WestJet and David; Heroes

Home. It amazes me to say that, to be able to wake up in Dublin and go to bed in Calgary, to cover thousands of miles by air, change planes three times, wheel around different airports, all to arrive with myself, David, and luggage intact here at home.

The day started out with a near disaster. David set the alarm last night, in Dublin, for 5:00 AM, giving us an hour to dress and pack, a half hour to get the shuttle to the airport, arriving in time for a 6:30 check in. Unfortunately the alarm failed us. David bolted out of bed once he realized we were late, a whole hour late, in getting up. We did the fastest dress and pack routine you can imaging, going so far as to leave the arduous task of putting on compression socks to be done at the airport, once we were checked in.

We made it to the airport at 7:00 AM. Thanks to the efficiency and preparedness of WestJet, we made it through check-in and security in jig time, with no crisis or disaster holding us up. In fact this whole flight experience with WestJet was better than just good. It was stellar. They anticipated needs, had equipment ready on time, understood my personal issues, helping all the way.

There are a couple of things which truly stood out to me. First, nobody asked if I could stand up and walk. Not one person. Everyone had notes, sufficient that were ready even to know me by name as I arrived. The read their notes. They were all singing from the same song sheet. I felt truly respected in the process. The other thing that really stood out with me was their willingness, almost to a person, to do the extra thing to make my trip comfortable, right down to getting Timmies for me because I had to be taken on to the plane before I could get it for myself. WestJet truly impressed me.

Now that I am home, I am having a glass of Scotch and slowly unpacking. There are gifts for grandchildren, fridge magnets for myself, bottles and momentos beyond measure. I have laundry, lots of it, all headed to the basket. I have knick-knacks to set up and travel gear to put away. I am not sure what I will get done tonight, but it is enough to be home.

Thank you to David. He was a champion through the whole trip. He deserves a medal, or at least a thank you.