Another Dominion Day, not bad, eh!

Yeah, I like the old name better than Canada Day, but it's all good. In honour of my nation's birthday, I've done something quintessentially Canadian - I've drawn up a list. Dunno why we're always drawing up lists, I think it must be the hidden bureaucrat deep down in every Canuck's soul.

Anyway, Here's my short list of things I love about Canada, in no particular order:

-"The Maple Leaf Forever", it should have been our national anthem, ah well, nothing's carved in stone...

-French. I love French. English is my mother tongue but I love French, it's a beautiful language!

-snow, I have great memories of building snow forts and having deadly serious snowball fights with Stuart who lived across the street from me, deadly serious until dinner time anyway

-trees, endless miles of trees, not trees in manicured parks, but trees that haven't been touched by humans, forests of fir trees in Northern Ontario. Some of the trees have given up the ghost and lean at odd angles, some stand straight and proud, some are busy decomposing. Northern Ontario is a sanctuary, a place where I keep my Real Canadian in storage. An endless two-lane highway cut through granite with a moose standing on the edge of the forest looking out, that I love!

-Toronto garbage strikes. Okay, it sounds weird, but we're having our second city workers' strike in Toronto since 2002 and in a world filled with wars and religious nuts and economic "downturns", it's nice to think that a good old-fashioned strike can still happen. I just hope they get it resolved before the really hot weather gets here...

-Newfoundland! A great place to visit and, I suspect, an even greater place to live! I've been there twice and when I win the lottery, I'll buy my dream house somewhere around Corner Brook and take trips out to see the icebergs and when I stand in line at the store the person in front of me will turn to me and talk about the weather or sports without trying to sell me something or convert me to a religion (as happens here in T.O.)

-the ferry to P.E.I., more fond memories from youth! I'll never take the Confederation Bridge, it may be the shortest route to the best potatoes in the world, but P.E.I. just doesn't seem like P.E.I. without taking a ferry. I'd like to see them build a bridge to Newfoundland...hah!

-the Prairies. My mother grew up in Saskatoon, so maybe I have a soft spot for flat earth, but I really do love the prairies. Getting up at sunrise in a little town that no one has ever heard of and watching the sun come up; I swear you can see the curvature of the Earth! Beautiful!

-TTC streetcars. Yeah, yeah, I know, they may slow down traffic but who cares! I love streetcars, I love the smooth, quiet ride, the sound of the bell, I love taking the 504 King car past Riverdale Park and seeing the city skyline in the distance, even the CN Tower looks good from there :^)

-I love the fact that I can go into a corner store with a $5 bill and ask for five loonies without being taken for a loony.

-I love that fact that everyone in this country knows that Parliament Hill is really a loony bin and we like it that way!

-The Canadian military, for doing so much with so little and slogging on without getting anywhere near the recognition that they deserve. Thank you!

-Being laid back about Dominion Day (a.k.a. Canada Day). I don't have to make too much of a fuss, just relax and think about how lucky I am to live in the best country in the world - no muss, no fuss, just kickin' back doing whatever the hell I want. That I love!

So that's my list, I could go on; it's a big country, a funny country, a country with lots of geography, lots of history and lots of great people, but this'll do, this'll do just fine...