tim
Moderator
Reged: 06/18/03
Posts: 6004
Loc: Vélo, Virginia, Vitet
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U.S. Air did their part by getting us to one of the two operational new jetways at SXM by 4:00 P.M. We proceeded off the jetway with total confidence that we would now make our 4:45 P.M. Winair flight with time to spare, but NO, not so. The door at the end of the jetway wouldn't open to allow the passengers to enter the terminal. Fifteen minutes later, those of us with connecting flights were ushered through another door to the Transit Counter. Winair issued us boarding passes, so we still thought we'd make our connection. We proceeded to the Winair gate and waited about fifteen minutes - only to be told that the last flight of the day to St. Barth had already departed. Winair said that because we weren't at their gate 90 minutes prior to departure that they weren't responsible to either get us to St. Barth or pay for accommodations. The real story was that Winair had no operational aircraft to make the flight, but they wouldn't admit it.
As has been mentioned previously on this site, there is currently no ferry service from St. Maarten to St. Barth. Both the Voyageur and Rapid Explorer are out of service, probably for a good while. I saw Voyageur up on the land at Bobby's Marina in Phillipsburg, and she didn't look anywhere near ready for sea.
There were 12 of us trying to get to St. Barth that were thereby stranded. Frances with St. Barth Commuter magically appeared and offered to arrange for us a private charter boat to get us over tonight at 100 euros per person for the boat plus $25 in fees for the taxi/logistics/Frances. We all jumped at the chance and arrived at St. Barth at about 8:00 P.M. on a fifty footer from Ski Pilou. Luckily for us the seas weren't too rough. The new Juliana has lots and lots of new issues yet to resolve, and I hope they're up to the task. If the lack of cleanliness in this gazillion dollar new facility is any indication, they may not be up to the challenge.
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The best moderation is the least moderation.
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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good God that sounds like a nightmare Tim!!...LOL...I'm smelling an opportunity here mon ami in regards to the lack of ferryboats ...I need to make a few calls
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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JEK
Moderator
Reged: 01/20/04
Posts: 10728
Loc: Northern Virginia
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Was John Kerry on your flight?
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Carnaval 2009: Mardi 24 Février 2009!!!!
JEK
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tim
Moderator
Reged: 06/18/03
Posts: 6004
Loc: Vélo, Virginia, Vitet
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Quote:
Was John Kerry on your flight?
He got on in Charlotte, got off, then reboarded, and got off once again just before they closed the doors. He then issued a statement "sort of" apologizing for holding up our flight.
Mes amis,
Please forgive me for the above, but mon ami JEK made me do it.
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The best moderation is the least moderation.
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bto
Reged: 04/10/03
Posts: 1437
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You're forgiven, Tim, but egads, what is going on at PJIA?
Not too encouraging and I'm already thinking about my backup plan in February.
Hope you plan on having a creme beignet for me tomorrow morning. :)
Bev
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tim
Moderator
Reged: 06/18/03
Posts: 6004
Loc: Vélo, Virginia, Vitet
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Quote:
good God that sounds like a nightmare Tim!!...LOL...I'm smelling an opportunity here mon ami in regards to the lack of ferryboats ...I need to make a few calls
Mike,
Rapid Ex is out of service, perhaps forever. Voyageur is out of service for an extended period. Winair, for whatever bizarre Winair reasoning, has numerous aircraft out of service, including perhaps all or most of their Twin Otters. Frances has arranged private boat charters almost every day lately, three in one day due to Winair's cancellation of flights. U.S. Air was completely filled from CLT to SXM. It would appear there's definitely an opportunity for somebody.
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The best moderation is the least moderation.
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tim
Moderator
Reged: 06/18/03
Posts: 6004
Loc: Vélo, Virginia, Vitet
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Quote:
You're forgiven, Tim, but egads, what is going on at PJIA?
Not too encouraging and I'm already thinking about my backup plan in February.
Hope you plan on having a creme beignet for me tomorrow morning. :)
Bev
Bev,
Even after the chaos and frustration of our trip down, it's still sweet to be here feeling the cherished breeze as it blows the tropical temps over travel-weary bodies. We all need a Plan B, but the current situation makes even a realistic plan A almost a fantasy if one is flying U.S. Air from Charlotte and/or connecting to Winair.
P.S. We'll definitely check out the beignet selection tomorrow.
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The best moderation is the least moderation.
