4 - Sunday, July 7, 1991- North Shore News

Road trips and the moment of truth

THERE ARE nightmare stories galore about jet travel
these days. So, for a change, here’s one about a trip that
was flawless except for a minor human factor.

3cb
Hunter

There were four of us — the
producer, two cameramen and
me. We'd spent a week roaring

back and forth on the freeways of

Los Angeles, doing a TV
documentary on dolphins.
The task now was to get home

without having any further adven-

tures. I define an adventure as
what happens when everything
goes wrong.

The thrill of jet travel had long
since worn off, leaving only a
vague panic known as airport
angst. What will go wrong this
time? Will it be luggage screw-

ups? Will it be the tickets? Wrong
counters? Flight delays? Customs?

Downed computers? Overloaded
credit cards?

The situation didn't look pro-
mising. There were four of us
whose flights had to be coordi-
nated, one of them at the last
minute because of a change in
plans. We had to drop off a
rented van. We had to find the
right airline counter at the L.A.
terminal. It was an early morning
flight.

Between us we had nearly 2G
suitcases, knapsacks, camera
cases, tripods, boxes of tape and
sundry electronic gadgets.

And of course we would be
hung over.

This is a tradition with road

STRICTLY PERSONAL

crews, a wrap party at the end of
a gruelling shoot. No matter how
wasted you are from a week of
traffic and interviews with weird
people, you have to stay up late
and get plastered, otherwise
you're not a team player.

Comes the moment of truth at
dawn. Memories of a thousand
other hung-over mornings in
strange hotel rooms around the
world return to resonate through
this particular exquisite agony,
adding an echo to the sense of de-
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But we are road veterans, eh?
Everything is packed. Within 15
minutes, the two cameramen and
me are down in the van, equip-
ment loaded, waiting for the pro-
ducer.

The producer is a quick-witted,
chatty non-male person who has
logged nearly 300 ii esona
rented cellular in the past five
days. When she’s not on the
cellular, she’s glued to a pay
phone.

She is a telephone junkie.

The producer has also tended to
be a teeny bit on the late side
from time to time. Having long
ago given up on hopes of attain-
ing any kind of Zen state in this
lifetime, I volunteered to get the
producer moving. Don’t want to
be late this time, do we?

I stomp over to the lobby phone
and dial her room number. Busy!
That won’t do! I grab the elevator
up to her floor, march briskly
down the hall and tap on her
door.

No reply. She must be yapping
so much on the phone she can’t
hear. | tap harder. | press the
buzzer. Still nothing.

Before I quite realize what has
happened, 1 am pounding on the
door with my fists and kicking it
savagely, howling obscenities.
(Amazing how much pent-up hos-
tility can be released in so short a
time-frame, given the proper con-
ditions.)

incredibly, nothing happens.

PROVEN RESULTS
with over
8 years experience!

LESLIE LaFLECHE
984-9711 (24 hrs.)

by JAMES RUSSELL

Diane Payette is a woman
with a vision. For the past
seven years, she has been
active in the helping profes-
sion. She now has a
private practice, Rutley &
Payette, on the North
Shore.

Dianes vision is to con-
vince the general public
that counselling can be of
value to everyone,

Most people still believe
that going to therapy is a
sign of weakness, or a
proof of insanity, this is

certainly not true!

Why would a person want
to go to counselling?
Payette explains that

Have [ gone overboard? TrembI-
ing, nursing a bruised right fist, |
stumble downstairs only to spot
the producer sitting in the van,
looking impatiently at her watch.
We must have passed each other
on the elevators.

‘*What happened to your hand,
Bob?"' one of the cameramen
asks.

The next dramatic moment
comes as we are caught up in the
traffic vortex at the airport. The
driver wants to go one way, the
designated navigator the other, the
producer another ... It has been
like this all week.

At the last second, it is decided
that one of the cameramen and
me will leap out and escort the
entire ton of equipment towards
the flight deck while the other
cameraman and the producer get
rid of the van and somehow catch
up with us.

All this goes amazingly well,
considering all the X-ray machines
and boxes of tape and cameras
that have to be turned on and
shown, until the moment comes
when the woman at the counter
asks for my ticket.

Where is my ticket?

No Zen for Bob today. Animal
instinct takes over. Again, without
quite realizing what I am doing, |
am down on my knees on the
floor, ripping my knapsack apart.
Nothing. Frantically re-pack. Rip
videocamera case apart. Nada.
Re-pack. Rip bagfuls of goodies

for the folks back home apart.

Sull nothing. Stand, shuddering
with frustration. Am about to
throw total fit on floor of crowd-
ed terminal when | remember: I’d
nidden it in the special fap at the
bottorn of the knapsack the first
night we'd arrived.

Rip knapsack apart one more
time. There it is! Habbalooja!

And from that point on, it all
unfolded like a dreara. The other
two members of our crew arrived
just as the boarding passes were
being stapled together. We had
just enough time for a last drink
at the bar before taking our seats.

The movie was a good one I
hadn’t seen before. We landed in
Toronto on schedule. We breezed
through Customs without delay.
The ton of equipment was trundl-
ing about on the carousel already.
My wife found me immediately.
Shazam.

What a system when it works!
Now if I could just get my act
together...

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counselling is an oppor-
tunity to transform a dif-
ficulty into a possibility for
growth. “We often cannot
control the people or situa-
tions that seem so frustra-
ting and painful.

“The only person we can
truly change is ourselves.
The change has to come
from inside out.

“When we change, we
often see others change in
response to us, thus mini-
mizing our frustrations”

In addition to counselling,
Diane uses hypnosis and a
variety of relaxation techni-
ques to encourage and
reinforce that inner change.

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DIANE PAYETTE
CLINICAL COUNSELLOR
HYPNOTHERAPIST
Diane is warm, caring and
an exceptional counsellor.
Speak with her personally
by calling 986-9304 for an
initial consultation at no

charge.

Remember, the right
counsellor does make a
difference. Call now and
find out for yourself.

ee