Dear Leanne,
You could say that Toronto's Pearson International Airport
is my second home.
It's the place where I start and end my vacations. It's the place where my relatives from
all about are picked up and dropped off whenever they visit. If the transit connections
weren't as lousy, it would be the place where I pay overprice over underpriced
airport food.
Criticism aside, for the past few years, Pearson has gone through what you could
say an "extreme makeover", which has made it dramatically different from the Pearson I
used to frequent. The last of my childhood memories will finally be demolished, with
its remaining few flights moved to the new Terminal 1.
You could probably say that I am part of the lucky crowd. I'm on a flight leaving
for Chicago, departing in an ungodly hour from Terminal 2, the last of the buildings
to be demolished to make way for future expansion. It'll be down to dust soon
after I come home.
I remember when my grandparents came here to visit from Vancouver. I was ten years old,
and I was eagerly waiting for them in the arrival hall of Terminal 2. Anxiety turned
to tears when I couldn't be in my Dad's car, pouting away in an uncle's sports utility
vehicle. It's probably the most frightful memory I remember from my "second home".
Do you remember moving from your childhood home? The anxiety that builds, and becomes with you when
you feel like you're in an alien land? That's what I'm feeling right now, and no matter
what lies ahead at Pearson Airport, it'll never be like it used to be.
Which is probably what they're aiming for, anyways.
Sincerely,
Phil