The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

M And then he and his colleague waited â€" and waitedâ€" and waited. Everyone was getting on planes â€" except them and the passengers desâ€" tined for their flight. Finally, they were all called to go out to the boarding ramp, but instead of DC8 awaiting them there, there was a bus. The bus driver told them a bomb threat for their flight had been phoned in. He drove them to the far extremities of the tarmac where their plane stood in soliâ€" tary confinement, surrounded by emergency vehicles and security guards. "I got an attendant to take the suitâ€" case because I knew it had to get to Montreal," said Banting. "I remember I was quite assertive about it being on the plane." Robert Banting can look back on it now and chuckle. But it wasn‘t very funny when it happened. It started one blustering night in late winter when Banting and a work colleague were called upon to make a mad dash for Montreal to sort out some computer gliches. It seems the new systems for a customer in Montreal had major problems, and it was Banting‘s job to fix them. Banting threw some large diskettes and other computer paraphernalia in a suitcase and raced home to pack his clothes for a fourâ€"day stopover in Quebec. Enroute to the airport, the Halton taxi he was riding in skidded on slipâ€" pery roads, hooked into a rail and got stuck. He was going to miss his plane, he thought, to say nothing of the busiâ€" ness associate awaiting him at the airâ€" port. By BARB JOY Oakville Beaver Staff After hailing another taxi, he breathlessly arrived at the terminal. Sure enough, his plane had departed but he could get the next one in an hour or so. ale of horrific trip was an awardâ€"winner ’ETH{EI\/E \ I We are an ind MOnl\ille Peter C. Watso MBA. orp sop _ Perer Watson Invesnuents LngteD By the time the plane arrived at Dorval airport in Montreal, it was after 1 a.m. Banting and his colleague waitâ€" ed at the carousel which was spewing the car accident," said Banting. "I knew it was going to be a bad night." Passengers were asked to identify the luggage which had been piled on the tarmac, but Banting couldn‘t find his and concluded it had taken an earâ€" lier flight. At last, safely esconced in their seats, the tense passengers waited for takeoff. And then, over the interâ€" com, Banting was asked to come to the front to see the purser. Two hunâ€" dred pairs of eyes followed him baleâ€" fully as he made his embarrassed way forward where he was asked to go outâ€" side to identify his luggage. I went back to my seat to get my coat," said Banting. "All the passenâ€" gers were staring at me, I guess wonâ€" dering if I was the mad bomber." His suitcase was not alone. Beside it stood the RCMP and a German shepherd dog whose tail was thumpâ€" ing on the tarmac. All of a sudden, Banting knew what had happened. While helping him pack, his wife Trudi had added a bite for him to eat and it was the roast beef sandwich, not a bomb, the dog was so enthusiastic about. "By this time, I was so mad I gave the suitcase a little kick, yanked it open, jammed my hand in, grabbed the sandwich and handed it to the dog," said Banting. After inspecting the luggage and having offered their apologies, the officers loaded the suitcase on the plane which, by this time, contained "a lot of hostile people." "The luggage was a good football field away and, as it was a chilly night, Oakville‘s Robert Banting knows how the Frankenstein Travel Award got its name RETIREMENT PLANNING % RRSP‘s ® INVESTMENT PLANNING Free Consultation W is in a state of agitation from 842â€"7602 are an independent Oakville firm specializing in off everyone‘s luggage â€" except Banting‘s. He insisted to the few bagâ€" gage personnel around at that time of night that indeed he had witnessed it being loaded on the plane. He knew it was there. A futile search revealed it wasn‘t. But at 2:30 a.m. Banting could do nothing else but find the nearest hotel, something the Montreal taxi driver resented since he would much prefer a fare to the downtown area for which, by the way, he charged. The day‘s misadventures weren‘t over yet. Banting and his colleague then discovered that their reserved rooms had been cancelled at midnight. However, two more were found by the sleepy clerk and, next morning, Banting‘s suitcase was returned to him. The security boys had put it in the wrong bin of the right plane and it had travelled all the way to Halifax. Although his story has assumed a comic flare, Banting said his wife didn‘t think it so funny. He said she will never forgive him for not calling her that night. Unknown to him, news reports had carried the story of the bomb scare on his flight and Trudi i PICK OF THE CROP 245 LAKESHORE ROAD EAST DOWNTOWN OAKVILLE B 4 4 â€"5 3 6 3 1¢ call to reserve a G0o0SE Zoe‘s Day Board Book sermies Haove you Seen Birds! T o Y S & B O O K s signed SoPY * . one of Barbara‘s _ Award winning lustrator 4 author he New Baby C ou cannot ch includ Barbara Reid By Come 4 Meet Sat March 20 :30 On THE OAKVILLE BEAVER had worried the night away. Still, his tale of flying mi whiled a dinner hour or two and, one evening in a restaurar Los Angeles hotel, he was relating it to business friends without noticing the man in the next booth. Thereavesâ€" dropper â€" an American, as it turned out â€" suggested he enter this very funny story in the Frankenstein Travel Award competition, held annually for those with an entertaining tale of travâ€" el misadventure to tell, It is sponsored by the Executive Communications Group, a management training firm in the U.S. which awards prizes of lugâ€" gage and a gift certificate. He did and he won. But more than the prize is his delight at telling the story over and over again. Apparently the communications group issued a press release about his award and Canadian Press picked it up. "I‘m surprised at how prominent it is. Even people at work in Mississauga said they‘d heard about it one way or another," said Banting. "I thought it was really just a little bit of a lark." > P : To cap, <ominimiys â€"<jaet ‘CA_O DON‘T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO $AVE BIG! ‘, °6.000 OFF! REDUCED TO ONLY! tWN 1993 MIATA ‘93 323 LIFTBACK ‘93 PROTEGE ‘93 CRONOS ‘93 MPV ‘93 MIATA TRAFALGAR VILLAGE ierican, as it turné he enter this ve Frankenstein Trav n. held annually f (Beside the Bank) V / 1993 MAZDA 323 AD * ‘8.688 int in ) dWay AKING YOU FEEL . h Robert Banting and ‘THE BAG‘; a noâ€"fun trip. a Lice 1993 CRONOS 626 with purchase of complete pair * single vision clear from Selected Frames May be upgraded to Sunglasses or Bifocals at minimal cost COMPLETE CONTACT LENS SERVICE INCLUDING THE NEW DISPOSABLES C ALL MAZDAS INCLUDE: 3 year/80,000 km bumper to bumper warranty 5 year/100,000 km major components warranty 5 year unlimited rust |g‘)erforation warranty (All with "0" deductable) FREE 2nd PAIR GLASSES!!* 1291 SPEERS RD. 827. 4242 93 MX6 MYSTERE UEKER 93 PRECIDIA 93 RX7 93 SERENIA 929 ‘93 "B" SERIES PICKâ€"UP DoE WHERE GOOD SERVICE IS A FACT, NOT A PROMISE |INYN i(E 125 CROSS AVE. 845â€"9908 1993 SERENIA 929 LAKESHORE RD.| (Photo by Riziero Vertolli) SPEERS RD QL.W