I can't believe that it's your birthday again, already. It seems like just yesterday you were 130 and, by the way, you don't look a day over 120.
As you know this is the first time in a long time that we've missed your big day. Every year we celebrate with you and your 30 million friends (almost as many as Justin Bieber has on Facebook). However, as you know, this year we can't be there for you. This year is the first year in a long time that we've missed your special day. So, while I can't be there to sing your praises in person (Oh! Canada) I'll share a couple thoughts from a long distance away.
We all miss you. Nadia and I especially miss you. Don't get me wrong, the kids miss you too but you know how kids are. They are far more adaptable than us. Yeah, Perth is lovely too. She has beautiful beaches, lovely rivers, interesting deserts, picturesque hills and a wonderful climate. But she's still foreign to us. When we think of you we will probably always think of home. We also think of those that are still with you and miss them terribly. We can't wait for some of them to visit us. But who knows, maybe we'll come back to visit them and you in a couple of years.
To us your big day means a lot of things. Quite often we look around and see the problems elsewhere and think: "boy, sure am glad I don't have those issues with Canada..." I guess you could say that we really grew to love and appreciate you. Even though we are really far away from you we still appreaciate you. As a matter of fact, the (great) distance may have caused us to appreciate you even more.
This day means freedom. Usually on July 1 the kids are finished school for the year, Nadia is finished work for the season, it's a day off of work for me and the weather is finally turning warm. Often this is the weekend that we go camping and have a nice quiet celebration for you. However, this year, for us, the weather has actually gotten colder, the kids are still in school, there's no day off of work and this is the coldest and wettest time of the year to go camping. This year is the first year in a long time that we've missed being there with you on your special day.
This day also means the beginning of the NHL free agency period where inevitably I get my hopes up that the Flames will finally do something to help the team only to come away disappointed. But hey, that's not your fault. Those are my own hang-ups. Speaking of hockey did you know that you share a birthday with Jarome Iginla? Some other notable July 1 birthdays (although none as notable as Jarome) are:
-Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (physicist)
-Charles Laughton (actor)
-Estee Lauder (makeup mogul)
-Willie Dixon (Blues Legend)
-Olivia de Havilland (actress)
-Jamie Farr (Klinger from MASH)
-Sydney Pollack (film director)
-Debbie Harry (musician)
-Dan Aykroyd (Canadian)
-Carl Lewis (steroid-riddled athlete)
-The late Princess Diana
-Pamela Anderson (Canadian/Plastic)
-Liv Tyler (actress)
It's really too bad we couldn't be there for you this year. But that didn't stop us from celebrating. Did you know that there is a club in Western Australia that's formed in your honour? It's called the Canadian Club of Western Australia and it's made up of people just like us who left you, either temporarily or permenantly, but never really forgot you. We are now members of the CCWA. So this past Friday (June 29) a bunch of Canadian ex-pats went to an Irish pub where we drank home-made Caesars and ate Australian pub food. How very Canadian. The only thing missing was Scottish bagpipes, British beer, Chinese food and American sports. We even sang your song. At it's height, at least at the time that we left the event, there were probably about 70-80 people there just to celebrate your big day! It was a little uncomfortable just because we didn't really know anybody and they all generally seemed to know each other. We managed to talk to a few people but didn't really make any new friends yet. Hopefully that will come with time. To be honest I found it a little weird hearing your accent coming from everyones mouth. I guess I got used to hearing the British and Australian accents. There were even a couple times I giggled on the inside when someone finished their sentence with "eh?" Ah Canada, I love your quirks, especially in small doses.
You know one of your best qualities Canada? It's your modesty. I love that about you. While America makes sure the entire world knows how special her birthday is, you go about your business with an air of quiet confidence. I bet most people in the world don't even know it's your birthday today. For many of them July 1 is instead associated with:
-Beginning of the battle of Gettysburg
-Opening of the first zoo in the US (Philadelphia)
-SOS becoming the standard radio distress signal
-Independence day for Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi and American Samoa
-The establishment of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
-Dissolving of the Warsaw Pact
But to me this will always be your day. Sure, Australia is nice. She's warm, fun, young and prosperous but she's no Canada.
So on this day I raise my Pilsner stubby in your honour and remove my touque. Happy Birthday Hoser! Hope you have a great day, eh? No doot aboot it!
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