Everything Happens for a Reason

Images - John in first class seating, Carpenter ants, 386 Delaware Ave post June 20, 2010

No, I am not in Italy. I'm not even in Scarborough. We are still in Burlington, our flight was cancelled, but I have to say that Err Canada is getting better. They cancelled the flight before we had to leave for the airport.

Then, I spent the day on the phone with the Aeroplan people trying to rebook our flights.

The first woman I spoke to broke the terrible news to me, more than once, that there was volcanic activity in Iceland and that travel was being affected!

After I recovered from that shock, she helpfully suggested that I get someone who was comfortable with computers and the www to help me. Unfortunately, something happened to our telephone connection at that point, and I had to call back and ask for someone new.

The next person was terrific, very patient with me, considering I don't know how to get on the web, and actually rebooked us for May 1 (the bad news) and (the good news) Direct to Rome, FIRST CLASS!!

Hence the first rationale for the title of this post.

Second rationale for the title, SM flies into Rome 10 minutes after us, and we were able to get Kath on a flight the same day.

Third - G and J are HOME!

Fourth - about an hour after we would have already left for the airport, I walked into the kitchen and discovered many winged insects on our kitchen floor (I have learned that pronouncing this "Wing- Ed insects", rather than just winged makes me sound much more learned (Learn-Ed), and partially makes up for my lack of facility with the web). Deducing that they had to be coming from somewhere, I looked up and discovered a writhing mass of the aformentioned insects swarming through our beautiful - and very wooden - cathedral ceiling. Arming myself with a can of RAID (sorry Brian) I sprayed the ceiling and it literally rained bugs for the next hour.

SL then patiently showed me what the www was, and how we might use it to identify the creatures as CARPENTER ANTS!

My new-found treasure-trove of information the www assured me that carpenter ants are in fact, very beneficial, and I quote:

"Benefits of Carpenter Ants"
Carpenter ants “play a significant ecological role in forested ecosystems.”(2) A nest of carpenter ants can eat thousands of insects that would otherwise feed on forest trees. In turn, the ants are food for other creatures; a well-known animal that feeds on carpenter ants is the pileated woodpecker.(2)"

Now I am the last person to want to deprive the pileated woodpecker of its dinner, but when I saw another www article that claimed that carpenter ants founded Habitat for Humanity... I began to wonder if everything on the www is gospel? I then called Ghostbusters.

So here's the thing. Had we left on time as planned, the wood in our house would have been a smorgasbord for the next 2 months for the little darlings... The Men in Black are scheduled for tomorrow, and SL and I are going to go to a B and B called the "Little Lake Inn" for a night till the mushroom cloud over our home dissipates.

Everything Happens for a Reason!

T'was the Night Before...

So here's where things stand.

Kids are still stuck, might not be able to return till Saturday. Judy, the gkids other gma, has got our backs if we are able to leave tomorrow - Thanks Judy!

Err Canada is very thoughtfully waiting until the last moment before each affected flight before cancelling it - up till then it says "ON time Departure". So , considering we have to be at the airport 3 hours ahead of time, tomorrow we will load up a taxi, pay the $60 for the trip to the airport, check in and then wait. If it gets cancelled, we will pay another $60 for another taxi home, and then start cancelling all of our hotels and car rentals. So far, every single flight that we have seen, has been cancelled, but was listed as "ON time Departure", with the exception of the ones to Heathrow, meaning that they have done this to THOUSANDS of travelers.

Now, I don't think that Err Canada is wholly responsible for the volcanic activity, but they are not even attempting to fly to the European ports that ARE open.

Here's a thought for those of you who see the glass half empty (Why wouldn't you just order another round?)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704671904575194100682717346.html?mod=rss_Today

"The worse case scenario, which is unlikely, involves this eruption triggering another, larger eruption. There are 35 active volcanoes in Iceland, and one eruption has been known to set off another. The worse case happened in 1783, with an eruption lasting eight months. That eruption killed off much of the livestock and agriculture in Iceland, which in turn caused the death of about 25% of the island's population.
The eruption also eventually killed tens of thousands of people on the Continent. Benjamin Franklin was in Paris at the time and was one of the first to connect the rapid change in local weather that collapsed European agriculture with a volcanic explosion. 1783 became known as the horrible "year without summer." Europe plunged into a period of poverty that lasted for years. Some historians believe that this may have contributed to the French Revolution of 1789."

As with most calamities of this sort, (our current situation - not the French Revolution, which nobody can really do much about now) people rise to the occasion, and this is no different. We have had offers of support ranging from helping to look after the gkids, to driving us to the airport, to inviting us to come back to work - as obviously retirement was just not meant to be for us.

Will keep you all posted tomorrow.

Lend a Helping Hand

The Haiti video is up now on Youtube - Click here Lend a Helping Hand.

