Editor:
My wife and I had a packet of four tickets for the Radical Reels event at the Mountain Film and Book Festival in Banff, for Tuesday, Oct. 30.
Unknown to us, they were inadvertently swept up with other paper recycling, and dumped into the blue recycling bin at Sobeys on Sunday, Oct. 28. This particular event was very important to us, because the Mountain Idol award was to be awarded during the event. One of the nominees was Peter Thompson, who was tragically killed in a kayak accident in September, and we very much wanted to be there. It can be imagined how disconsolate we were at discovering we had lost the tickets.
Monday morning, I went down to the depot and spoke to a couple of fellows there who were quick to understand my situation, and equally fast in getting me some direction. A few minutes later I was down at the Sobeys recycling station, speaking with another two men with the recycling truck. They also were sympathetic, and helped me to sift through the reams of paper, one truck side bucket at a time. (Of course, I had been one of the first to dump on Sunday morning, so our recycling didn’t start to appear until the bottom contents of the bin). I couldn’t believe that they would take the time to help me, and to be so patient and understanding in doing so. At one point, a third driver came and assisted for some time.
Alas, we did not find the little envelope, despite all the careful searching. We were pretty dejected, as we had understood that we could not get replacement tickets. One can imagine the surprise and joy that was in our household later that day, when we received a phone call from the Public Works Office, telling us that our tickets had been found. Apparently the sharp-eyed Luke, who hadn’t given up on the idea of finding a needle in a haystack, saw the envelope on the main depot floor, after the truck had dumped.
So, we were able to take in the show, Peter won the Mountain Idol posthumously to thunderous applause and a long standing ovation, and we were happy. Many, many, thanks to Luke, Greg and Mike. They were understanding, compassionate and caring enough to go above and beyond, and lend a helping hand. That was a wonderful demonstration of human kindness.
Bob and Louise Olinger,
Canmore
