Sometimes I get so tired of living right next door to you-know-who.
No. Not Barrie.
The other next door “neighbour”. The big one.
Oh there are tons and tons of good things about the big one such as great weather, movies, stores, famous people and music but I get so tired of them always thinking of us as being north- and cold.
Year round.
Look at a map. There are many states farther north than us. Why here in Central Ontario, we are on the same level as southern Washington State. Then travel to Windsor in Southwestern Ontario and you discover you’re “on par” with Northern California.
Get out of town!
No really!
I do delight in pointing that out to our friends “west” of us. Usually they don’t believe me like a couple from Wisconsin we met at Florida’s northernmost border a few years back. When I told them all of their state was farther north than where we lived in Ontario- they just looked at each other and said- “It can’t be!”
I get weary of watching Canadians- or ex-pat Canadians, being interviewed with never a mention of their Canadian Heritage. Such was the case when I watched "Strombo" interview Mr. Famous Person recently.
Once I almost met him at Pearson Airport.
Sort of.
I was employed by a well-known airline.
This one particular morning I was working the First Class check-in position. As I read through the computer printouts alerting me to “celebrities” and “people of importance” who I would be assisting that particular morning, I came across a "Famous" name. In the “notes” section it said I would have to fill out Mr. Famous Person's Immigration Card and make arrangements to have him escorted to the departure gate.
Whuck?
Can’t he write?
Can’t he walk?
I had never had to fill out an Immigration or Canada Customs form for anyone unless they needed help due to physical limitations or language difficulties. I approached the Supervisor and told him that he had better remove me from that position because I was not there to help the “likes” of Mr. Famous Person fill out a form simply because he was Mr. Famous Person.
I was removed.
I haven’t liked Mr. Famous since. Watching that interview and how un-Canadian he has become was mildly interesting. If George tried to bring the conversation back to a Canadian viewpoint or topic, Famous quickly steered it back home to the most spectacular, fun-loving and powerful nation on earth.
Oh yes, a target for international terrorism too- not to
mention that Christian Church in Florida planning to burn the religious teachings of the very people that terrorize them.
Ummm. I think I would re-think that bonfire.
Then, recently I watched Kim Cattrall being interviewed on a Brit chat show last week- Jonathan Ross, and she just breezed by being Canadian- as she was at one time, yet she gushed about living in New York City.
She was born in Liverpool and moved here when she was 3 months old. She did her schooling here. She had Canadian/British citizenship until 2008 when she became- yes, one of them.
Put Kimmy back in Canada, interview her and she can’t tell you enough about how much she loves Canada and being Canadian- past tense, and her homeland blah-blah-blah.
Now, for some examples of spelling that because of the internet and related products- as well as proximity to “that country”, are becoming the “norm” here at home.
Sidebar: I pause here to point to the built-in “.com” button on my iPad.
Dot com is International language- like English, I suppose.
Here are some words and Canuk spellings we are loosing.
Centre not center
Colour not color
Theatre not theatre
Cheque not check- although check as in a “restaurant check” is still check.
ABM not ATM
Flavour not flavour
Neighbourhood not neighbourhood
Programme not program
There are more.
Oh yes. I also don’t get “about” but let’s just keep saying it the way we do to
be “different”.
Because that is what we are as Canadians.
Different…and I like it.
Have a great day and kiss a Beaver!
