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I am sitting here looking out the window at this lovely, darkening day
Living here in the northwestern United States, it's interesting to think of all those Canadians who are up there a few hours away. One nice thing about Canada: the peace that some Americans seek -- the quiet of the woods, the breath of the trees, the sudden realization that there is a world outside oneself -- is so easy to find in Canada, or at least in the part of that country which is within easy distance from me.
But I've got a little forest of my own, right here. It is attached, over leaps and bounds of open ground and rolling meadows, to its relatives in Canada...
And it gets so quiet here in the woods. But when I step outside I can hear the snow. How did Robert Frost put it?
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The depths of winter. Dipping down to single digits again tonight.
But hey: Canada! I'm into the late afternoon, having spent some time with Alberta Springs rye whiskey, and chasers of Molson's, which I brought back from eastern BC after New Year, which my wife and I spent in that province, in hot springs, surrounded by snow-covered mountains, and feeling so good about living in like the northern hemisphere.
Anyway, then. Hurrah Canadah. Love you and your people.
Personally, I really like Canada and Canadians. As a country Canada has virtually everything good about the US but with people that have more of a sense of social responisibility rather simply pursuing their own self-interest. There's also the advantage that since Canada is not the "big man in town" it doesn't tend to get involved so much as the "world's policeman" and is more likely to simply mind it's own business than the US is.
My two favorite cities anywhere are both in Canada - Quebec City (specifically the old part of town - the only WALLED city in all of North America (just like visiting Europe, but lots closer and cheaper)) and Vancouver (most spectacular setting of any major city I've ever seen, with the city literally crawling up the mountainside from the sea (West Vancouver)).
I'd never move there though for the simple reason that I'm currently in Seattle and want to live someplace WARMER and SUNNIER and no place in Canada is warm enough for my liking.
Personally, I really like Canada and Canadians. As a country Canada has virtually everything good about the US but with people that have more of a sense of social responisibility rather simply pursuing their own self-interest. There's also the advantage that since Canada is not the "big man in town" it doesn't tend to get involved so much as the "world's policeman" and is more likely to simply mind it's own business than the US is.
My two favorite cities anywhere are both in Canada - Quebec City (specifically the old part of town - the only WALLED city in all of North America (just like visiting Europe, but lots closer and cheaper)) and Vancouver (most spectacular setting of any major city I've ever seen, with the city literally crawling up the mountainside from the sea (West Vancouver)).
I'd never move there though for the simple reason that I'm currently in Seattle and want to live someplace WARMER and SUNNIER and no place in Canada is warm enough for my liking.
Personally, I really like Canada and Canadians. As a country Canada has virtually everything good about the US but with people that have more of a sense of social responisibility rather simply pursuing their own self-interest. There's also the advantage that since Canada is not the "big man in town" it doesn't tend to get involved so much as the "world's policeman" and is more likely to simply mind it's own business than the US is.
Ken
I don't mean to turn this into a political debate (there is a whole forum for that), but what do mean by a "sense of social responisibility [sic]"? I'm sorry, but I consider a sense of social responsibility to be donating money to charity, working for a charity, and looking after loved ones, not voting for a political party that thinks taxes are too low and there just aren't enough welfare programs.
Personally, I really like Canada and Canadians. As a country Canada has virtually everything good about the US but with people that have more of a sense of social responisibility rather simply pursuing their own self-interest. There's also the advantage that since Canada is not the "big man in town" it doesn't tend to get involved so much as the "world's policeman" and is more likely to simply mind it's own business than the US is.
My two favorite cities anywhere are both in Canada - Quebec City (specifically the old part of town - the only WALLED city in all of North America (just like visiting Europe, but lots closer and cheaper)) and Vancouver (most spectacular setting of any major city I've ever seen, with the city literally crawling up the mountainside from the sea (West Vancouver)).
I'd never move there though for the simple reason that I'm currently in Seattle and want to live someplace WARMER and SUNNIER and no place in Canada is warm enough for my liking.
Ken
I love Quebec too and Vancouver is just stunning. Have you thought of Victoria, it must be warmer and a lot sunnier than Seattle ? ( micro climate etc...)
I love Quebec too and Vancouver is just stunning. Have you thought of Victoria, it must be warmer and a lot sunnier than Seattle ? ( micro climate etc...)
Yeah, I've been to Victoria - very nice little town - and though definitely sunnier than Seattle, still not nearly warm enough for us.
For retirement, we've bought some land in SE Arizona - at 4,200 feet it provides a pretty nice climate (59 or so for the Jan high/92 for the June high (warmest month there)).
I don't mean to turn this into a political debate (there is a whole forum for that), but what do mean by a "sense of social responisibility [sic]"? I'm sorry, but I consider a sense of social responsibility to be donating money to charity, working for a charity, and looking after loved ones, not voting for a political party that thinks taxes are too low and there just aren't enough welfare programs.
