Canada Day

Ten Things I Love About being Canadian

1. Hockey - You gotta' love hockey. It has it all, speed, skill, and physical play. In Canada the hockey season never really ends. Sandwiched between the end of the playoffs and training camp is July 1, which is free agent season! As an added bonus with hockey you get Don Cherry who has jackets made out of the wallpaper pattern in your Grandmother's living room.

2. Snow - I know I have complained about snow in the past, but actually I do like it in moderation. Canada also has a fairly moderate climate which is good for training. I often think that I would like to live in a warmer climate until I suffer through a day like yesterday. It was only about 28 degrees Celsius (about 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit), with no humidity and I was dragging my sorry butt. There is nothing like running in freshly fallen snow to really make you feel like you are alive.


3. Eh? - Probably the most overplayed aspect of Canadiana, but admittedly, something that we do say. It can be used in a number of different ways. As a question, Eh? As a substitute for an exclamation mark, Eh! Or just as one of those dumb little filler words when you are stuck for something to say.



4. Bob & Doug MacKenzie - The original hosers who helped to popularize #3. Great news! Apparently they are coming out as a cartoon this fall. Hopefully it will be better than their foray into the movies. What? You haven't seen Strangebrew! Didn't that win an Oscar or something?



5. CBC - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, I can already hear some of you saying what the heck is he thinking! Okay if you ignore shows like the Beachcombers, Danger Bay, and the Secret Lives of Hockey Wives (I thought this one really had a chance, a show about Puck Bunnies c'mon!), it has really good documentaries and sports programming. Okay this whole thing is a little thin, but their radio programming is really good. Well, it's not really good, but it is okay (kind of).

6.Tim Horton's - When the only thing your troop's overseas want is a Tim Horton's coffee you know it has to be something good. Actually I think they add something to it to make it addictive. Every once in awhile I get hooked again and I act like a crack addict trying to get my fix everyday. My whole day is focused around trying to score another "hit" and maybe even a crueller or a dutchie to go with it.

7.Beer - Canadian beer is the best. Now I like my exotic beer, but when it comes to sitting down and making a pig of yourself with the stuff you are best off sticking to Canadian beer. It packs a punch and has great taste. Molson Canadian, Alexander Keith's, Moosehead, and any number of the smaller breweries all make a delicious malt beverage to satisfy the most discriminating palate.

8.My Hometown - Marathon, Ontario - What a great place for an endurance athlete to come from, Marathon! Nestled on the north shore of Lake Superior, this was the greatest place to grow up. Living next to the big lake we enjoyed every outdoor pursuit imaginable and it is probably why I have always been active. If you have never been there, it is worth the trip.

9.Simon Whitfield - Since this blog is supposed to be about triathlon I thought I had to tie something about that in and what better way than with our own Olympic gold medal winner in triathlon, Simon Whitfield.

10.A whole bunch of other good things - We are lucky in Canada. For a small country (what is there now, 25 million of us), we have a lot of good things. Universal health care, stable government, good sound economy, and we are a humble people. We like to stay under the radar and mind our own business. If there is something that really needs our attention we will be there, but we don't go looking for trouble.

My name is Garry, and I am Canadian!

Have a great day!