JAL3 Back again
 

I am finally back after more than a month.

I have spent 19 days in 3 quarantine facilities in two provinces.

My "business" was on a very small spit of sand posing as an island, a 5 hour ferry ride from Prince Edward Island out into the Atlantic. Connectivity there is problematic in terms of both phone and internet service. Internet wasn't really an issue because I was halfway across Alabama before realizing that I had left my laptop on my desk in San Antonio.

My purpose in going up there was to reach one of my oldest and dearest friends who had a terminal diagnosis. He retired to the home "town" of his wife after retiring from the USMC. By the time I got there, he was no longer conscious. He died the next day. I did his funeral and helped his wife arrange for survivor benefits. Much of this could not be done practically in the time frame I had availble on the small island so I "commuted" to PEI to handle these things. At least English was the primary language there; my French is almost non-existent.

I am finally home and have ensured that my wife did not file for survivor benefits from me; made sure the dogs remember what I smell like; ensured the cat still doesn't care one way or another as long as the food and litter box are taken care of; checked to make sure I still have a job because I know I haven't had a paycheck in over a month.

Before leaving, I made sure that I did not have any outstanding commitments. There was one rocket that I went ahead and mailed out at my expense. Other than that, all I had some listings and some boxes of rockets that had been paid for and which I had agreed to store in case others might be bought in the future. No problem, or so I thought.

The day before my last quarantine in Moncton was to come to an end, I got an email on my phone from PayPal saying that somebody had opened a case against me. I had no access to my records to check the situation out and I did not have my login information for paypal on my phone. It would have to wait until I got home.

I DID have Troj's email on my phone and asked him to post a message for me on TRF. I was certain that the complaint came from someone there. I am most grateful that he did so and appreciate his help in this matter. It did take me longer to made the drive back than I expected but I am finally back. I even had a few hours of sleep after getting home last night.

As it happens, I still do have a job and am even picking up a shift tonight for the hospital system.

Today and tomorrow, I will make sure that I did not mess up on getting anyone's merchandise shipped out. I will be in contact the the unhappy customer just as soon as I have a chance. That is not "RIGHT NOW" but it will be today or tomorrow.

If anyone else is unhappy with me, please let me know and I will try to rectify any problems that I may have caused. I know of no other cases at present but I have been hard to reach and may not know about it.

Thank You,


JAL

Very sorry to hear about the loss of such a good friend of yours; but I'm sure your presence and ministry meant a great deal to his loved ones. I'm guessing from the colourful description of your destination that your friend had retired to Iles De La Madeleine? Wow! Would that we would all be likewise willing to "go the extra mile" for a friend; and yes, even if it meant having to isolate / quarantine multiple times and places along the way. Blessings.

I had been too the Madeleins once before, way back in the 80s, before Mark married Marie. It has been my experience that US cits have almost never heard of them and I am surprised by the number of Canadians who have never heard of them. They can be very picturesque. I would have liked another opportunity to look around under different circumstances. One thing has not changed. Very few speak English.