Thursday, June 05, 2008

O Canada!

Every 4 years or so, I wish I lived in Canada. In the U.S. we have such angst about our presidential elections, and I never hear about such conflicts from our Great Northern Neighbor. I used to live in Montana, near the Canadian border, and when I was a kid, went to the Valley View Bible Camp in Saskatchewan. It always was a fun time, and I always fell in love with the Canadian people (well, maybe especially one or two of the opposite sex...). We swam a lot in the muddy river that ran through camp, and hiked into the prairie dodging ferocious cacti and ticks. One of my best friends (and college roomate) is a pastor in Calgary who used to be a farmer in Hagen, near P.A. I always loved to say P.A. For you non-Saskatchewanites, it is an abbreviation for Prince Albert. Saying P.A. is like saying L.A. for Los Angeles. It makes me feel like an insider. Let's go to P.A. and play some billiards. Let's go to P.A. and see a movie. Isn't that fun?

When I was in the 9th grade, we moved to Oakland, and when I heard people using the L.A. abbreviation, I thought that was what Californians did for all cities with two names. So when my brother had friends visiting from out-of-town, I said, "Let's go to S.F. and show everyone the sights!" Everybody looked at me quizzically for a second and then burst out laughing. "S.F. San Francisco!" I was a little embarrassed, but I just grinned and said "What's wrong with that? "

But I digress. It would be interesting to be a Canadian and watching the U.S. elections. I had a friend once who refused to fly his U.S. flag after George Bush Sr. was elected. I think that is a bit much. After all, I still flew my flag when Clinton was president. I even voted for Jimmy Carter back in the day. Can't say I'm not open-minded.

This year I'm voting for the Constitution Party's candidate, Dr. Chuck Baldwin. He promises to bring some sanity back to the U.S., like eliminating the Internal Revenue Service, and closing our borders to illegal aliens. And if you don't believe there are thousands of illegal aliens in the U.S., just watch Men in Black. As my mom would say, "Oh, horrors!".

2 comments:

Gwen Buchanan said...

Louie you are ever amusing!!! thanks for lightening things up!!!

... there is a wee province (an island actually) up here on the east coast called Prince Edward Island... you guessed it... nobody calls it that.. it is known to one and all, as "PEI"...

I must say I am pretty boggled about what you Americans have to go through to get a new guy in the White house... By the time he gets in you must be ready for the next guy...that's not to say that everything is perfect here... but it sure doesn't take that long...

...it is quicker to have a baby!!...

Louie In Seattle said...

If my tombstone said "He made people happy." I would be smiling in my grave, with my hands clasped behind my head.