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I am Canadian

7/1/2023

12 Comments

 
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I was born in New Brunswick and educated in Ontario where I still live. Two of our three sons live in Ontario; our third lives in British Columbia.  My husband and I have traversed most of this bountiful land from east to west, but not yet north although it urgently beckons before it’s too late. 
            The two extreme sides of Canada, Haida Gwaii in the Pacific Ocean, and Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean, are also high on our radar screen to explore.
            On Prince Edward Island, the home of Anne of Green Gables, we ate a fresh lobster dinner on wooden picnic tables in a large dining hall with a crowd of bib-wearing customers, all digging into the mouth-watering crustacean dressed with melted butter. 
            In the Gaspé Peninsula we dined on French Canadian pea soup. You know, the divine version simmered with a ham bone. In Québec’s largest city, we searched far and wide to find the perfect mountain of thinly-sliced, mustard-laced Montreal smoked meat piled high on rye -- and we did.
            I remember skating on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, not realizing then this ice would evolve into the longest skating rink in the world.  As a student in our capital city, my friends and I would occasionally wander into the House of Commons in session, never dreaming that democratic right would be jeopardized in the future.  I attended Lisgar Collegiate on The Driveway in Ottawa where famous alumni like actor Lorne Greene, former Governor General Adrienne (Poy) Clarkson, impersonator Rich Little and other illustrious Canadians walked these same halls.

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            During an icy winter night in Jasper we watched silent caribou, their magnificent antlers coated in frost, stealthily glide along slippery streets like ghosts in a dark dream. 



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On the west coast we dined on Pacific wild salmon and kayaked around the gulf islands.  In the interior town of Smithers, we saw a mother black bear with her cubs, resembling popular plush toys, amble into the bush on the side of the Hudson Bay Mountain range.

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On a drive across the Canadian Prairies, we experienced a haunted hotel and old saloon near Wayne, Alberta, where we believed a ghostly outline in an oldtimer’s photo was real. 


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Although we travel extensively in foreign lands and enjoy wonderful and sometimes hair-raising adventures, I know I belong to this imperfect land: this country that needs ongoing repairs and healing from terrible wounds….
I am proudly Canadian.


12 Comments
Lynn Tait
7/1/2023 02:54:46 pm

Great Canadian 👍🏻!

Reply
Heather link
7/1/2023 05:27:37 pm

And I know you are, too, Lynn!

Reply
Dick With link
7/1/2023 04:31:19 pm

Well said Heather. We have our flaws, but I prefer ours to anyone else's.

Reply
Heather link
7/1/2023 05:30:33 pm

Well, we all have our faults for sure. Canada is trying....I think. I hope!

Reply
Scott
7/2/2023 05:05:33 am

Lovely blog. Nice Pictures and yes, I agree, but as I have said to many people as I watch the politician's over the past 40 years sell out Canada slowly, in order to stay strong and free, you have to recall what it was like 40 years ago and not come to this country in the last 20 years and think it's the cat's meow. As Canadian's we need to remain vigilant and strong to keep the vision for our children and grandchildren.

Reply
heather link
7/2/2023 09:19:05 am

Your last sentence says it all, Scott. I want our grandchildren to know and appreciate our Canada, warts and all!

Reply
KATHY DAWN MILLIKEN
7/2/2023 07:43:10 am

For all our flaws, I would live nowhere else in the world other than Canada. Thank you for reminding me, Heather.

Reply
heather link
7/2/2023 09:25:50 am

Thanks, Kathy. I know you spend some time outside of Canada, as we do. As much as I enjoy exploring other countries, I'm awfully happy to get back to Canada. Interestingly, what really choked me up once was when, after 3 months out of the country, we were going through Customs/Immigration and the on-duty officer looked straight at us, smiled warmly, and said, "Welcome home!" I almost cried!

Reply
Larry McIntosh
7/2/2023 09:51:49 am

Proudly Canadian, despite our problems. It was a great read, outlining the wonderful experiences we can find when we explore this great country!

Reply
Heather link
7/2/2023 11:34:22 am

Thanks, Larry. You and Reg would certainly understand the love for this country, despite our problems!

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Don Ingram
7/2/2023 12:01:35 pm

The writing on Canada is wonderful---now if we could run the country without the disgusting, lying, thieving politicians & their lackey's--- we could be the country we were 40 years ago!

Reply
heather link
7/2/2023 12:17:53 pm

Ah, Don...as Canadians we are patient people. Eh?

Reply



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Photos from Bazar del Bizzarro, roland, Mike Kniec, Steve_Herring, marcoverch, USDAgov, string_bass_dave, wwarby, milan.boers, tuchodi