Oh Canada

Happened to arrive in Canada on Canada Day, which scored me a little candy on the flight from Toronto to Halifax. Got off the plane into an overcast, cool and rainy day and spent the afternoon at my host James’ lovely house preparing my World Music Course that I begin to teach tomorrow. Two whole weeks I’ve gone without teaching! Will I remember how?

To celebrate Canada’s 152^ndbirthday, James had his grown children over for a barbecue and watermelon drink to make sure red (Canada’s flag color) was represented. He made a playlist of songs featuring Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Diana Krall, k.d.laing, Michael Buble, Oscar Peterson, Glenn Gould and some more contemporary musicians I didn’t know. He could have included Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy St. Marie, Paul Anka, Justin Bieber and yet more. Go, Canada!

I was discouraged to hear that there is a Trump-like stooge challenging the debonair Justin Trudeau in the next election, that a cartoonist in Newfoundland got fired for a brilliant cartoon criticizing Trump and I’m still mad about the Raptors defeating the Warriors (though admired their remarkable skills), but overall, I have great affection for and high respect for Canada. Some of my best friends are Canadian (really!), it was the first “foreign” country I ever visited, first Toronto in 1963 and then Montreal for Expo 67 and I have presented at workshops and conferences repeatedly in Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, Deerhurst, Montreal, Halifax, Niagara Falls and a few other places. Their national anthem is way better than ours, their immigration policy more humane and their history less brutal. And so…

Happy Canada Day!