People were really pissed with me. I didn't understand why. Perhaps I should have seen that I was making what would appear to be an unpatriotic statement. I didn't really care. I loved Canada, and was planning to move there after I graduated from college.
Well, the moving to Canada didn't work out - my wife didn't want to go, and I couldn't get a job up there - but I live about 90 minutes from the border, and I visit frequently. And my love for the country has grown.
I promised myself long ago I'd post a list of all the things I love about Canada. Please don't mistake this for a complete list (I do have to leave room for follow-up posts!).
Please do mistake this for a plea for honourary citizenship.
1. Canadian People are Friendly. That's right, I said it. With the exception of the one Canadian (John Morris) who kicked a stone at my car, I've never met an unfriendly Canadian. Actually, I'm kidding about Mr. Morris - it was an accidental stone kick. I've had Canadian strangers just say hello to me and start a conversation. (Granted, I was wearing colourful pants at the time). I have several Canadian Twitter followers; they are among the friendliest and most polite. Now, don't worry - I know there are a few bad apples in the Canadian gene pool. I've just not met them yet.
2. Extra Letters In Words. Why be colorful when you can be colourful?! If I do get my honourary Canadian citizenship, I would gladly open a chequing account (not checking!) at a fine Canadian financial institution.
3. Curling. I don't think I need to talk about this here. If you want to know about my love of curling, you're already reading my other blog.
4. The Streets Are So Clean. I'm not saying there aren't litterbugs in Canada, but there is far less trash on the streets of Toronto than the streets of New York City. This was one of the cornerstones of my aforementioned English class essay. Clean streets made a huge impression on 15-year-old me.
5. Brent Butt. Unless you're from Canada or an former avid watcher of late-night WGN television, you don't know who Brent Butt is. Mr. Butt is a comedian from Saskatchewan. It is his comic genius that created the brilliant Corner Gas. His little show, which set Canadian viewing records and was played on Chicago superstation WGN, was about a small town in Saskatchewan, Dog River. This town was fictional, but the real town it was based on, Rouleau, SK, had quite a booming tourist business for awhile. Brent also starred on the show, and it was his dry humour, along with the timing of his cast, that made the show great.
After Corner Gas, he also created the series Hiccups, which doesn't air here in the US at all. Yet. According to their Twitter account, they are working on it. Thankfully, most of the episodes are available on YouTube. Brent's role on Hiccups is a little smaller - he wrote the show to be a starring vehicle for his wife - but it, and he, are still funny. Also, I have a clip.
6. Swiss Chalet. This restaurant chain, which specialized in excellent chicken, used to have a presence in the States. However, they decided to abandon me and focus on growth in Canada. It is an essential stop every time I am in Canada for more than three hours. If you get a chance to go, make sure you check their dipping sauces.
And, since we're in a restaurant mood....
7. Tim Hortons. Did you know one out of every 9 cups of coffee in Canada comes in a Tim Hortons cup? And every March! Rrroll up the Rrrim to Win! I am thankful that I have Tim Hortons in the States. It is very good in Buffalo and Rochester (where I live), fantastic in Canada, and, sadly, abysmal in Connecticut. If you go to a Tim Hortons anywhere and use their WiFi, you are in Canada. Anything geolocked to Canada i.e. TSN's curling coverage is not at Tim Hortons. So, thank you, Tim Hortons, for bringing Canada to the United States!
8. Poutine. I have NEVER had poutine. This yummy-looking concoction, classically made of french fries covered with cheese curds and brown gravy, is such a sensation that there are restaurants dedicated to them. I will have had poutine by mid-March, so you can bet they're going to be featured here!
9. Canadians Have An Excellent Sense of Humour. It is no mistake that there is a Second City Comedy School in Toronto. Or that a large percentage of the Saturday Night Live casts throughout history have come from Canada. Plus, Canada generated Alan Thicke. And Tom Green. That's got to be some sort of joke on the world....
And have you seen what Don Cherry wears on Hockey Night in Canada? That's got to be some kind of joke!
10. Canada Does Not Mind Stepping In For The United States in Certain Situations. The movie A Christmas Story is a classic, set in the American Midwest. The house, which was used for a lot of the exterior shots of Cleveland Street, is in Cleveland, Ohio, and a landmark. Most of the rest of the movie? Filmed in St. Catherines, Ontario. This is not the only time that Canada has had to stand in for a US locale on film. Toronto now has a burgeoning film
11. "It's Federal Currency And You People Talk About It Like It's A Hanna Barbera Character" That quote is from a recent episode of How I Met Your Mother, uttered by Barney Stinson concerning loonies and toonies, the one- and two-dollar coins that Canada uses instead of bills. They are so named because of the loons prominently featured on the one dollar coin, which came first. Compared to American currency, Canadian bills are also very colourful! It's pretty - US money is green.
