DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> Tossing Pebbles in the Stream .comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Tossing Pebbles in the Stream

This blog is my place to sit and toss pebbles into the stream. The stream of Life relentlessly passing before us. We can affect it little. For the most part I just watch it passing and follow the flow. Occasionally, I need to comment on its passing, tossing a pebble at it to enjoy the ripple affect upon Life's surface.

Thursday, July 01, 2010

CANADA DAY 2010

Today is the annual day for Canadians to reflect on our nation and celebrate it's accomplishments and meaning for each of us.

I heard today that before pride in country there is a feeling of gratitude for the privilege in living in a country which has gotten so many things right in creating a civilized society. While we have had many flawed aspects in our history, we seem to be able to overcome them and move on in may positive ways.

Today, as I put out my flag, I am a grateful Canadian, for the benefits our country has brought us, in particular, the benefits it will continue to bring to my son and grandchildren.


















The day called for a new flag


"Very little is known of the Canadian country since it is rarely visited by anyone but the Queen and illiterate sport fishermen."

P. J. O'Rourke

Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II, is in Canada today to share our day with us.


It is as queen of Canada that I am here. Queen of Canada and all Canadians, not just one or two ancestral strains.

Elizabeth II


One of the gestures the Queen has done on this trip to Canada has been the dedication of this lovely sculpture as a tribute to Oscar Peterson.

















Sculpture of Oscar Peterson.

I am sure the piano bench will be a favouite spot in Ottawa to sit and have a photo taken for years to come.

Some Quotes on Canada

“Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States.

J. Bartlet Brebner, historian


A Canadian is sort of like an American, but without the gun.

Anonymous

Canadians, like their historians, have spent too much time remembering conflicts, crises, and failures. They forgot the great, quiet continuity of life in a vast and generous land. A cautious people learns from its past; a sensible people can face its future. Canadians, on the whole, are both.

Desmond Morton


Canada is one of the planet's most comfortable, and caring, societies. The United Nations Human Development Index cited the country as the most desirable place in the world to live. This year a World Bank study named Canada the globe's second wealthiest society after Australia.

Time magazine

Canada has shown the world how to balance freedom with compassion and tradition with innovation, in your efforts to provide health care to all your citizens, to treat your senior citizens with the dignity and respect they deserve, to take on tough issues like the move afoot to outlaw automatic weapons designed for killing and not for hunting....

Bill Clinton ~1995. Address to Canadian House of Commons.


How Canadian are you?

