Seige. A 110 East 11h B (at Lonsdale) § North Vancouver § 34 - Sunday, May 26, 1991 - North Shore News TRAVEL A change of plans AS EVERY reader of this column knows, travel is one of the things I like best. Not this week. By the time you read this I'll be packing to head for Toronto. I won't be doing any sightseeing, (tl not climb the CN Tower or do much shopping. Vil be pushing a vacuum cleaner, washing dishes, cooking, grocery shopping and hanging around doctors’ offices. ! may be dishing up medicine, running er- rands and doing laundry. My dear friend has been diagnosed with a malignant, metastasized brain tumor. I don’t have to tell you what that means. When Monica was just a girl, she came to Vancouver and she lived with us — a nanny to our three daughters. When Janine, our youngest, was five days old, just out of the hospital, | handed her to Monica. Eventually, | threw Monica out! Cried buckets while I did it but told her, ‘‘You’ve got to make a better life for yourself. If I don’t get harsh and send you home, you'll be here until forever and you're far too bright for that."’ Monica would have stayed and we would have taken advantage of her. Kind? She watched over our kids like an angel. Capable? I taught her our favorite recipes and she loved cooking. Every day we’d make lunch for the kids, sack them down for naps and play two games of cut-throat cribbage. Monica went home, took some advanced courses in business and met Bill. They got married and, about 12 years ago, moved back here. Bill came out first and he and I bought a condo up near Cap Col- lege. Monica’s words: “Let Barb pick it out — if she likes it, I'll like it.” Monica went to work for Brian and was ‘‘the best damn secretary anyone could want.’’ They fought like cats! Bill and I used to laugh about it, but we knew that they didn’t have any malice — it was simply sparring. Monica would correct Brian’s written grammar and he'd fight it. I bought Monica a Siamese cat "NORTH SHORE VENTURE TRAVEL £ CRUISES COLORFUL COSTA RICA trom us. *34Q° Inclusive of Return airfare trom Seatile to San Jose valid for 30 days and : 3 nights introductory hotel | accommodation i in San Jose — | 986-1377 | ome Barbara — McCreadie TRAVELWISE for Christmas. [ bought Bill a box of kitty liter. When I warned Bill about the gift, he said, ‘You wouldn't! f hate cats!”’ “Sorry, Bud. It’s done.”’ “PILKIN you for this.”” He didn’t. They named the little fellow ‘‘Pooh-Bear’’ after our el- derly Siamese that Monica adored. They moved back to Toronto — the job scene for Bill, a carpenter, wasn’t too great here and Monica’s mother had a terminal illness. We cried buckets, again. We haven’t lost touch for a minute. Since neither Brian nor | has any brothers or sisiers, we refer to Monica and Bill as ‘‘bor- rowed.”’ They, too, are without relatives so it’s a worthwhile part- nership. Years ago Monica wrote me that they had decided to have no family because, ‘‘We don’t need anyone around just to push us in our wheelchairs when we get too old to manage.’” Monica replied to Suzy's wed- ding invitation (upcoming, now, but over by the time you read this) ‘We're coming! Letter to follow, I promise!’’ 1 watched for thar letter for a week. Instead, I got a phone call from Bill. ‘‘Monica has collapsed. We thought it was a stroke but they did a brain scan and it's We specialize in over 35 Cruise Lines all over the world Why take a chance on booking a cruise with just anybody? 985-SHIP {7447} 1823 Capiiano Rd. ervise. centers poe nen Crew buna Saachss some kind of tumor. She’s having exploratory surgery next weck.”" He also told me that they still had their flight tickers and were planning to be here. Pooh-Bear was yowling in the background. “} don't know what we'd do without him, he’s our family.”’ Pooh was on Monica’s lap when she phoned last Friday morning. They had just cancelled their flight. Her main concern (other than who would take over teaching her classes at the university) was mak- ing sure I sent her a full set of wedding pictures. After the surgery, Bill phoned with the ugly news. He said that people were asking if Monica had any relatives to give him a hand. ‘‘I told them ‘no’.’’ I replied, ‘‘Will I do?” **Would you really come?’’ You bet I’m going. [ haven’t even booked my flight yet — but I’m out of here. My forwarding address for the next while will be Fenwick, Ontario and the News will be getting my columns from the fax machine. (ll haul my ‘‘little sister’? to whatever oncologist she needs to see, do the laundry, feed Pooh and anything clse ~~ including scrubbing floors — that needs do- ing. Monica is 43. She doesn’t smoke, drink or overeat. She hasn’t taken an illegal drug in her life. She goes to keep-fit classes, plays golf and is kind to people and animals. Her husband adores her. So do I. 1 don’t care if I have to haul her to a snake charmer, the Far East for chicken scrat- chings or Mexico, for whatever they do there. As you can see, this is some- thing hard to accept. {f you pray, please join me in one for Monica. . NEWS photo Stuart Davis HAVE A HaGassah geodie...Dianne Landes, Helen Hoffman and Sheila Milstein gear up for the annual Hadassah mini-bazaar today, Sunday, May 26 at the North Shore Jewish Community Centre, 1755 Inglewood in West Vancouver, 10 a.m. te 2 p.m. In addition to delicious baked goods there wili be clothing, beoks, toys and other goods for sale. invites his past clients to call him at his new iocation at 736-8300 STC TRAVEL 210-1275 W. 6th AVE. VANCOUVER, B.C. OUR FOUNDER CONTEMPLATES THE highway an Cape Cod Barbara & John Tiiley VASTNESS GF THE SAHARA while stanaing Safely Oy a Sand dure twetve feet fram a Tilley Endurables ; 1537 West Broadway Vancouver, B.C. 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