Billy Shields

Multimedia journalist for VPM News. As a newspaper reporter, reported in Mexico, the Caribbean and Miami. RTs are not endorsements.

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

This summer as the weather improves it’s going to be hard for folks to stay apart in parks. I struggled with it recently...

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

@alexmmccomb @OleMissFB @sk_begreat @Millsnesta @CMillions514 @ECWagnac @ErikKimrey @KevinSmithRB @CoachJM42 @FirstUp1050 @BaylorSchoolFB @thegistca I didn't realize who I was interviewing at the time... Thanks for tagging me!

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

@mattlavine Let me say the original letter contained a lot more content!

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

So… story time… when I was a young lad in 1986… I decided to write a letter to Marvel Comics for an issue of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man that I quite enjoyed at my young age… Spider-Man had defeated Sabretooth, a mighty villain I had not previously known…

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

And for months… nothing. I went the next 36 years believing Marvel never read my letter — or at least not printed it— until while bored and blessed with oodles of downtime, I stumbled on the online comic page below... thanks for typing, Grandma…

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

… and so I wrote a hand-written note. My grandmother Shields was visiting at the time, and would not allow my penmanship to be read by anyone, so she took me to the family typewriter, and together we wrote Marvel Comics. she mailed the letter and I kept picking up PPTSSM…

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

@seleross Congratulations! Twice!

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

At the end of the day, my Montreal-Toronto-London-Barbados journey to arrive in St. Vincent started Saturday around 1am and ended Sunday evening. It took more than 12,000 km in the air, involved crossing an ocean —twice. Here is my expression joining my crew on the dock.

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

The vagaries of Internet coverage means we join your faithful corespondent a day after his journey from Britain in the third instalment of his adventure to St. Vincent… read on true believer, for a tale of transcontinental derring-do…

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

So: I board in London yesterday. After about 12 hours we land in Barbados, and we fly on to St. Vincent. I couldn’t believe it: I had reversed with a commercial flight what Columbus did with a caravel: I made it to the Caribbean by going east first. At the end, only a day late.

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

Obviously this flight it made no sense: flying from Toronto to London to reach St. Vincent on the other side of the ocean. I figured it was a direct flight that had seats. When I checked in, I find out it makes a stop in Barbados first. So… why didn’t I just go through Barbados?

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

LONDON (BS) — Our story resumes in the British capital, where this intrepid reporter is connecting after an eight hour flight from Toronto. The first leg is London-Barbados, and then Barbados-St.Vincent. Stay tuned true-believer, the journey is but half done!

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

So: your correspondent left home in Montreal around midnight Saturday morning. Local time is 8:34 Sunday. My flight is slated to arrive on St. Vincent 4:30pm Sunday. It will be a string of flights spanning two continents, five cities and crossing an ocean for a connecting flight.

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

Just an Airmageddon recap: to get to St. Vincent I was originally Montreal-Toronto-Barbados-St. Vincent. Now I am Montreal-Toronto-LONDON ENGLAND-St. Vincent. Stay tuned, true believers… An Asian destination could be in the future…

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

Our story picks up at Pearson Airport, where a certain vacationing reporter ended up after his connecting flight to Barbados took off without him in it. (My first flight was cancelled, rebooked one was too late, the Barbados flight left on time). Now begins the true challenge…

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

She looked up and said: “this is a little crazy but it should work.” So tonight, your scrivener is booked on a flight to London (UK, not Ontario), then a direct flight to St. Vincent in the morning arriving in the afternoon. I took a selfie with the architect of my salvation.

[Billy Shields @billyshields]

@NEWSneil I AM ON IT!!!