Unsound Unsound:
Why are you here?
I'm sure it's been asked before but a cursory search didn't find the thead and I'm too lazy to look further.
I don't mean it in the sense that I'm bothered by it, I'm just curious as to why you're interested in Canadian politics, or Canadian opinions on American politics.
This post is an adaptation of an essay I wrote and put to one side earlier. I thought of it again when I met a woman from London, Ontario that I met at a party my wife and I were at last night. She was quite surprised any Yank knew anything about Canada. I ran across my earlier post randomly. Some of it does relate to the opening post, and some of it doesn't. Nevertheless I decided to reproduce much of the post, with some deletions (full post available for anyone interested) and a post-script.
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I originally wrote this on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of my father’s death (January 5, 1973), before going to Temple today to mark that anniversary. I have posted, some time ago on “Time Machine” something similar on CBC.
The period of my life bracketed by my father’s death was a period of my life marked by great promise, great tragedy, and great change. Unfortunately and sadly, I have not always lived up to that promise, though at 45 I suppose there’s still time.
I turned 15 in April 1972. While I always did well academically, I had never done well socially and that year, my freshman year of high school, was about the worst. My parents were asked to consider putting me in another school. That summer, I was thrown out of the first camp I went to after half the summer.
The second half started the more positive phase, though marked by a developing tragedy. First, the bad part. My father’s colon cancer had started to recur, though we didn’t quite know it, at least officially. Now the good part, and the part that relates somewhat to Canada.
I went to a different camp for the second half of the summer. It featured limited travel as part of the program. For the first time in my life, I made friends relatively easily. One of those was a girl. We repeatedly ran into each other and were singing the same song, coincidentally, each time. I think the songs were Joni Mitchell’s (of Canada) Both Sides Now. The other was Led Zeppellin’s Stairway to Heaven. Here’s the Canadian part. The final trip of the summer was to Quintes Isle, Ontario. That was my first of many trips to Canada. One of the counselors was from Montreal. Strangely, he was not interested in sharing much about his country despite my interest.
(deleted material)
Returning to Canadian issues, I took part in an immensely enjoyable High School band exchange progam with York High School, Toronto, in April 1973. Spring was slow in coming that year (after another very mild, El Nino winter) and was chilled to the bone as the wind swept down Bloor and Yonge Street. I browsed some of the book shops on Yonge Street and read about the beginnings of the "Canadian Content" rules. Found it fascinating. To my surprise, I remembered Bloor and Yonge Street well when my wife and I visited in June 1997 (we relocated our trip to Algonquin Park; combination of a heat wave and her advanced stage of pregnancy). I thoroughly enjoyed that trip, as well as my wife's and my trip in 1992 to Banff and Calgary, and my independent trips to Quebec in 1979 and 1986 (I did not like my Montreal trip in 1976). Oh, I forgot to mention my first trip, with summer camp, during August 1972, to Quintes Island, and the Alexandria Bay area.
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P.S. – After I wrote this post, my wife took me and my children to Niagara Falls for my 50th birthday, around April 5, 2007. On the following Saturday night, I was watching Toronto getting drubbed in a hockey game. After the game, I was chatting with a Canadian who said “he knew more about American history than I did”. He asked me to challenge him on any historical question.
I asked him which of our elections for President were decided by the House of Representatives rather than in the usual manner. He guessed the “Roosvelt/Taft” election. I told him that one was the election where the Republican Party was outpolled by a 3d party, and I added “similar to what happened in your 1993 and 1997 elections, where the Reform Party outpolled the Progressive Conservatives”. He said “I give up, you know more about Canada than I do your country”.
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The music. Perty much the overall forum setup and those who are here participateing.
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