In all honesty, my mother had been preparing us for this for at least 3 years. Earlier this week mom called me and said that grandma was truely at the end and doctors had given her 2 to 10 days. I got the phone call at 7:30 this morning, 6:30 Calgary time. I assume that means she went peacfully in her sleep, at least I hope that what that means.
She was 93 and had been suffering with dementia for at least 6 months and was blind due to wet macular degeneration for a couple of years. That was tough since she was a gifted artist.
Thankfully, the last time I saw her in early August she was in good spirits and doing okay, so my last memories of her are pleasant. I understand that things weren’t alway pleasant around her in the time since.
I would, however, like give the stink eye to American Airlines for not offering a berevment fair, since they can gouge me for full fare in the true spirit of the holiday season, which is of course to improve the bottom line. Last minute travel, the funeral will be tomorrow, isn’t cheap.
Thanks for the kind thoughts everyone. I do appreciate it.
I would like to apologize for the horrific number of typos in the OP. Berevment fair? WTF is that? It is almost as bad as my Merchant- Ivory faux pas in CS a couple of days ago.
Also, as bad as American Airlines is, I would like to give thanks to Canine Hilton, where Goliath boards. I know that they fill up for the holidays and new years in mid November, but when I called them this morning they said that they would make room for Goliath - that is customer service.
Sorry about your grandma. She lived through an incredible period in our history and witnessed amazing events. To put it into perspective, when she was born, women couldn’t vote. Nor could blacks. She lived to see the first black and the first female presidential candidates. She survived the 1918 flu epidemic that killed 20 to 40 million people then lived to see the advent of antiobiotics. She survived the threats of scarlet fever, polio and tuberculosis but was here when the first vaccine was introduced.
When she was born, the Model T was just coming into existence, replacing the horse as the primary means of transportation. Just 50 years later, she saw the first man walk on the moon. She lived through not one, but two world wars, the great depression, civil rights unrest, the assassination of a President and MLK.
I don’t have to know your grandma to know she was one tough cookie. RIP Adam’s grandma. You deserve some rest.
My sincere condolences on the loss of your grandmother.
Re: bereavement fares…Try calling again. It’s quite possible that the person you spoke with may have been suffering from cranioanal syndrome. At least while I was in the travel business, bereavement fares were a “given.” You just had to provide the documentation and, viola, b-fare.
(I will mention, though, that bereavement fares are not always the lowest possible fare. If it was any other time of year, it’s possible that there may be a lower fare available. Given that it’s the holiday season, though, a b-fare probably is the best you could get.)
