chapter 55: my canada

i have a confession to make: i hate crowds. i usually avoid big events, because i generally don't like to be stuck in huge throngs of people. there's something about losing my personal space that rubs me wrong.

i've always been a bit of a loner...and i guess that's part of what i love about canada; the country is so big, there's usually more than enough space for everyone, even in big cities. you can always find a tranquil spot with a stunning view and just sit and think quietly and reflect on the nearly never-ending beauty in front of you.

it's crowded in the west end today. people everywhere. restaurants, bars, shops, beaches, sidewalks, buses...everything is packed.

but today i don't mind.

i look around and see the whole world. i hear different languages, see different skin colours, smell different aromas. everyone is here, and nobody looks out of place. if i didn't know better, i wouldn't really be sure who belongs and who doesn't. but, like sherlock holmes and the dog that wasn't barking, that's the giveaway.

everyone i see has as much right to be here as the next person. nobody's trying to make the chattering koreans speak english. nobody's getting mad at the slow walking indian family. nobody's telling the muslims to take off their traditional coverings. nobody's telling the panhandlers to get off the sidewalk. nobody's telling the obnoxious white teenage suburbanites to go back to surrey, even though some are no doubt thinking it.

look, i've been some places, and i've seen some things, and that kind of freedom just doesn't exist anywhere else. is it perfect? no. but it's as close as it gets on this earth.

that's my country, or should i say our country. because we all own it...miraculously, in what's often a hard, selfish, hateful world, we've learned how to share.

happy birthday canada.