But, can I get back to the marvel that is a toonie for a moment? Let me show you a picture!
It's a bi-metallic coin! The center is different than the rim! How cool looking is that?
12. Being Erica. I am an unapologetic fan of what is the most creative television show this side of Quantum Leap. Rather than bore you with my word, which would gush, let me share with you the official CBC description:
"Being Erica is a one-hour series that explores the life of Erica Strange, a woman who has been given a wonderful gift. Every episode, Erica goes back to relive a regret from her past, in order to come back and make a positive change in her present."The show is brilliantly acted and masterfully written. The characters are, for the most part, multi-dimensional and not always making the right, happy choices. The title character, played by Erin Karpluk, is a woman in her early 30s, who, at the start of the series, has just been fired from a dead-end job. She's single, Jewish - that particular aspect will be revisited in a second - and full of regrets. And she meets a therapist, Dr. Tom, played by Michael Riley, who gives her the aforementioned wonderful gift.
The show is so good, it is sold all over the world. The first three seasons have played on SoapNET in the United States, and I expect the 4th season (which I have seen through means that I probably should not disclose) will be on some ABC property. Furthermore, a US remake of Being Erica is in the works. Let me be the first to endorse Erin Karpluk as the lead in that... it won't happen, though.
What is so masterful about the show's writing is that the writers don't just tell you things. Take Erica's faith, which I mentioned above. A big deal is not made about it. It just gets filtered into conversation. But her father is a rabbi, and a whole episode is focused on her bat mitzvah. It is handled perfectly. Which kind of brings me to #13....
13. Canadians Aren't Hung Up On Religion. I have no problem with religion. None. Might discuss my own faith in a future post, but not today. There is another television show that airs in Canada, called Little Mosque on the Prairie. It's a moderate hit in Canada, and is relatively well received. Unlike Being Erica, it has not been picked up in the United States. Fox did announce plans to remake the show.... in 2008. It isn't happening.
In the United States, we're scared to touch religion in comedy and drama. Unless it's Christianity. 7th Heaven - anyone remember that show - is one of the few shows that did. It's a taboo topic, in general. In Canada? Not so much.
14. Carling Bassett. Those of you who have known me since I was 13 are not surprised by this. (You may be surprised I put her so low on the list). Many of you gentle readers, even in Canada, are scratching your heads wondering who Carling Bassett is. I'm about to take you to school. To call her "Canada's version of Anna Kournikova" would trivialize her. She was Canada's best tennis player in the 1980s. She only won one adult singles titles - the 1987 Strassbourg Open, a Wimbledon tuneup - but did well at several major events, making it to the quarterfinals and semifinals of several.
Now, let's put her significant tennis achievements aside for a moment. She was also represented by Ford Modelling Agency. So, here I am, a red-blooded American 14-year old boy.... and I get a copy of Tennis Magazine.... and they are discussing the WTA calendar.... and they have a few shots.
I am not going to post the Carling Bassett shot, but trust me. I was impressed.
She's not Carling Bassett anymore. She married American doubles tennis player and my least favorite men's player in the world, Robert Seguso, in 1988, and she hyphenated. The couple now runs a tennis academy in Florida with Chris Evert. They have four children - three sons, including a 1-year old and a 23-year-old, and a daughter, Carling Jr.
The first name was her mother's maiden name. Mom's family ran the brewery. John Bassett, her grandfather, owned CTV. Her father, also John Bassett, was a notable tennis player in his own right, so it ran in the family.
15. C-Plus. A delicious orange-flavoured soft drink, supposedly with Sunkist juice in it, it has a more real orange flavour than any other soft drink in the world. It remains to this day my third favorite soda pop from anywhere, ever.
Cherry RC is #2. Not available in Canada. Very hard to find in the United States. I do still like some things about my own country.
7Up Gold is #1. That will get a blog post all to itself someday.
16. Bilingual by law. It would have been very easy for colonial Canadian politicians to force English on Quebec and a little sliver of New Brunswick. Instead, they made the rest of the country accept the French, embrace the French, and support the French. All food packaging, at the very least, has to be bilingual, by law. And French television stations are everywhere. On every cable system.
The rest of Canada is thanked for that kindness by threats of secession by Quebec. That's just wonderful.
I really should state that Inuktitut is also an officially recognized language, but not all signage and packaging needs to be in that language. It is, however, a language in which CBC North does broadcast, to the benefit of the large Inuit population.
Sixteen is probably enough items for now. I might have to start the follow-up post right way. Feel free to comment and tell me what other things about Canada I should be loving, or at least trying to love.
yes...canada
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