You Might Be Canadian If...
You bring a portable TV on a camping trip so that you don't miss Hockey Night.
You can repeat the entire Molson's Canadian 'The Rant'.
You hum David Foster's '88 Calgary Olympics theme in the shower.
You know that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) don't always look like that.
You think it's normal to have a grain elevator in your backyard.
You can sing "O' Canada" in French and actually know what the words mean.
You send angry letters to the CBC demanding the return of the Hinterland Who's Who spots so you can finally find out what happens to the arctic ptarmigan in winter.
You stood in line for hours for Another Roadside Attraction tickets.
You think Great Big Sea isn't Atlantic-centric enough.
You know the French equivalents of "free", "prize" and "no sugar added", thanks to your extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.
You still haven't taken down your "NON" posters from the 95 Referendum.
You know more than 3 guys named Gordon.
You think Ashley MacIssac isn't Celtic enough.
You remember "Jodie" from Today's Special and wonder why you keep seeing her reading news on the CBC.
You can eat more than one maple sugar candy without feeling nauseous.
You think -10 C is mild weather.
You have twins named Donovan and Bailey.
You know the ingredients for poutine.
You know what happens in the Evergreen Forest when Bert Raccoon wakes up.
You dressed as Bruno Gerussi for Halloween. You spent hours sifting through garbage on the beach to prepare for the role.
You know that the 'Extra Creamy' in Kraft Extra Creamy Dinner is 'add more milk.'
You know the difference between real snow and "television" snow -- the white stuff that passes for snow on tv and in films.
Someone accidentally stepped on your foot. You apologize.
You stepped on someone's foot. You apologize, then apologize for making them apologize.
You pity people who haven't tasted a "beavertail".
Your Saturday nights in the Atlantic provinces include eating beans and brown bread as you watch Hockey Night in Canada.
You know that the Canadian Alliance is just the Reform Party with better hair.
You know that, contrary to general belief, the Inuit have about the same amount of words for snow as do English speakers. Your favourite Inuit word for 'snow' is "navcaq" (snow formation about to collapse).
You wonder why squirrels and seagulls somehow manage to get in every zoo exhibit (including the parking lot and squirrel and seagull exhibits).
You eat chocolate bars, not candy bars.
You only know three spices: Salt, pepper and ketchup.
You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway.
You drive on a highway, not a freeway.
You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.
You brag to Americans: Shania Twain, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion & more, are Canadians.
You know that the C.E.O. of American Airlines is a Canadian!
You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
You know that the last letter of the English alphabet is always pronounced "Zed".
You live in a house with no front step, but the door is one meter up from the ground.
Your local newspaper covers the national news on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.
You know that the four seasons means: winter, still winter, almost winter, and road work/construction.
You know that when it's -10 degrees outside, it's a warm day. You perk up when you hear the theme song from "Hockey Night in Canada."
You are in grade 12, not the 12th grade.
"Eh?" is a very important part of your vocabulary, and is more polite than, "Huh?"
You call it a BUN not a "Roll".
Its called a WASHROOM not a lavatory or powder room or rest room.
You have more kilometers on your snow blower than your car.
You have 10 favorite recipes for moose meat.
You've taken your kids trick-or-treating in a blizzard.
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled in with snow. You owe more money on your snowmobile than on your car.
At least twice a year, the kitchen doubles a meat processing plant.
The most effective mosquito repellent is a shotgun.
Your snow blower gets stuck on the roof.
You think the start of deer season is a national holiday.
You head south to go to your cottage.
You frequently clean grease off your barbeque so the bears won't prowl on your deck.
You know which leaves make for good toilet paper.
The major parish fund-raiser isn't bingo, it's sausage making.
You find -40C a little chilly.
The trunk of your car doubles as a freezer.
You attend a formal in your best clothes, your finest jeweler and your Sorrels.
You can play road hockey on skates.

Happy Canada Day to All

7 Comments:

At 10:02 a.m., Blogger Anvilcloud said...

To you too!

 
At 2:19 p.m., Blogger Ginnie said...

Happy Canada Day, Phillip. I am curious...were you always Canadian or have you adopted it as your own? For some reason I thought you had a church in the US in the past.

 
At 7:13 p.m., Blogger John and Carol said...

Four years ago we spent Canada day at Wildwood Golf and RV in McGregor. The park was full of people celebrating the "long weekend." They were very hospitable to these Americas who were there over our 4th of July weekend. We have loved our time in Canada.

 
At 8:32 p.m., Blogger Peggy said...

Happy Canada Day!!! Hope you and Heidi had a wonderful day

 
At 9:13 a.m., Blogger possum said...

Hello, friend! I have borrowed your quotes for my Sunday Musings this week which will go out on July 4th!
You know I have always loved Canada and will gladly sing her praises from the roof top! My friends have gotten used to me wearing a Canada T-shirt to any 4th of July functions I go to.
If only it weren't so darned cold up there!

 
At 7:31 p.m., Blogger KGMom said...

Happy Canada Day--a day late.

 
At 11:11 p.m., Blogger Rachel said...

Hope you had a wonderful Canada Day!

Thank you for the info on Mistletoe, KY! I was so excited to see the photos on the link you provided. Yes, we had a very modest life when I was young. We lived on what is called the Rattlesnake Branch of Buffalo Creek! Where we lived then is all part of the Daniel Boone National Forest now.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home