“There are no limits to the majestic future which lies before the mighty expanse of Canada with its virile, aspiring, cultured, and generous-hearted people.”
– Sir Winston Churchill
…….
It’s summer in Canada and the big city is a little quieter these days. After a long driving tour in Alberta, I was happy to spend a couple of days at a cottage near Georgian Bay in Ontario. It’s a very short walk to the “outhouse” and the water comes up from the lake in buckets. Perfect.
After trying and failing to get my “turbo rocket mobile Hi-Speed Internet Solution” to work, and startling the local fauna by charging my laptop with the gas-powered generator, I resigned myself to a quiet weekend of unconnectedness and contemplation.
Every self-respecting summer dwelling has a collection of books stashed away somewhere. Usually right next to the stack of board games. Titles on how to identify trees or call moose are common. There I found a great little book called Canada Inside Out, a collection of quotations about Canada and Canadians, edited by David Olive. So I spent a number of hours reading about how critical Canadians are of themselves and how foreigners are usually unstinting in their praise of my country. It’s an inspiring read, especially when sitting on a piece of Precambrian rock by a freshwater lake. I think it’s also out-of-print. So keep your eyes out at your friend’s cottage this summer.
In the mean time, here are some web pages that feature Canadian-inspired quotes…
BiteSizeCanada | ThinkExist | Canada Kicks Ass
“ If some countries have too much history, we have too much geography.”
– W.L. Mackenzie King (1874-1950), Canadian Prime Minister
I’m working my way through your Web site and just had to stop to say Thank You. It is a delicious celebration of Canada.