Times Colonist from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada • 26

26 TIMES-COLONIST 22-23 FEBRUARY, 1981 living 1 I IMf i dear abby wimmMmMmmmmMm mil J- I If -r Ants vr saic and now when I go to visit their graves and look at the green grass above them, I wonder if God will ever forgive me for the heartaches I must have caused them. I pray that you will print this, Abby, to tell those who still have parents to visit them and show their love and respect while there is still time. For it is later than you think. TOO LATE DEAR ABBY: Congratulations on your 25th anniversary as "Dear Abby." I have a very special reason for wanting to wish you well. Twelve years ago you had a letter in your column signed TOO LATE.

Abby, that letter motivated me to visit my aging and ailing mother EVERY DAY during her last two years in a nursing home. I am ashamed to admit that until that time I thought I was doing quite well to visit her every Sunday for an hour. I will always be indebted to you, Abby, for selecting that letter for your column. It motivated me to change my ways, and now I can live with a clear conscience. Please run that letter again, Abby.

It might do for someone else what it did for me. GRATEFUL IN LONG ISLAND DEAR GRATEFUL: I am grateful to you for reminding me to run it again. I have printed it three times, and each time I have heard from readers expressing appreciation. With pleasure I give it a much deserved rerun: DEAR ABBY: I am the most heartbroken person on earth. I always found time to go everywhere else but to see my old, gray-haired parents.

They sat at home alone, loving me just the same. It is too late now to give them those few hours of happiness I was too selfish and too busy to give, DEAR ABBY: I am a recent college graduate engaged to be married this summer. I became engaged while I was in college last year, and asked one of my school chums to be a bridesmaid. At the time we were good friends. However, we grew apart gradually, until now when we she hardly gives me the time of day.

In fact, the last few times we met there seemed to be tension between us. Now I don't even consider her a friend. Must I include her in my wedding party? If not, how can I gracefully exclude her? STUCK OR NOT DEAR STUCK: Tell her candidly that your friendship has faded, and therefore it isn't appropriate for her to be a bridesmaid. It may not be very "graceful," but it beats getting stuck with a bridesmaid who is no longer a friend. TAKING THE PLUNGE with a bevy of bathing beauties during the always amazing, always delightful Miss Piggy.

The film is a filming of the Muppet feature film, The Great Muppet is zany musical comedy escapade Soaring aviation costs, taxes to blame By Vincent Egan Thomson News Service Putting something aside every week for this year's vacation? Then you had better earmark a few extra All signs are pointing to higher travel costs. Put the blame on new increases in the price of aviation fuel, and still higher taxes on that fuel. Starting April 1, the scheduled airlines that fly between Canada and Britain will be raising air fares by an average of 12 per cent some less, some more. The cost of flying between the U.S. and Europe is expected to rise by between four and 10 per cent at the same time.

Domestic air fares within the United t'l't J. Tray! I iiiiipifiiifl! rp, I.V I1 Medallion WiMlO 1 lllllKl 1 States have just been increased by five per cent by major carriers on top of boosts totaling about 30 per cent in 1980. Air Canada vice-president C. H. Glenn says that fuel costs, which represented one-tenth of his company's operating expenses before 1973, now account for 20 per cent and that figure will probably double by 1990.

"The high fuel costs will have to be passed on to the traveling public," Glenn said in in a recent speech. That means that "fewer people will be able to take advantage of even the lowest of airfares." To reduce the impact of fuel-cost increases, air- lines are investing huge amounts of capital in the purchase of airplanes that use fuel more efficiently or in the conversion of airplanes they already own. Air Canada, between this month and year-end, is taking delivery of six Lockheed L-1011 series 500 wide-bodied airplanes, seating 244 passengers and with a range that enables them to fly to Europe from any point in Canada while burning less fuel than earlier versions of the L-1011. The state-owned airline is also buying the newest airplane manufactured by Boeing the wide-bodied 767, seating 201 passengers to achieve greater fuel economies in serving North American routes. Boeing, based in Seattle, will start deliveries in 1982.

And Air Canada is shooting for a fuel improvement of 35 to 40 per cent, in replacing its smaller DC-8 transports with the stretched DC-8, converted from passenger service. In addition, it is modifying the engines of its fleet of Boeing 727s to be more fuel-efficient, and is selling off some older airplanes that are said to burn too much fuel. British Airways, although it is as conscious of fuel efficiency as the next airline, will soon launch a new route that will stir memories of a nearly forgotten period of aviation history, when fuel was cheap and adventure was within" reach. On April 1, it will resume a weekly service from London to Durban on South Africa's Indian Ocean coast, with a stop en route at Salisbury, Zimbabwe. This marks a return, after an absence of 34 years, to a route that used book if you plan to travel by train anywhere overseas.

Its value isn't limited to European travel (as its title might suggest) although the railways of the United Kingdon and the Continental countries are more fully described than those of the other 100 or so countries covered here. Now in its eleventh annual edition, the guide is crammed with schedules, maps, fare information, data on flat-fare tickets such as the Eurail "Pass," sightseeing tips and other useful information Historic Country Inns of California, by Jim Crain (Gage Publishing; 170 pages; S9.25). This is a revised and expanded description of 78 historic hos-teleries in a state that's perhaps better known for its abundance of contemporary motels and hotels. Crain's collection ranges from the tiny Dunsmuir Lodge in the north, near Mount Shasta, to the huge, sprawling Hotel del Coron ado near San Diego in the south. Invaluable for any traveler who wants to bask in California's colorful nineteenth-century The new service will leave London on Wednesday night, reaching Durban on Thursday.

The return flight leaves Durban Thursday and arrives in London on Friday. British Airways expects to carry 13,500 passengers on the route in the first year. (That airline's twice-weekly non-stop service between London and Johannesburg, taking eleven and a half hours, is believed to be the longest nonstop flight in commercial aviation today.) Durban, South Africa's fourth largest city, is one of its most popular tourist destinations. Its miles of beaches, and its outstanding hotels notably the world-class Maharani have earned it a reputation as the Miami Beach of Africa, while its large Indian population gives it a distinctive flavor. Here are notes on recent books of interest to travelers: Eurail Guide, by Marvin Saltzman (Van Nos-trand Reinhold 807 pages; Don't leave home without this guide IMPORT CAR SERVICE VOLVO PARTS I V- HUNGARIAN RSBTAWTAJfTi be served by four-engine Empire flying boats, with a peed of 165 miles an hour, ft.

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