One week to go before I hit the road again. I’m finally going to Canada. Which has an all-encompassing sound to it, like I’m going to explore that whole, huge country next door. I wish.
The truth is that I will probably only get to see Vancouver and maybe part of the Canadian Rockies. And that’s pretty awesome in itself. I mean, I haven’t even seen all of the U.S. yet, or even cared to, so why should I feel disappointed that I can’t possibly see another whole country in one short month?
I think it’s because Canada is a mystery
Our media acts as though nothing happens anywhere but here — unless it’s REALLY bad, like an earthquake or a terrorist attack. Even weather forecasters seem to think that our borders are the edge of the world.
We only know anything about Canada from famous Canadians like Michael J. Fox or k.d. lang or that good-looking Trudeau guy.
We hear jokes about how polite Canadians are, about how they say “eh” all the time, about how cold it is. We hear arguments about whether or not their health system is better than ours (it is.) I’ve even heard (thanks to Michael Moore) that Canadians are not as fearful as we are.
I’ll tell you the truth:
I only recently realized that I’ve had this silly, semi-conscious idea all my life that southern Canada enjoys milder winters right across the border from our bitterest cold reaches. Because it’s the South. I can’t explain that; I won’t even try.
There are inklings that all is not perfect in the Great White North but I can’t put away the feeling that in many ways, it’s better there than here.
At least they don’t have a raging lunatic in charge
At least they don’t have an entire subsection of the population threatening insurrection if he’s brought down (as I pray to God he is, and soon). At least they welcome refugees and let them keep their children.
I’m going to Canada next week. Not sure when (or if) I’ll be back. (KIDDING, BORDER PATROL! KIDDING!)
