Weekend self-care open thread: Happy Canada Day, from Victor the Crab!

Hidey ho everyone. LL here.

Not feeling much of the patriotic fervor for July 4. But guess what? July 1, today, is Canada Day! It's their commemoration of the birth of their nation
. And I just discovered that we have a Canuck amongst us. That's right, Victor the Crab! He has graced us with this piece. And afterwards, some Canadian music. So settle in everyone!

***

Mornin' all!

Today, July 1st, marks the halfway point of 2022, as well as the quarter mark of the 2020s.

It is also the birthday of the United States' neighbours to the north, Canada. The 155th birthday of the Great White North. And while it's early beginnings were uncertain, what with constant threats of America wanting to invade and conquer its next door neighbor of the British empire, the later years proved to be a calm and stable one with the two neighbours, thanks in no small part of working side by side during two world wars.

The United States and Canada, although not what one would call bosom buddies, are very close nations both socially, politically, and ideologically. And while there are some differences - like Spanish being the unofficial second language in the USA, and French being the official second language in Canada - their respective citizens all go about their lives in the same ways and manners as the others. Same food, same choices of entertainment, same worries and concerns for the future.

And it is with that that I must make a confession to everyone here. And while it might be something of a surprise at the Bar, I just assumed that a lot of you already figured it out by now. It's something I wanted to say before, but never got around to doing so for one reason or another.

You see...I am Canadian!

Yup, that's right. A Canadian. A canuck. A hoser. A Great White Northener.

I was born 57 years ago two weeks from today in the border city of Sarnia, Ontario, across the river from Port Huron, Michigan and an hour's drive north of Detroit. I have travelled and worked across the country, and now live in a small rural town in southwestern Ontario. It's a nice quiet town with its own grocery stores, a drug store, restaurants and bars, as well as a Tim Hortons.

I never told anyone on Disqus about my nationality because, well...I just never got around to it. And some of you here remember me from back at the Daily Banter, so some might be surprised by this, thinking that I was just another American. I can assure you that in no way, shape, or form, would I try to pass myself off as one, never referring to myself as "we" when talking about Americans. I'm not like Maike, who's from Germany originally but is now a U.S. citizen. I could never try to lie to you as well as myself.

But I'm telling you all right now so that I could finally get it off my chest, and to move forward with my national identity. I'm not one of those Canadians who looks down on Americans out of hate and envy. I despise that in us! We are friends, and I would like to keep it that way. We may have differing issues, but we all want what's best for ourselves and the world.

And there's so much I wanted to share with you from my home and native land, but couldn't without exposing myself, like talking about weather related news from our own weather channel, the Weather Network. I think the closet was when I brought up that the Canadian Football League has a draft of its own. I was quite frustrated with myself.

An example of this is in sports. While I follow the Pittsburgh Penguins in hockey (Canada's national pastime), and the Detroit Lions (groan!) in football, I followed the Detroit Pistons in basketball - especially during the Bad Boys era - until Toronto got its own NBA team and started following them - all the way to their championship season of 2019! I haven't really followed baseball since the Montreal Expos were moved to Washington (FUCK THE NATIONALS!)

But the team I follow most is Toronto FC, since their inception in 2007. I'm a dues paying member of the Red Patch Boys supporters group, and I've been to many a home game in Toronto as well as a few on the road - Montreal, Chicago, Philadelphia. I watched them live and in person, at their home pitch BMO Field, for both MLS Cup Finals in 2016 (a bitter disappointment) and 2017 where they won the Phillip Anschutz Trophy to cap off the greatest season in Major League Soccer history! It would be like if our fearless leader, LL, went to London's Wembley Stadium to watch his beloved Chelsea lads win the UEFA Champions League title in person.

I wanted to share all that/needle you all. But, as I said, I couldn't. So, now that I got that out of the way, I hope nobody here takes what I said and thinks less of me for this. If you are upset by my maple flavored outing, I'm sorry. Like I said, I never tried to make myself into something that I'm not. I hope we can continue being friends here, just like Canada and the United States are friends.

Eh?

***

Well, that was a jolly good laugh, and we all had a bit of fun. Happy Canada Day to our friends to the North! Poutine is questionable, but you're all good eggs. And now, for some music! (And comedy.)

As always, dear friends, be ever kind to yourselves and those around you.