Heaven:
We just got back from our vacation which started right after Christmas and we decided Bailey was well enough to handle the trip. She was the sweetest as she always is and was loved by all, as she always is. We went to Kelowna to see Lindsay and Jeff and their beautiful boy Zachary, who smiled for my first time. A lovely visit as always with them and then it was off to Kamloops to see Mike and Susie and Darcy and Haley. While I may have spent a bit too much time in the basement playing with the kids (Wi), we had a great visit. On to Calgary and Rheanna and Matt and the always smiling Ava. She wakes up with smile and goes to bed with a smile and not a minute all day passes without her smiling. What ever flows through Ava’s blood needs to be bottled and sold, it’s a wonder to see….and then to Cathy and Albert’s for New Years in Lethbridge where we as always had such a great time. I’m not religious, a believer in Karma and faith primarily, but, I’ve heard about heavenly stuff and our family and friends were what that would be best described as. I guess that means we’re blessed….
Hell: It was out intention to spend two nights with Ava as Rheanna said one night would never be enough for us with (Ava) and this was so true however as we left Kamloops for Calgary we decided to stop in Golden. It was about to get dark, my back was sore and the road was proving to be a hard drive with ice and snow. I choose to want to drive in the daylight and if you know what the road from Golden to Banff is like, you can understand why the motels and hotels start to fill up at dusk. Just not worth it. So the next morning we set off for the couple of hours drive to Calgary. A few miles before Calgary I get a warning light on my dashboard indicating the battery has a problem. We’re on the Trans-Canada and there’s nowhere to pull over, and then the car starts acting up as we are loosing power. Up ahead I saw an exit with a sign for Springbank. Springbank is a rural prairie area, not a town per say, so I went down a road and the car went dead. We coasted for a bit and ended with the car coming to rest in a white, cold wind blowing place that felt like the middle of nowhere. My first goal was to establish where we were so if I could find a phone, I could get a tow truck. (We had a cell, but was probably not a cell reception area for the fisrst cell phone ever made 
All the while I’m now in a bit of anxiety as I have to worry about taking care of Susan and Bailey. Of course it was Susan that had insisted on bringing our boots, toques and mittens as well as emergency stuff which I as usually scoffed at as not needed. Yes, I am a fool, glad she’s not. So we get some road sign information. I used a lighter to warm the tip of a pen so I could write, and off we headed to an Oasis, with an angel inside.
An Angel: As luck would have it, there was a community complex in sight. I saw cars and thought it was open so we bundled up (thanks to Susan) and headed there hoping to find a phone and some warmth. There are no stores, let alone a gas station in this community, but they have this great complex, with a curling rink, two hockey rinks, a gym and at the end of the hall an office with administrator Jody. I told her of our problem and she sat me down and said use her phone. She ran out to Susan and asked her if she’d care for some tea……Jody sat on one side of her desk, and I on the other side as I talked with BCAA and she phoned stations trying to get some one who could fix the car soon. This was Thursday, and Friday was New Year’s eve and if we couldn’t get this fixed soon, we’d be stuck until Tuesday. Jody pleaded with the guys to take the car and finally convinced Fountain Tire in the N.W. of Calgary to look at it at 8:00 the next morning. Great, something was happening so we were to wait for the tow truck. “I know what I can do: said Jody, “I can get the complex’s truck we’ll all fit and I can put all your stuff in the back and take you to Rheanna’s when the tow truck comes…….get the Angel thing now? She then took us and opened up the curling rink lounge so we could wait in comfort. She put on TSN with the Canadian Jrs’ playing. Jody shows up with a kettle and tea bags minutes later. After a couple hours I phone BCAA and because of the weather, waits we are at 4 hours for a tow, so she suggests after realizing we’re kinda stuck that I should leave the keys under the mat and get going. So we did, loaded up in the truck and off we went. On the way Jody told me she once broke down in the middle of nowhere and two guys gave her a ride home even though it was out of there way. She also had her dog with her at that time, and said this was Karma pay back.
By the way, mice had built a nest in my car, doesn’t surprise me as it’s a Lincoln Continental (’96) and it’s cold. They know a good car when they see it .Turns out they chewed away on some of my wiring and used that for their nest, hence, the alternator shorted out. ( Don’t ask ……)
I have always been so appreciative of how lucky I am to have friends and family that are angels to me. Imagine my luck in not being selfish and driving past Golden on to Calgary. The car could have died and with no lights or steering, who knows where it would have ended up? But the story has a happy ending and that’s all that matters. Another Angel on the list….well that’s Priceless!
Thank you Jody
Love Bob, Susan, and Bailey
) and learned to move around on 3 legs, applying very little pressure on her cancerous right leg. I talked with Susan and Seija about upping the B17 from 500 mgs./day to twice a day about 10 days ago, thinking we had nothing to loose as there was no apparent side affects negatively, so, maybe I thought, that it was working to hold her where she was and what with Susan and Seija having perfected her pain management. I have watched Bailey put a bit of pressure on her leg, using her foot when travelling in the last 3 days. She wasn’t using it at all 7 days ago. I know this sounds like a desperate dreamer, but we just last week had our Vet deliver more pain medication, Susan asked me to order more B17 next week because it took so long to get here before.