O'Canada

A true Canadian is one who can make love in a canoe without tipping

Pierre Berton

 

I think it's Tim Hortons.
Or is poutine?
Just kidding, my fine Canadian SportsJournalists.commers.
You know how much I love your country.

 

I thought maybe this was a Canadian version of O'Charley's, with poutine in place of the buffalo wings.

 

Our home and native land

 

You're closer than you think.

Go into any small town and the biggest line-ups at drive-throughs aren't at McDonalds but at Tim's.

Every Tim's parking lot on a Saturday morning is full.

They are the official community centres of Canada.

Hey, a large double-double and an apple fritter is about as good as you can get.

 

Canada definitely has the better national anthem, in my opinion. I love to hear it.

And Kids in the Hall was so damn great. I gotta get that boxed set.

 

Why I Love Canada
By Flash

Because we rule at hockey!

Seriously, I hate that answer. And I hear it so many times. It is pedestrian and overlooks some of the greatest achievements this country has made as a participant in global society.

Albeit, the things we do well, it's hard to beat us at ... such as hockey. And ... uh ... women's hockey. And ... and ... and ... well ... junior hockey.

But I keed. I keed.

Primarily, as a society, we care. We care about our neighbours to the south, we care about what's happening on the other side of the world and we care about what's happening to our neighbours, next door, next town, next province, other side of the country.

I know that if I'm driving in a rural area of this wonderful country and my car breaks down, that someone is going to stop and help me out. I know that if this same scenario happens in certain areas of this country, like Newfoundland, I will walk up to a house, knock on the door and be fed biscuits and tea until a tow truck arrives.

I know that when global disaster strikes, those same people are going to help whomever is in need -- no matter their language, colour or creed. Take the 9/11 disaster, for example. Ganderites and everyone in the outlying areas opened their doors and let stranded travellers stay with them.

Despite the urbanization of my current city, I can still expect smiles and at least one hello from a stranger when I'm walking down Stephen Avenue.

I drove across the country in 1996 and am hoping to make a round trip next summer. I have seen things of wonderment that others will only see in pictures. There is something so amazing about each province and, when I found it 10 years ago, I was left awestruck. I had no idea. Now I want to do it with a better camera. And take the time to really stop along the way -- rediscovering the things I saw then and discovering more of what is out there.

Like what you ask? The rugged shorelines of Newfoundland, the sandy white beaches of P.E.I., the fog rising over the Bras d'Or Lakes in Nova Scotia, the untouched forest of New Brunswick, the history of Quebec City, the hustle and bustle of Ontario, the golden wheat fields of Saskatchewan, the big sky of Alberta and its Rocky Mountains, and the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Manitoba remains the only province I have yet to visit. No territories yet, either.

With each of those different settings comes a different personality, too. But you almost have to experience it yourself to believe it. There is also that uncommon ability to laugh at ourselves. And the ability to make others laugh. Our humour is wry, dry and, for the most part, intelligent, making you thing (ref: Rick Mercer).

Our friends to the south? I see you as my brothers and sisters. Maybe you're not as globally aware -- in general terms, of course, because I know my board brethren are informed and intelligent -- and maybe you're not as globally conscious or concerned.

But we often face the same battles. We just have to deal with a lot of the stuff on a smaller scale, because we are one-tenth of your population.

And -- again, speaking generally -- the rampant arrogance is amusingly offset by this nasty little insecurity that nobody likes you.

Y'all just need to chill some ... come down off the high horse ... maybe smoke some of our B.C.-grown weed (although I hear you have some fine growth in Oregon). Have some beer ... we usually keep enough handy to share.

It's almost like you're Webby's uptight neighbour who was telling him how to landscape his yard and fix his house.

Anyway, whether some people like it or not (hi, Hank and Boom!), we're family. We don't always get along but when the chips are down, we fight together.

Cheers!

 

Nice work, Flash. You folks hiring up there?

 

www.jeffgaulin.com

Help yourself.

 

Cool, thanks. I think I want this one:

Canada Wide Media Limited is looking for an experienced editor to oversee several titles including Grocer Today magazine. For more than 20 years, Grocer Today has been the voice of Western Canada’s retail food industry. This 16,500-circulation magazine is published six times a year. We’re looking for an energetic editor who is a strong team player with the necessary skills to manage all aspects of producing a magazine from concept to completion.


And then I can score some of that BC weed.........For my brother.

 

I was born in Montreal but moved to LA when I was 4 and my dad got a job there.

After reading this, I am singing O Canada and moving home.

 

I guess I should have been a writer.