1. I'm off

At runway’s end, brakes on, the Rolls Royce engines of our stretched DC-8
power up to an ear-splitting scream. Seat belts fastened, hands clenched, knuckles
turning white, all faces project faux nonchalance. Brakes release. We begin to
accelerate, faster and faster. Rubber rolls and clips over concrete;engines roar
louder; aluminium and plastic vibrate; giant wings slowly flex, up and down. Will
we ever get off?

Passengers have been asking that question now for hours:

“What’s the hold-up? We were supposed to leave three hours ago! I should
never have booked CP. I always fly Japan Air Lines — best in the world.”

“I got up at five thirty this morning for this flight. You’d think Canadian
Pacific could get its act together. I hate waiting in airports.”

“You got that right!”

“I’ve got a meeting tomorrow in Tokyo.”

“Someone said there’s something wrong with the plane. They’re fixing it.”

“Let’s hope they know what they’re doing.”

Guess they figured it out, for now:

With a shudder, vibrations cease and we’re aloft. The plane banks gently
and hydraulics begin retracting wheels. Bump. Doors close. Engines are quieter,
steady and strong. The cabin is bathed in the faint air conditioning hiss that
passengers would be hearing for the next eight hours, or more.

I’m calm. Like most on board, I light a cigarette.

Looking below, I can’t see the airport we just left, but I can see Vancouver,
beautiful Vancouver sprawled out over the Fraser delta. There’s Stanley Park and
the Lion’s Gate Bridge, the blue fingers of the Fraser River, English Bay and
Burrard Inlet. Urban development is everywhere engulfed in greenery, snow
capped mountains rise to the east. What do they all dodown there? I wonder.

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Japanby Morley Evans

November 21, 2000