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frank
Reged: 09/16/04
Posts: 9
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I am so happy we are flying to SBH from San Juan this year. We may all be wishing for the chaos of the old airport before the season is over! BTW, if anyone wants to share a charter from SJU the afternoon of Nov 29 there's room.
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SELES
Reged: 03/15/03
Posts: 1826
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Sounds like Pilou is stepping up to the plate...MikeR, I am building a new Ferry in my spare time & should have it ready to help out soon. I doing this because the repair of Rapid, etc. is about as fast as the British Navy Invading Grenada. What concerns me the most as many expected is why 'the tail always wags the dog' at Juliana, then things evolve eventually into an okay situation. Obviously there was little or no thought and no communication between the major carriers, minor carriers, airport officials and of course, SXM VIP (who could probably design a perfect In Transit system).
Tim, glad you are there but Winair should be lashed for shirking responsibility, but this is always what they do, every time...unless an available plane lands on their heads.
Ric
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andynap
Reged: 10/24/02
Posts: 12148
Loc: Philadelphia
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As long as there are SB Services and Premium IV, I am not too concerned and will not get too excited about the new terminal until after the 1st of the year. I am flying SB Commuter so I won't be doing the Winair shuffle thank you. Maybe the jetway door will be working by then.
Tim: with Daylight Time now the USAIR CLT flight will always be getting in around 4- so how can you ever make the Winair flight? 90 minutes???
Edited by andynap (11/02/06 05:20 AM)
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MartinS
Reged: 05/25/03
Posts: 771
Loc: Anna Maria Island, Florida.
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Quote:
The new Juliana has lots and lots of new issues yet to resolve, and I hope they're up to the task. If the lack of cleanliness in this gazillion dollar new facility is any indication, they may not be up to the challenge.
If the lack of cleaniness that I observed on it's 3rd day of operation is any indication of what Juliana is to become, it will be just as dirty and disgusting as the old one by the first of the year.
J
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You can rest when you're dead !!!
www.silentcaptain.com
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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Quote:
Sounds like Pilou is stepping up to the plate...MikeR, I am building a new Ferry in my spare time & should have it ready to help out soon. I doing this because the repair of Rapid, etc. is about as fast as the British Navy Invading Grenada. What concerns me the most as many expected is why 'the tail always wags the dog' at Juliana, then things evolve eventually into an okay situation. Obviously there was little or no thought and no communication between the major carriers, minor carriers, airport officials and of course, SXM VIP (who could probably design a perfect In Transit system).
Tim, glad you are there but Winair should be lashed for shirking responsibility, but this is always what they do, every time...unless an available plane lands on their heads.
Ric
wel Ric..my money is on that no repair is taking place....something else is going on here for sure....but hey, you build it...I'll run it....the guy who basically runs the entire NJ/NYC ferry operation, at one time, many moons ago, was a snot nosed bratfaced high school kid working as my deckhand ...I'm calling him today to pick his brain
it sounds like there will be madcaps and mayhem a plenty when high season rolls around, unless big changes happen soon....I can see JimD revising his income projections now....Commuter too..LMAO
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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andynap
Reged: 10/24/02
Posts: 12148
Loc: Philadelphia
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Mike- I don't think they were making any profits otherwise they or someone else would be there.
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Andy -
St. Barts- where no day is ever the same and one day is not enough
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tim
Moderator
Reged: 06/18/03
Posts: 6004
Loc: Vélo, Virginia, Vitet
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Quote:
Tim: with Daylight Time now the USAIR CLT flight will always be getting in around 4- so how can you ever make the Winair flight? 90 minutes???
Andy,
An excellent observation, mon ami. I'm booked on U.S. Air/Winair every month for the next four months, so it will be interesting to see if the scenario repeats itself. As far as the 90 minute rule is concerned, someone at Winair pulled it out of their rectum just for this occasion. You have to understand, Winair had issued us boarding passes on their flight just 20 minutes prior to telling us the flight was cancelled because we weren't there 90 minutes prior to flight time. Duhhhhh, didn't they know that when they issued us the boarding passes? The fact is they had no operational aircraft and used the new "90 minute" rule simply as an excuse to try to avoid compensating us. As usual the Winair gate agents took the wrath of our stranded group of 12 while the inventor of the "90 minute" rule somewhere in the bowels of Winair's operations center sat peacefully at his desk until time to go home.
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The best moderation is the least moderation.
