cost of the fare to Calgary. While doing so she told me that I would not be reinbursed for several months. She explained that Air Canada had to wait at least that long to ensure that no one else used the ticket. Then she informed me the fare including tax came to $ 409.20.

Right here I became a little concerned because I was not sure how much money I had with me. With the exception of gasoline credit cards I had no other credit cards with me. I had no bank checks or other means of coming up with credit of funds except for the cash I was carrying with me.

The guides reassured me, "You will be on the plane."

Reaching into my wallet I took out all the paper money I had and counted it. $ 408.00 exactly. I had some change in my pocket and proceeded to dump it all on the counter. After counting out the $ 409.20 I was left with exactly fourty-three cents. I actually had less that $ 410.00 with me and I had enough to pay for the fare. Before leaving home I was guided to carry more asah with me than I normally would.

There's Shelley
I picked up the fourty-three cents and my ticket and headed for the baggage check section; checked my bags and proceeded to Gate 79.

"A young girl will be there. She is depressed. You are to talk to her," the guides informed me.

It took me several minutes to arrive at Gate 79. The plane was not due to leave for several hours and that section of the terminal was completely empty, with the exception of one young girl sitting by herself. I went over and sat down several seats away from her. She had her head down. I asked her if she were waiting long. We talked. I movdr closer to her, leaving an empty seat between us.

She introducde herself as Shelley, a grade nine student returning home to Chatham, New Brunswick. She had been visiting her brother who was in the Canadian Armed Forces at Shilo, Manitoba. I had been in Shjlo during my military service and this gave us something in common to talk about.

Shelley and I talked for over an hour. She had been waiting to catch her plane for several hours and was on standby and expressed concern that she may not get on the plane. The guides told me to tell her that she would get on the plane. I told her and she seemed relieved. The guides also told me that she was fifteen and very close to her sixteenth birthday. This was confirmed when I asked her age.

Shelley was the eleventh of twelve children and she expressed a love for her family. I watched to insure that she got on the plane then I sat down to catch up on my journal writing.

Cliff Volleys By
After awhile the guides spoke to me again. "A tall young man will sit in one of those seats over there. You are to talk to him".

After five minutes a tall, handsome young man sat down in the seat. I wondered what to say to him. Then I noticed he was carrying a case of lobsters. Having grown up on the east coast of Canada in a lobster haven I prided myself on knowing about lobsters. So I made a comment to him about the lobsters.

He introduced himself as Cliff (and gave his last name). Along with nine other fellows he was returning to Calgary after competing in the Canadian Volleyball Championships in St. John, New Brunswick. He was employed as a chartered accountant in Calgary.

The guides informed me that he was twenty-three years old. Consciously I guessed his age at twenty-five. So I played it safe and asked him if he were twenty-four.

"No, I'm twenty-three", he replied.

Cliff told me that his girlfriend Denive lives in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, the same small town where I live. Although I did not know her I did know her father Bernie.

{AUTHOR'S NOTE}

Two years later in 1988 on a warm summer evening while returning home to Salmon Arm by car I was reflecting on some of the prior contacts mentioned in this book. I thought about Cliff and our brief encounter in The Toronto International Airport.

About ten miles from home while driving through the small town of Enderby I noticed a tall young man several blocks ahead standing by the side of the road.

The guides said to me. "That is Cliff (and mentioned his last name). Pick him up.

I stopped to pick him up. I experienced feelings of wonderment, joy and happiness to meet again someone I had met briefly two years prior. I could not wait to talk to him again.

As he got in the passenger side of my car he instantly said, "Thanks for stopping, Im Cliff"

I responded. "Yes I know. You are Cliff (and I mentioned his last nam). It is nice to see you again."

I knew he would probably not remember our short encounter so I waited for his response.

He said, "How do you know my last name?"

The I unloaded the story of our first meeting. He was as flabbergasted and surprised as I was.

"What are the odds" he commented, "of meeting someone briefly in the Toronto International Airport and then meeting the same person two years later and remembering all the details.

Michael
The call to board the plane was heard and we prepared to board. As I boarded the guides informed me to establish contact with the man who would be seated next to me. As usual I was assigned a window seat and he was there sitting next to my seat as I arrived.

Michael was a computor data systems expert based in Cincinatti, Ohio. His job was taking him to Fernie, British Columbia, to test a computor system for a mining company.

Age twenty-eight, he was born and raised in Kentucky. He had never been to Western Canade so I was able to tell him what to expect. He was to be staying for only three days and then would be returning back home.

On arrival at the Calgary International Airport I had just enough money to call my son Jim who came to pick me up.

I slept well that night.

Touching the Eagles - Day Four!

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