As I sit in my nice cabin on a ranch up here in the middle of nowhere in Northern British Columbia, Canada, I reflect upon my long time love and interest in Canada. I am not sure what it is about the true north that so appeals to me. Maybe it all started when I was a young kid in the 1970s and 80s and was forced by my parents to listen to iconic Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. They were rather free thinking hippy like people, so Gordon Lightfoot’s folk rock fit in perfectly with their way of life. Although I beg, pleaded and bargained for mercy not to have to listen to the song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, for the 500th time, resistance was futile! However, I doubt that the forced indoctrination is what lit the fuse for my love of Canada!
What likely triggered my interest was my curious nature and rather obsessive love for sports. After taking an interest in football, baseball and basketball, I became enthralled with hockey! I started to follow the players, the games, the story lines, and the teams until I eventually developed a huge crush on the Edmonton Oilers (for those not familiar with Canadian geography, Edmonton is in the province of Alberta which is north of Montana and North Dakota). I could not have picked a better time and a better team to take an interest in since the Oilers were the New York Yankees of the 1980s hockey world led by “The Great One” #99 Wayne Gretzky (if you don’t know who Wayne Gretzky is, then stop reading now………….ummmmmmm…..just kidding, keep reading…..! ).
Living only two or so hours away from the Canadian border (90 minutes if my dad was driving!) also aided in my love and obsession with Canada. Back in the days before we had 657 channels to choose from, of which 99% today are total crap, we received four different Canadian stations on our basic 34-station Group W Cable channel lineup. While other kids were busy watching cartoons after school I would tune in to CBUT channel 2 (Vancouver’s Canadian Broadcasting Affiliate) to see what sort of news was making headlines in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland (the area surrounding Vancouver).
The love, interest, obsession in Canada only grew bigger over the years! By the time I was in 6th grade I knew the name of every Province, every Canadian territory, all of its respective capitals and even learned the names and parties of each Provincial Premier (the leader of a province). Never mind I had no idea who the governor of our next-door state, Oregon, was, but I definitely knew the name of the premier from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (on the far east coast), Clyde Wells! I also was and still am able to name each and every Provincial and Territorial flag. I dare you to stump me :) !!!
When other kids were dreaming of becoming President of the United States, I was plotting how an American born kid from Bellevue, Washington could become Prime Minister of Canada. Eventually I realized I had a better chance of becoming fluent in Russian language than I did becoming the leader of Canada. Ok, so hell has partially frozen over since I do speak Russian fluently.
By the 8th grade I was an encyclopedia of Canadian politics! While I did not know basic algebra, I could discuss at length the dichotomy of the rights of English speaking Canadians and the Francophone population in Quebec. No fact about Canada was too big or too small for me to remember.
You wouldn’t be faulted for thinking this whole Canadian obsession was simply a passing fad in my life, but yet I’m still as passionate about everything Canada as I was in 8th grade. I still enjoy a good hockey game, even though two work stoppages have dulled that love some, and I still make a run for the border several times a year.
Living only two or so hours away from the Canadian border (90 minutes if my dad was driving!) also aided in my love and obsession with Canada. Back in the days before we had 657 channels to choose from, of which 99% today are total crap, we received four different Canadian stations on our basic 34-station Group W Cable channel lineup. While other kids were busy watching cartoons after school I would tune in to CBUT channel 2 (Vancouver’s Canadian Broadcasting Affiliate) to see what sort of news was making headlines in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland (the area surrounding Vancouver).
The love, interest, obsession in Canada only grew bigger over the years! By the time I was in 6th grade I knew the name of every Province, every Canadian territory, all of its respective capitals and even learned the names and parties of each Provincial Premier (the leader of a province). Never mind I had no idea who the governor of our next-door state, Oregon, was, but I definitely knew the name of the premier from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (on the far east coast), Clyde Wells! I also was and still am able to name each and every Provincial and Territorial flag. I dare you to stump me :) !!!
When other kids were dreaming of becoming President of the United States, I was plotting how an American born kid from Bellevue, Washington could become Prime Minister of Canada. Eventually I realized I had a better chance of becoming fluent in Russian language than I did becoming the leader of Canada. Ok, so hell has partially frozen over since I do speak Russian fluently.
By the 8th grade I was an encyclopedia of Canadian politics! While I did not know basic algebra, I could discuss at length the dichotomy of the rights of English speaking Canadians and the Francophone population in Quebec. No fact about Canada was too big or too small for me to remember.
You wouldn’t be faulted for thinking this whole Canadian obsession was simply a passing fad in my life, but yet I’m still as passionate about everything Canada as I was in 8th grade. I still enjoy a good hockey game, even though two work stoppages have dulled that love some, and I still make a run for the border several times a year.
I would write about all my crazy trips to Canada, including the time when my dad and I were refused entry into Canada or when I discovered that there may be a genetic reason why I love Canada so much, but I value my audience and don’t want to bore anyone…………so you will just have to tune into my next blog post. Thanks for reading and I’ll be back soon. This time, I promise not to take a six-month hiatus from writing!!
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