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andynap
Reged: 10/24/02
Posts: 12148
Loc: Philadelphia
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Tim- had the jetway door opened, what is your estimate of time from landing until you got to the Winair gate??
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Andy -
St. Barts- where no day is ever the same and one day is not enough
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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Quote:
Mike- I don't think they were making any profits otherwise they or someone else would be there.
I understand that Andy.....and it probably is that...but you never know if there were other factors at work here as well....
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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tim
Moderator
Reged: 06/18/03
Posts: 6004
Loc: Vélo, Virginia, Vitet
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Quote:
Tim- had the jetway door opened, what is your estimate of time from landing until you got to the Winair gate??
Andy,
I can't give you an accurate estimate, because the jetway door never did open while we were there. The U.S. Air agent finally lead those of us with connecting flights through an alternative door and over to the Transit Counter by a different route than normal. I still can't imagine it would take more than five or ten minutes to walk from the jetway to the Transit Counter. Another wrinkle is that there are only four jetways, two of which are operational until demolition of the old terminal is completed. If there are more than two incoming aircraft, passengers will still be using the busses, thereby taking longer. Of course, there are also times when there are more than four incoming aircraft....
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The best moderation is the least moderation.
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GayleR
Reged: 11/18/02
Posts: 1206
Loc: Toronto, Canada
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Reading this post makes my blood boil. Are we all going to put up with this???? We are a group of intelligent, articulate, fanatical SBH lovers who mobilized to donate money to contribute equipment to the fire department. We have banded together to support our own who have been sick, who've lost family members and pets. We have helped get jobs for strangers. We have provided advice, counsel and yes, even money!!! So, tell me, can we not develop a strategy to fix this? How about a working with the mayor of SBH? How about a Friends of St Barths petition to present to the President of Winair? Can we work with St Barths Commuter to help us? Can we engage with the airport authorities? What are your ideas??? Let's not sit idly by and be relegated to being at the mercy of the surliness and arrogance of Winair!!!
What are your ideas?
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JEK
Moderator
Reged: 01/20/04
Posts: 10728
Loc: Northern Virginia
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I plan to avoid the place by using Tradewinds.
Galye, nothing is ever as good or as bad as is written, even when Tim is the scribe:-) Give them a few weeks and I image it will settle out a bit.
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Carnaval 2009: Mardi 24 Février 2009!!!!
JEK
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DebTor
Reged: 03/26/03
Posts: 1375
Loc: Toronto, Ontario Canada
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I agree with GayleR. This information is already making me nervous as we'll arrive just in time to catch the last Winnair flight. I know Premium IV is excellent, but even they can't perform miracles. There must be something we, as a group, can do.
DebTor
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GayleR
Reged: 11/18/02
Posts: 1206
Loc: Toronto, Canada
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Not everyone can afford Tradewinds!
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andynap
Reged: 10/24/02
Posts: 12148
Loc: Philadelphia
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It seems to me that SB Commuter should fly more than 1 flight a day and maybe will do that as problems become more apparent.
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Andy -
St. Barts- where no day is ever the same and one day is not enough
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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well as much as I can sympathize with those who may have to deal with a real clusterf*** in the upcoming season.....making it more difficult to get to SBH cant be an entirely bad thing.....maybe it will cool the jets and take SBH off the radar for a while...meanwhile I'm sure those regular visitors will become resourceful enough to figure out how to circumvent the madness...
so the glass can be half full here.....maybe
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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GayleR
Reged: 11/18/02
Posts: 1206
Loc: Toronto, Canada
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Yeah, I always love a selfish answer...glad to have you aboard.
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JEK
Moderator
Reged: 01/20/04
Posts: 10728
Loc: Northern Virginia
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Wow, no boats and now no planes. This is getting to be a tough 20 mile trip. Is IV behind any or this?
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Carnaval 2009: Mardi 24 Février 2009!!!!
JEK
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bto
Reged: 04/10/03
Posts: 1437
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Well, you're right....things will probably settle down...remember they're on island time, we're just all overly anxious to get to paradise without any hitches!
Tradewinds is not the definitive answer for all on this forum.
The part that burns me is that WinAir actually issued those boarding passes, canceled the flight and then denied any responsibility....I think that is ridiculous...enough to make me NOT fly them again, ever. Surely there is someone who can rectify that and get your money back?
Meanwhile, build an extra "travel" day into your trip and just cope is the only thing I can come up with.
