The Garden City Refugee

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Whither Whistler

August 1, 2022

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An interesting email popped up in my inbox last week. It was from one of the committee members involved with the 50th anniversary WHA reunion being planned for Whistler over the Thanksgiving weekend asking me if I was going.

The email wasn’t entirely unexpected. Another committee member who I’ve had no contact with in years had suddenly taken to checking my timeline on Facebook and liked a couple of posts. I suspected the fact that I, the curator and caretaker of the WHA Hall of Fame, hadn’t booked and that I hadn’t been sharing the event all over my timeline had indeed been noticed. The email in question confirmed those suspicions.

I responded politely, informing the committee member that although I wish them well with their event, if I attend either of the two reunions being planned, it would be the one in Quebec.

I expected a response along the lines of, “Sorry to hear that, but if you change your mind, we’d still love to have you and you’d be more than welcome.”

Instead I got “What do you want to go to Quebec for?”

And I get accused of being gruff.

Not that I need to justify my travel plans to him or anyone else, but Quebec is:

  • a lot closer
  • somewhere I actually want to visit, whether or not any WHA-related event is connected to said visit

From what I’ve heard, Whistler offers some fantastic scenery. Those who like skiing and/or golfing would love it. The organizers probably thought that holding the event there would attract more visitors, but in my case, it’s a prohibitive deterrent. For me to get out there, it would involve a five- to six-hour flight (maybe longer – I haven’t actually checked), dealing with the chaos at Pearson in the process, plus a two-hour shuttle ride north. And for what? Whistler holds no appeal to me whatsoever. I would sooner travel to Winnipeg, Regina or Saskatoon for such an event. Seriously. At least being in a sizable population center, you’re not stuck in the middle of nowhere. There are things to do besides sit in your hotel room. In Winnipeg, for example, I would welcome the opportunity to reconnect with old friends.

Of course, it would be nice to rub shoulders with some Jets and other WHA legends. But I can’t justify spending copious amounts of cash for the privilege of putting up with the extraordinary hassle of getting out to the ass end of the Earth. If I ever board a plane again, Whistler won’t be the destination.

As I stated, I truly wish them well with their event and hope they enjoy themselves. They don’t need my approval or judgment with respect to the venue, but if they had picked a place like Winnipeg, where so much interest remains in the Jets and WHA, or Toronto, a city so close to where the vast majority of players are from, they’d have people lined up around the block for tickets.

Instead, they’re having to send out back-channel feelers to try to convince hard-core hockey historians like me to attend.

Good luck.

Sounds like they need it.

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