My apologies to my faithful readers for being so late with my column.
I have been occupying my time in a place which Wally Smith had great disdain for. Why Wally felt that way I could never figure out and today the reason(s) is still a mystery.
That place of his disdain was Hawaii. We were on the island of Oahu, specifically in Waikiki.
In my last column I mentioned Wally’s sister, but I didn’t mention that she was single so she spent her money on herself. Hawaii was one of her vacation destinations. She must have been there a time or two because I do remember Wally carrying on about what the Hawaiian attraction was about.
Wally’s cousins ( my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Jim ) also went to Hawaii while his sister was there too.
Wally could have been a tad envious with all the relatives traipsing off to La La Land.
I think Wally felt that people should spend their money in Canada and to a degree I can understand his point, but then how do we learn about other cultures if we don’t leave Canada? Book experience only goes just so far.
Wally’s vacation started when all the fruit was off the trees and everything was in its place for the winter. He would give the trees a rest until he began his pruning program which lasted until the trees blossomed.
He always stayed home for the winter until he was into his 70’s. Auntie Kay would plan the trips. The night before she was ready to leave she would ask him if he was going with her. If he said no, she always had a female friend who would go with her instead.
I think that once Wally started traveling, he understood the travel bug a little better and was less apt to complain about it. He never did make it to Hawaii, but I guess after years of nay saying it, one can expect nothing else.