Canada Day!

Hello!

It's July 1st, Canada's 14oth birthday and here I sit outside in the backyard writing to you. It's overcast and a bit chilly today. It's only about 16 degrees Celcius. The weather is a bit unusual - we generally have very hot, humid weather this time of year. Nevertheless, here I am.

Early this morning I took my first bus trip in Canada since returning from Korea. It was pretty uneventful and boring really. A bus to go downtown costs $3.00 (in Korea I used to pay about $1.40). I drove my car to the terminal and left it at the "Park and Ride" lot. Then, I got on the #95 and headed downtown to watch and photograp the ceremonies for you. I saw the raising of the flag, the changing of the guard and of course, the RCMP musical ride. The RCMP is Canada's national police force. They've been around since the beginning of the country. A long time ago they only used to ride horses, but in modern times they only ride horses on special days like today.

I have a Korean friend whose wife and children live in Canada for most of the year. He told me that Koreans regard Canada as a "boring paradise". I think that is a pretty apt description of this immense, beautiful land. We've had our moments of excitment and intrigue, but for the most part I think this is a borning paradise. Most people are nice, polite and don't complain even when they probably should. As many people have pointed out, Canadians don't celebrate their heroes enough. Why? As a people we would prefer to be Clark Kent, than Superman. Some would think it sad and I suppose in a way it is, but I think Canada is well positioned to be at the forefront of a one world model. We are a country of immigrants and generally we accept everyone regardless of their creed, colour or language.

This day is about as loud and boisterous as Canadians ever get. We come together to celebrate our achievements, our past and prepare to step lightly, tentatively, almost like someone in a dark tunnel with nothing but a flashlight, into the future. And oh yes, on this day we help support our breweries by drinking mass quantitites of beer. I'm trying to do my little bit for the cause as I sip on a, wait, it's a beer from Denmark, oh well. Beer is beer, and beer, no matter what its nationality is as Canadian as poutine.

I'm still smoking, but that will soon end. Since I've returned from Korea I've struggled with it. In April I signed an agreement with my son saying that if I smoked again I would pay him $100, well, that didn't quite work. After a month I picked it up again. I paid him the $100. Obviously $100 wasn't enough to deter me. So, tomorrow I'll sign a new agreement with him in which I'll agree to pay him $500 if I ever smoke again. That should do it!

Back to my day. I got off the bus near Elgin Street and walked the couple of blocks to Parliament Hill. It was about 8:00am. I was determined to get there in time to see the festivities. Thankfully I made it and was able to secure myself a place near the barriers that were there so that I could clearly see and photograph everything. Here are some pictures. The first one I took as I walked up Elgin Street; it's a picture of the Chateau Laurier. I love this view!




Parliament Hill




The "Raising the flag" ceremony.

A proud member of the RCMP in full dress uniform

The "Changing the Guard" ceremony

A very tall member of the RCMP!

The RCMP "Musical Ride" begins!


Some of the most beautiful horses I've ever seen!









Well that's it for now. To view a couple of movies of the musical ride please go to ...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DQ_NqFzXN4

It's after 6pm and soon I'll be headed downtown again with my son, Ryan and his friends to enjoy the free concerts on Parliament Hill and to drink still more copious amounts of beer. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the tonight's fireworks.

Take Care Everyone!
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