MikeR, you're right, where there's a will, there's a way....
Bev
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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Quote:
Yeah, I always love a selfish answer...glad to have you aboard.
oh for petes sakes...there are far more ppressing things to worry about....LOL
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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JoshA
Reged: 08/28/05
Posts: 2239
Loc: Virginia
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Quote:
Meanwhile, build an extra "travel" day into your trip and just cope is the only thing I can come up with.
This isn't a bad idea because it takes all the stress out of the planning. Just take SBC from Grand Case after spending a night (or more as we did in January) on the French side. Plenty of places in GC for great, classic French cuisine.
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bto
Reged: 04/10/03
Posts: 1437
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Josh,
We've done it that way before and will do it again in Feb. There are NO flights from STL that will get us to SBH in one day anyway...of course, every year, that is subject to change....but it does take the tension out of the trip if you plan ahead that way.
Bev
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Tom M
Reged: 02/03/03
Posts: 302
Loc: Cincinnati
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One at a time, just because I find this elongated reaction interesting.
"Reading this post makes my blood boil. Are we all going to put up with this????"
Gayle, ever been to an AA meeting?
Their prayer -God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.- applies to a lot of things in life, not just alcohol.
You can change the fire equipment in SBH, you can say prayers for a friend and make them feel better, but you are not going to change the attitude of indifferent (probably more like antagonistic) Win Air employees. Do you not recognize the distain they have for all of us? Do you not understand that it is embedded in race?
"Not everyone can afford Tradewinds!"
Not everyone can afford to stay in the places you stay in on SBH. Not everyone can afford the shoes and clothing shopping trips you talk about at length. Not everyone can afford the number of trips you take each year. But we all can make choices. Charter a plane, charter a boat, stay a night and fly out early the next day, fly out of Grand Case after staying a night.
"Yeah, I always love a selfish answer...glad to have you aboard."
Now, be nice.
And Mike, I'm with you. Anything that makes it harder to get there is good.
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Cheri
Reged: 10/13/02
Posts: 1686
Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
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Quote:
Josh,
There are NO flights from STL that will get us to SXM in one day anyway...of course, every year, that is subject to change....Bev
Bev, Delta can get you there in one day ...at least we hope!! Anyway, that's what we're trying this year.
Tim's story is a frightful one but for all the hysteria generated over the years, I have to say that the only time we have been stuck in SXM was two years ago when we were coming home and the weather was horrible and that was the reason we got stuck (last year we might have been stuck on the way down had we not hired Premium IV though). So, considering the new airport just opened, it seems a little early to start panicking...maybe we should wait and see. However if these stories continue, we should definitely figure out a way to take action (I'm just glad we have 3 months before our next trip!). But I cannot believe this about the ferries not operating. BOTH are down?!! How will daytrippers from SXM get over to St. Barth and it seems that many locals/workers used these ferries to cross back and forth each day as well. Seems strange.
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JimmyR
Reged: 11/05/04
Posts: 234
Loc: Mississippi
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JEK, I sure hope you are right about fixing things in a couple of weeks.
I fly CHT-SXM-Winair two weeks from Saturday.Tim, Should I be making other arraingments? This is all beginning to make me very nervous...Jimmy
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noel
Reged: 07/22/03
Posts: 619
Loc: St. Louis, MO, USA
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I agree with you, Gayle. It would probably be worth enlisting Wimco, St. Barth Properties and Marla as well, considering their economic interests in having people get to the island safe & sound.
And MikeR, that former deck hand / NY ferry person you mentioned wouldn't happen to be part of the McAllister clan, would he?
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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Quote:
One at a time, just because I find this elongated reaction interesting.
"Reading this post makes my blood boil. Are we all going to put up with this????"
Gayle, ever been to an AA meeting?
Their prayer -God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.- applies to a lot of things in life, not just alcohol.
You can change the fire equipment in SBH, you can say prayers for a friend and make them feel better, but you are not going to change the attitude of indifferent (probably more like antagonistic) Win Air employees. Do you not recognize the distain they have for all of us? Do you not understand that it is embedded in race?
"Not everyone can afford Tradewinds!"
Not everyone can afford to stay in the places you stay in on SBH. Not everyone can afford the shoes and clothing shopping trips you talk about at length. Not everyone can afford the number of trips you take each year. But we all can make choices. Charter a plane, charter |
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