At the end of the video are instructions on how you can donate. Thanks Tom, Eric, Nick, and of course, the incomparable Klaude.

The Best Laid Plans

Well, who wouldda thunk it?

SL and I are having a wonderful time babysitting the gkids while G and J are in Europe, returning tonight. Wait - Europe? Tonight? By plane? Isn't Iceland near Europe? Doesn't Iceland have volcanoes??

Yep. The kids are grounded and cannot get a flight out of Sweden, and don't know when they are going to be able to fly home. And yes, SL and I are scheduled to leave on Tuesday...

Now, less intrepid travelers than SL and I might be daunted or worried, but we have all kinds of contingency plans. I visited the adoption agency this morning, and the paperwork is being processed to make SL and I the official parents of M and K, then we are just taking them with us to Italy.

When G and J join up with us in Tuscany, we will consider letting them have their kids back, but I don't know. I have grown pretty attached to the little ankle-biters.

We had our last Italian lesson on Monday night, and I learned a second phrase. SL was getting pretty sick of me practising "Un'altro birra, per favore?".

Grazie to Angela, our Italian teacher for putting up with us for 9 weeks. We had lots of fun, and learned enough to give us the nerve to try it out in Italy. I can't help but wonder, though if All of the vocabulary SL mutters in my direction would be acceptable to the Pope.

Will post again when the whole volcano thing gets resolved. M and K and I are at the library, where we all played dressup. K was a fireman, M was a princess (who would have guessed?) and I found a retired teacher's costume.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter - The Countdown continues - 16 days till we all leave!

I set up the LG Netbook today. SM is an account executive with LG, so I can't just say "netbook". I am loving it! The gkids are on their way over from Niagara on the Lake - NOTL (actually G and J are driving them) so, God willing and the River don't Rise, there will be an Easter video greeting from the kids!

... and there was, but there was no sound, so we are trouble-shooting the technical difficulties, and will post soon.

A great day was had by all as the EB was able to figure out that the gkids would be at our place, and left new outfits, books, candies and Trampolines!! G and I assembled them with some trepidation as there is a permanent warning attached to them, that under NO circumstances should they be put together by any fewer than two very strong men. I am not making this up. G and I felt each other's biceps (there is NOTHING wrong with that!) and decided we passed the test.

The tramps were set up and were a big hit.

Our penultimate Italian lesson is tonight - it is now Monday. Two weeks from tomorrow we leave!

Getting the Technology Together

So Sweet Melissa (SM) dropped off my new netbook last night.

I know - I have Sweet Lorraine -SL - and Sweet Melissa -SM. I am well aware of this, and I need to assure you that this is NOT due to a lack of a fertile imagination. There are, in fact, two songs dedicated to my favourite women - Sweet Lorraine and Sweet Melissa. This proves two things - that they are both worthy of glorification, and that I am not adjectively-challenged.

Back to the netbook. LG X120 1GB Ram 160GB HD - Imbedded 3G modem. I am pumped about my new technotoy, but have yet to fire it up as I am still charging the batteries, a task that once again has precluded me from assisting with the spring cleanup SL is tackling outside.

SL did inquire as to whether the batteries might not charge all by themselves without me in the room, to which I replied, "A watched pot never boils". ??

This LG Netbook has a built in webcam, microphone, wireless, and apparently also makes a decent cappuccino.

I am looking forward to sharing the highlites of trip with you thru this netbook as the conduit with all of you as I sit in a cafe in Greece, Sicily or Italy.

Countdown to Europe!

Day One of Sweet Lorraine's (SL) Retirement and 18 days till launch!

It's a beautiful day outside here in Southern Ontario, and SL and I are both exactly where we should be - she's outside working on the garden, and I am creating our first blog post. C'mon - I did my share - raked half the postage stamp we call a front yard, played guitar, wrote a song, rode my motorcycle, had a beer,...

Only 18 days to go till we board our flight to Venice for our two month grand adventure in Italy and Greece. "My My Melissa" (daughter) is joining us in Venice, along with Mom-in-Law Kathleen the Great. Son Geoff, his beautiful wife Jocelyn and our wonderful gkids Mia and Kingston join us a week later in Tuscany.

Our itinerary is roughly Venice, Florence, Rome, Amalfi Coast, Sicily, Athens, Naxos. Milos, Sifnos, Brindisi, and then up the Adriatic Coast of Italy, back to Venice.

I will be buying a guitar in Venice (because we all know I need another one) so I can keep writing and recording through the wonder of the Internet with my partners Klaude Walters , J.B. Harrison and Sandra Lubert.

I hope you continue to check back for travel pics and descriptions of the people, food, sights and sounds of our adventure. It is my hope to visit some schools and check out where they are at with special education and technology.

Let us know if there's something we can check out for you, or if you have any suggestions!