I have known Al and Adele a long time. Al — too long and Adele — not long enough. I followed Al as president of the Lehigh Valley Kayak and Canoe Club in Pennsylvania.

I also followed Al and Adele in leaving Pennsylvania. They moved to California and my wife, Anne Marie, and I moved to Prince Edward Island, Canada. I got a cancer diagnosis and they didn't.

But I am thankful for a great life that includes a wonderful wife here in the most beautiful place in North America. The biking and hiking, and especially the skiing, snowshoeing and hockey surpass are amazing.

Having spent 30 plus years as a consultant in the healthcare field, and having made observations of both the US and Canadien systems, I'd like to share half a dozen of my thoughts:

1. Healthcare waiting rooms here in Canada are not filled with dead people. I have gotten great care including state-of-the-art drugs and high quality physicians. I would say on par with most "centers of excellence" in the US — I might add that I was responsible for evaluating and designating "centers of excellence" throughout the US.

2. My healthcare has been pretty much free — with standard co-pays of 20% for some drugs. In the US, I would have racked up major debt by now.

3. Getting a primary care physician in Canada leaves much to be desired. Due to my diagnosis, I have a pulmonologist, a gastroenterologist, and an oncologist, but I am without a primary care physician and likely to be so forever.

4. Don't believe word one about "early detection" of cancer. I had ongoing high tech screenings for an unrelated condition. In five months I went from normal scans to Stage 4 liver cancer. No real successful treatment to be had here. I was without symptoms.

5. They won't let you renew your driver's license for less than 5 years here. There needs to be some system to coordinate health status with driving longevity.

6. Ran out of thoughts but wanted to do a half dozen. Oh, wait: Don't let Al tie the kayaks to your car. He knows why. Also, ask Al about the turtle crossing the road on a stormy day and ask Adele about full-service husbands.

~ Bob Rock