171. Stranded at the Airport in a Snowstorm

christmas week does not begin according to plan.

Dear reader,

Depending on where you live, you may or may not have heard of the snowstorm that hit British Columbia.

I live in a city surrounded by towering mountains, slapped against the sea, in the lower corner of a province at the western edge of the world. They call these parts the Lower Mainland. The city is Vancouver. Yesterday it suffered from a snowstorm and just did not recover.

(Ben Nelms/CBC)

We were stranded at the airport all night, waiting at the gate for our flight to arrive. It taxi-ed on the tarmac for 4 hours, with passengers and crew onboard, unable to access any gate. All the gates were occupied by other planes stuck in the snow. There was a little truck to tow the planes away from the gates, but it also got stuck in the snow. More snow kept falling.

The flight was delayed, then further delayed, then indefinitely delayed. Long after it became apparent to everyone that we were not flying that night, the airline still did not use the word ‘cancelled’. I imagine that was for not-wanting-to-offer-compensation purposes.

We had planned to spend Christmas week in New York with extended family. It was about a nephew who had just turned two months old. Sigh…

Fortunately, we are able to see the storm through and re-schedule for later. See you in January, Neel in New York City.

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Dear reader, Christmas week has not gone according to plan. I hope you are having a better time of it.

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📺 Last week I was on both radio and TV. Crazy times. Take a look.

🔍 This month, I am doing an audit of my work with paying subscribers. Check out part 3 of my 4-part series, about the importance of leaving room for magic.

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