Celebrate

Here is a random list of things I celebrate about my Canada:

Bears I love that we occasionally have bears in the area, most recently reported in Kitchener Waterloo. It means we haven’t totally urbanized our environment.

Ottawa Having lived and worked in and around Ottawa I love the nation’s capital; I still feel annoyance when the media uses “Ottawa” as a synonym for the federal government, usually when they’ve done some dumb thing.

Big Canoe I thrill at the recent tv ads for Chi-Cheemaun, the ferry to Manitoulin Island between Tobermory and West Bay Mouth. Reminds me of the next thing I celebrate.

Islands Have I told you I love an island? Mantioulin, Pelee Island, Baffin island, Prince Edward Island, Vancouver Island, Thousand Islands, 30 000 Islands—there, every coast covered, and then some. I love islands.

The Sun Parlor Even though I was born there and loved being on the same latitude as California, I needed to move on where I could have more access to the next thing I celebrate.

Trees and rocks and rocks and trees That reminds me I also celebrate the Arrogant Worms, and the Barenaked Ladies and Great Big Sea. Let me also squeeze in Leonard Cohen, kd lang and Diana Krall.

Turkeys and geese I’m so glad the wild turkeys are back. I love seeing flocks of them in the fields as I drive up to Proton, or over to Stratford. I also like stopping my car to let families of Canada geese walk across Wellington Street to the Speed River.

Women’s Soccer team who take a back seat to no one! And for whom no Canadian needs to apologize during the Women’s World Cup, whenever it happens, if the media would even report it. Canadians don’t need to select a second choice when the women play soccer.

Curling I won’t discuss this further. I celebrate curling.

Used book stores I love them all wherever I find them. Great places to connect with Canadian authors worth celebrating too: Alice Munro, Robert Munsch, the Margarets, Atwood and Laurence, Mordecai Richler, Carol Shields, Roch Carrier, Tom King, Patrick Lane, Ian Brown, Timothy Findlay, Jane Urquhart, Alistair McLeod, Ann-Marie Mcdonald, and on, and on—some native born, some adopted.

Q and Vinyl Café and Eleanor Wachtel and many other CBC radio folks and programs I celebrate you all!

My list goes on, but Blog space is limited. Feel free to use the Comment space to add what YOU celebrate on this Canada Day 2010.

Posted by Marion