Cancel Culture

Cancel Culture is alive and well. No, I'm not talking about being blocked or unfriended or ghosted on social media. I'm talking about stuff that literally gets cancelled at the last minute. Important stuff. Stuff that demands considerable planning, preparation and fancy logistics, all of which turns out to be for naught.

In the past few weeks, I've endured two such cancellations. One was a cataract operation. The other was an Air Canada flight. Let's take them one by one, shall we?

My cataract surgery was to take place on May 31, at the Riverside campus of the Ottawa Hospital. So I got there as instructed around noon on the 31st, having had no solid food since suppertime on May 30. I was allowed only clear fluids, like black coffee, apple juice and gingerale. The surgery itself was scheduled for 1:30 PM and it was estimated that I'd be allowed to go home again by 3PM, as long as I was escorted by a responsible adult.

So far, so good. I got there and was seen by various nurses and technicians and whoever, who pumped the eye full of various varieties of eye drops at regular intervals. Then back to the waiting area. 1:30 PM came and
went. then 2PM. Then maybe around 2:20, I was finally called into an interior waiting area where I waited prone on a gurney, glasses off, a goofy cap around my hair, a little bag with my meagre accompanying belongings at my feet and a heated blanket over me. And waited, along with a couple of other patients in similar poses.

Finally some kind of supervising person came in and gathered other hospital people around her in a huddle and explained to them that there was no way that all three of us could get our surgery this afternoon. Just one. The woman who won this patient, patience-straining lottery had come in for the day from Deep River along with her escort, so really she was the most logical choice. And as I recall, she was already there when I arrived at noon, so goodness knows what time her surgery had been scheduled for. Supervisor-lady told me: Sorry, I'm afraid your surgery has been cancelled. But we're going to feed you! You can have crackers & cheese or a carrot muffin. I'll even give you both if you like!

I never actually saw my ophthalmologist while there, but he phoned me that evening to apologize for the cancelled surgery, mention when his upcoming operating room hours were, and assure me it would definitely happen this summer.

In the "Talk about coincidences!" department: Just minutes ago, I got a phone call from my ophthalmologist's
office: my new surgery date is August 28; it may even be before then, as I'm also on the cancellations list (for patient-initiated cancellations, that is). We shall see - and more importantly, I shall see!!

Now for the Air Canada flight. This past week, I've been in Winnipeg for the Canadian Health Librarians conference and afterwards in Toronto for the Bony Blithe (crime fiction) Mini-Con. One of my sisters lives In Winnipeg and I hadn't seen her in person in years. Nor had I ever in my life been to the Human Rights Museum there.

So I booked the only direct Air Canada flight I could find from Ottawa to Winnipeg. At time of booking, it was scheduled for 4:10 PM last Monday (June 10). But several weeks later, they informed me that the new departure time would be 6:30 PM. That was less convenient for me but still doable. On June 9, they invited me to "check in" for my flight, which I did, and they e-mailed me a boarding pass. Since I wouldn't be arriving in Winnipeg until the evening, I had decided to splurge on a nice seat and its associated amenities, including a vegetarian meal.

On flight day, I arrived at the Ottawa airport and everything seemed to be going according to plan. I presented my boarding pass, got through security in good time and the departures board indicated the flight was on time and even indicated what gate I'd be departing from, although the flight wasn't due to leave for another couple of hours.

Great! I could grab a coffee, read my book, maybe avail myself of the free airport wi-fi, browse the shops.

Somewhere around 5:15 or 5:30, I thought I'd better check the Departures board again in case the flight was delayed or the departure gate had changed.

Well. The flight had been cancelled altogether!

I was directed to an Air Canada customer service desk between two of the departure gates, where I learned they had booked me on a new flight. One that didn't leave till the next morning. One that was NOT direct, but rather had a connecting flight at Pearson Airport in Toronto. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike that airport and try to avoid it?

So I told the agent that didn't work for me and she then booked me on a Westjet direct flight leaving at 9:35 that same evening. It was in the Economy cabin, 3 seats across, I was seated on the aisle whereas I prefer a window seat, and I had to pay for my own food. Still, it was better than waiting till the next day. I'm now working on getting some sort of partial refund from Air Canada.

So I got to my librarians' conference, I got to the Human Rights museum with my sister, brother-in-law and niece, and then I flew from Winnipeg to Toronto for the Bony Blithe event. The Bony Blithe event, by the way, was supposed to happen in 2020. Then in 2021, then in 2022, and so on. But in 2024, it did happen! I had a great time and it was worth the wait.

Overall, I much prefer train travel to plane travel. I took a very efficient train from Pearson Airport to Union Station, using my Presto card. I took a VIA Rail train from Toronto back to Ottawa. It was late, of course, but the food and wine and service were all great. And kudos to VIA: they actually announced right off the bat that in light of the late arrival, all passengers would be entitled to a 50% off voucher for VIA rail travel that we could redeem any time in the next 12 months. I'm already planning my next trip!