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My finest good friend Paul moved from Niagara to Calgary a few years in the past. Nicknamed Calgary Purple, he created a beautiful life together with his highschool sweetheart. They labored laborious — he with an employment company and she or he in banking. As is just too typically the case, simply when it was time to retire to take pleasure in their cottage in Windermere and journeys to Mexico, Brenda died. Tenaciously and courageously, she fought the curse of most cancers till a want for peace overtook her will to battle.
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Understanding Purple and loving him to the tip, her final directive to her husband was: “It is advisable to get on together with your life. You want a girl in your life.” That was greater than a 12 months in the past and Purple has spent this time grieving by self-distraction. Concerned like by no means earlier than together with his daughter and son-in-law and his two grandsons, Cooper and Miles, Purple is attempting to be a great-granddad. Brenda’s final phrases are nearly continually on his thoughts, however he’s performed little to fulfil them. He’s busied himself by travelling with prolonged household in addition to outdated pals.
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In truth, simply final month he was struggling by way of a strenuous biking tour in Provence, France, with a good friend and his spouse when he blew out a knee. His flight again from Venice to Toronto was delayed, cancelled and at last rescheduled.
Drained and pissed off, he boarded his ultimate reference to Air Canada from Toronto to Calgary on July 2. They bumped him as much as enterprise class, Seat 4D, aisle. Sandy was in Seat 4F, window. She was additionally drained, having simply returned from Europe after a trip along with her son in Greece.
They swapped journey tales and commiserated concerning the state of journey over glasses of pink wine. On and off, they napped and chatted, easing one another again right into a Canadian homecoming. Purple, 76, match, humorous, good wanting and modest, truly described Sandy that manner, in addition to tallish and youthful with brown hair. They had been instantly comfy with one another. It was the great and cozy firm that Purple had been lacking.
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He helped Sandy retrieve her baggage and collectively they walked out of the airport and into the chaos of taxis and vans. It was about 1:30 a.m. Though Purple couldn’t increase his Uber driver, Sandy’s Lyft was there on time. She lived, Purple thinks, in Strathcona Park. “Why don’t you get in, come to my place and you may name a cab from there?” she mentioned.
I interrupt this story of two strangers tossed collectively at 38,000 toes by serendipity and Cabernet Sauvignon to notice that I write humour books, and my tackle males — Guys – Not Actual Shiny And Rattling Proud Of It! — was truly devoted “For Purple: an distinctive common man.” Simply sayin’.
Purple, now into his twenty eighth hour of journey, mentioned: “No, that’s OK. I’ll simply seize a cab from right here.” Sadly, I used to be not there to whack him upside the pinnacle. He has regretted that jet-lagged mind blip every single day since Sandy’s journey light right into a uninteresting, gray Calgary night time.
Be aware to single seniors — it’s not prefer it was once. Moments like this seldom come round. Get a quantity.
So let’s all put our heads collectively, to not point out our Fb connections, and discover Sandy for my buddy Purple. Perhaps, simply perhaps, we are going to assist two seniors work their manner by way of this precarious world, as one.
And Sandy, another premature misstep by my good friend and, yeah, I’ll positively give him a whack.
William Thomas is an writer, a TV scriptwriter and a syndicated columnist. In case you discover Sandy, electronic mail him at [email protected]
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