Cold weather, over-crowded restaurants, no place to park, and hours of backed up traffic. Indeed, these were the highlights of the Cabot celebrations in Bonavista. Of course the cold weather could not have been prevented, but in my opinion, many other problems could have been dealt with or even avoided.

Some people, who would not obey the simple rule "Don't fuss - take the bus!", ended up causing countless hours of backed-up traffic. This caused others to be late for work. In some cases they lost pay.

Even though all these problems occurred the media still went on to portray the celebrations as the best thing since sliced bread. They made the visitors out to be highly spirited, enthusiastic people. Trust me, I worked among these visitors and some were everything but!

Mr. Mark Stares, a resident of Gander, explained to me that maybe the reason why the media thought the Cabot Celebrations were great was due to the fact that they never left their comfy VIP seats. They were not a part of the crowded restaurants, the traffic jams or the pushy people. The part that sickens me the most is the fact that some senior citizens had to stand in the rain and freezing cold, and wait hours for a bus because of the endless amount of traffic. What kind of respect is that to our senior citizens?

In conclusion there's not much good I can say when it comes to the Cabot Celebrations. Maybe we'll get it right 500 years down the road!