I’m from Canada, and it’s Canada Day. It’s our equivalent of Independence Day, only instead of gaining our independence during a revolution, we just kind of hugged and said, “yeah, let’s be a country.” Then we all apologized and told each other politely that we liked that new beaver pelt hat and flannel jacket, then continued trading hockey cards. Typical, right?
Specifically, I’m from Vancouver Island, on Canada’s west coast. No, I’m not from Vancouver – there’s a big difference. Anyway, I’m from Canada, and I love it there. I love the vast expanses of nothing. I love the pretty little towns. I love the fact that we have beautiful waves beneath even more beautiful mountains. I love that the water from the tap tastes like water from a stream. I love the polite way people let you merge in traffic. I love the absence of honking. Most of all, I love the country and the quiet pride everyone there has for it. I moved to southern California about a year ago now, and I love it here, too. There are palm trees and the water is warm, which I like. It’s also very beautiful here, but everything beautiful – at least on the coast – has a road and a parking lot in front of it, so that everyone can enjoy how beautiful it is, effectively smudging the beauty. And of course, Canada’s the same way, in parts. Just in less parts.
Canada’s incredible. The first piece I ever wrote for this fine website was called Frog-Potted. I was upset with myself for extolling the virtues of where I’m from; in a nutshell, the crowds were increasing and I was bitching about it. And now that I live here in sunny southern California with a perpetual sunburn and aching shoulders, where a day with good waves and a near-empty line up is akin to finding the world’s smallest needle in the world’s biggest haystack, I realize that I had nothing to complain about. I’m not saying that I don’t like California – I love it here, in fact –I’m just saying it’s different kind of love. It’s quieter at home, even when it’s loud. Things seem a little more garish here; shinier, somehow. And I like it. But I sure do like the quiet at home, too.
So while we may not have that same flag waving, pistols-in-the-air type of patriotism you’ll find south of the border (yeah, that’s the U.S. to Canada), we’ve got our own celebrating to do, because Canada’s awesome. And it’s Canada Day. Oh, to be home right now!
