Blog

Countdown!

Countdown Creator Progreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Blog

It’s okay to be me too

It’s okay to be me too.

Fall is in the air and it is time to get reflective. Father's Day was a while ago and team Georgian Bay Airways actually did without Nik and I for a weekend. Having an excellent senior leadership team is critical. I only called every two or three hours.

This much-needed family bonding time was spent down in the charming community of Paris, Ontario. Nestled in between where the Nith River joins the Grand River, this town could and should be the model for all small town downtowns. Beautiful.

My boy took me pond fishing (we did well), while Nik took the girls to their own pond (they did well too). We picked farm fresh strawberries for pancakes (we had to pay for 21 quarts, but only took home 20). We did farm stuff. Horses are not my thing as I think they look like ugly moose. Nobody down there thought that my pondering on how they might taste to be very funny. Huh.

Orion with his catch and Ariel getting busted

This all led to the inevitable self review, 2011 version. The last books I read were Three Day Road, Room and Batman verses Predator. Not bad. The release of the final Harry Potter was a summer movie highlight. Meh. Hitting the gym two to four times a week. Good. Making supper after work in time for soccer with a generic jovial outlook. Fantastic and sometimes unobtainable.

The fact that I am happy with burning knees after a run instead of shooting pains raises an eyebrow. My oldest (6) tapped my bicep from her top bunk the other night during bedtime snuggles and comments “better work on those.” I haven’t witnessed somebody blowing his or her college tuition so fast and recklessly in eighteen years (way back when I was in school). Wow Ariel.

As it turns out, the weather in Parry Sound was gorgeous that weekend and the team flew all day for three days straight. I am okay with that too.

The Evolution of the Bromance: It's OK to be a guy

Here at GBA we have a pretty strict dress code. We figure professionalism can be accentuated with a crisp uniform. It just lends to ones credibility.

Staff in Uniform

From left to right: Lauren, Lindsy, Jess and Savanna

But, not too long ago a bunch of us decided to head on up to the Strand Twin Theater to enlighten our senses, gain some culture, and learn a little bit about ourselves. As Nik and I were getting ready for this grand event she walked into me putting on my sweet new NASA “t” shirt. She long ago gave up on my life/clothing choices, rolled her eyes, and me and off we went. Nik always looks good. Seeing Lindsy and Karen in their ever-present fashion sense at the cinema door let doubt creep in… right until I saw Pilot Matt in a solid brown Wolverine “t”. Crisis averted. On with the show.

Nice Nik

The Chief Pilot & Pilot Matt

Thor won in the end and got the girl. Carry the big hammer; wear quasi-medieval armor and smash stuff as deemed necessary. Lesson learned.

Thor

For reasons known only to them did Nik and Karen marry Matt and I? However, one poignant point was made perfectly clear. Guys are okay too. We just think a little differently.

Like the time the house wide search for the dead creature rotting in our house that ended with my very ordinary, animal free hockey bag, or the fact that we gather in large numbers in such social areas as the bowels of the BOCC (Bobby Orr Community Center) during hockey season or Parry Sound Golf and Country Club during non hockey season. Commonly referred to black fly/mosquito/when is it ever going to not rain on two weekends in a row season.

Orion and Bobby

Orion at the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame

Nothing wrong with parental guidence (and Daddy Dreaming)!

Hockey dad

Ariel handing a tired Daddy the game puck.

Riggs had Murtagh (Lethal Weapon reference) and a very solid mullet, Simon has Garfunkle (music reference)and I have the Ice Hogs (my fantastically average hockey club). We are guys doing guy things. A blind eye to the odd odor is in the job description.

Ice Cream Floats

It is inevitable. Like the autumn leaves falling off the tree. Like the changing of the seasons. Like the slow, but steady recession of my hairline… things change. It is our one constant in this universe. The youthful, energetic fresh commercial pilot who was so eager to start the day at 4:30 AM just to see what the day’s adventure would hold has been replaced, stealthily, I might add, with the fellow with the crows feet around the eyes, knees that complain when loading, and a heart that ponders 6:00 AM? Really? Already?

Young Keith and Nicole

Keith & Nicole Saulnier doing maintenance on an Otter (big seaplane) a long, long time ago

Nineteen years in the industry and I still love it like it’s new. Interesting thing is, like it or not, I am the old dog in the operation now. Deal with it. Fresh faces that await the spring thaw, not because they are staring at the bottom line and hoping for a strong season, but ready, willing and able to work their butts off in what must be considered the most challenging, but fun job on the planet are in the building.

Keith and Orion Saulnier

Yup, I am referring to Jess. Former ice cream slinger, former office assistant, former dockhand. She was and is always so darn competent. It is like it had to happen. Written in the stars, if you will. The sparkle in the eyes. The way she always had the questions at the right time. Sorry to you Jess’s Mum. She was hooked from day one and has made herself a part of the team. You have lost her to an industry that consumes you wholly like no other, pays poorly, and causes a bi-annual migration. Commercial pilot Jess even went to the same school where I met my wife, future Chief Pilot, and mother of my babies. Confederation College continually pumps out some of the most well rounded pilots I have ever seen.

Courtney & Ice Cream Jess (far right)

She came to us at fifteen and absolutely worked her tail off in the ice cream shop. A great attitude and the right work ethic paved the way for her migration out to the dock. The gas customers loved her and the line pilots found her way of doing things to be all right. I guess in the whole nature vs. nurture thing we win. She wins too?