I don't understand the title of this thread. I mean, is there some rash of Canada hating that I haven't seen on the six o'clock news? Are American's peppering the Canadian embassy with rotten eggs or balloons filled with maple syrup? Has the great leader W mandated a spontaneous mass demonstration in the public square where we all spit on the Canadian flag?
I mean, I don't know what intolerant backwater of the United States you hail from, but Southerners typically love Canada. Here are just a few of my reasons.
1) You Canadians are not Northerners. So we feel some kinsmanship with the fact that you, too, have to border the northern tier of the United States.
2) Hockey. Okay, we don't understand it very well. It's kind of like soccer with skates, right? At the same time, unlike soccer, there's some really good hitting that goes on in hockey, and we appreciate that. Hit somebody in a soccer game, and not only will the player fall down on the ground clutching his shin, but the spectators will burn down the stadium. Or two countries will start trading pointed diplomatic messages. So, yeah, hockey is pretty cool.
3) Canadian football. 3 downs. Twelve players to a side. A wider, longer field. It's the antidote to Stone Age football.
4) The Canadian Rockies. Much better than those loser Rockies in Colorado and Wyoming. I bet the Canadian range makes fun of its American counterpart for not being big enough. And Pikes Peak was secretly changed from Pikes Pique.
5) Polite People. Hey, slog your way through places such as Pennsylvania and New York and Massachusetts, where people have all the deportment of Hottentots, and you suddenly reach Ontario. Coming from a Southerner, that's high praise indeed. You guys are as polite as people from New Zealand, who are the nicest people in the world.
6) Attractive money. Yeah, I know the American dollar is dropping like a paralyzed falcon. But I mean attractive in the sense of design and use of color. American money is like the leisure suit of money. It's ugly and looks really dingy after a couple of uses. Oh, and you have the chutzpah to put a loon on your dollar coin. Could you imagine what kind of gyrations a similar coin would go through to get committee approval here in the States or even in Europe?
7) You're bilingual. Well, the people in Quebec pretend not to be. But if you repeat English phrases really slowly and two notches louder, they get your drift. Then they just ignore you anyway.
8) A really nice flag. If you're Canadian, let me tell you what. Two red bars and a maple leaf are a snap to draw. You just have no idea how long it took me in the 3rd grade to draw 7 red stripes, a blue field, and fifty white stars for my Social Studies assignment. I ran out of Crayolas, for crying out loud. So the flag is much nicer.
9) The Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Jeez, if we had those guys, Osama Bin Laden would have been collared sometime around September 15th, 2001. Plus they ride horses in formation. And have much cooler uniforms. The uniforms are why American cops sometimes step over the line, you know. It's pretty sad when a two-time loser is dressed better than you are, so you have to take out your frustrations on them with a nightstick.
10) Dudley Dooright. Now there's a cartoon character. Noble. Brave. And Tess Trueheart was kind of a hottie. For some reason Southern cartoon characters all tote shotguns, guzzle moonshine, and have beards that taper all the way down to their cotton-picking kneecaps.
So there you go. Americans don't hate Canadians. We actually have a sneaky admiration for Canadians.
I don't understand the title of this thread. I mean, is there some rash of Canada hating that I haven't seen on the six o'clock news? Are American's peppering the Canadian embassy with rotten eggs or balloons filled with maple syrup? Has the great leader W mandated a spontaneous mass demonstration in the public square where we all spit on the Canadian flag?
Funny, I was thinking the same thing when I read the title of this thread.
Just watched the news up here in Vancouver, and didn't see anything at all about the anti-Canada sentiment.
I chuckled at the rest of your post. Though, I do beg to differ about the CFL being a welcome relief to stone age football. They're two completely different games, and, as far as I'm concerned, any game that gives you a "point for trying" (i.e. getting the ball through the endzone, even though you missed the FG) is a bit, erm, wussy. "Hey, even though you shanked it, you still tried REAL hard, so here's a point for you". Even though I have become a (slight) fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, I'll stick with the NFL, thanks.
Oh, yeah, and that "bilingual thing". Haven't met too many people on this side of Canada who can speak French at all. Of course, it may just be the curlers that I hang out with....
Anyway, honestly, I've never felt an anti-Canada sentiment in all my years living in the US. I personally enjoy being able to come up here every weekend to curl, and spend time in the lovely city of Vancouver. Is it my favorite in the world? Nope. It's still beautiful though.
I could go on....but I have to be up very early in the morning to make my way back to the States.
I forgot to mention one more thing. BOTH our national anthems begin with "Oh."
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"Hey, even though you shanked it, you still tried REAL hard, so here's a point for you". Even though I have become a (slight) fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, I'll stick with the NFL, thanks. 