Oh, Canada

 

O Canada

Oh, Canada, the pain of these days has pierced the heart of your people.

Our home and native land

Our beautiful country of prairies and oceans, cities and farms

True patriot love in all thy son’s command

With quiet dignity we pledge allegiance to this land of our birth.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise

Just watch the pride in Canadians’ eyes as the Maple Leaf is raised and tears when it is at half-mast.

The True North strong and free

We who call this northern land home magnanimously value its diversity and freedom.

From far and wide, O Canada

The vastness of our beloved nation inspires awe and humility.

We stand on guard for thee

From coast to coast to coast, we extend a heartfelt thank you to all military personnel, first responders and their families for their selfless service and commitment to this wonderful, awesome, amazing country…. so respected throughout the world.
God keep our land, glorious and free
In Canada, we are all free to worship as we please… to express our beliefs and live our faith in peace and acceptance.  Believers and non-believers share equally in the glorious benefits of democracy.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee

Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo, proudly and courageously you stood on guard for Canada, dying in the uniform of honour.  With one broken heart of sorrow, Canadians now stand on guard for you.  We will NEVER forget your sacrifice.  We will NEVER let evil prevail.  We will ALWAYS honour and respect your memory along with all the other heroes who gallantly personified what Canada stands for.  RIP.

by Y.M. Tucker

The Perils of Travel

Travelling anywhere these days poses risks.  We’ve all heard the sad, scary stories of Ebola and terrorist acts.  Then there are the less problematic incidents which, while thankfully not life-threatening, still manage to raise the stress level a notch or two.  Hubby and I just prevailed through such an experience.

We were in our home province for a brief, jam-packed visit which included a couple of family Thanksgiving dinners and an eventful medical specialist appointment for my better half.  While on the way to the hospital for that consultation, our rental car was rear-ended by another vehicle at a traffic light.  Fortunately, no one was injured and the damage to both cars was minimal but the blood pressure spike caused a dilly of a headache.

Later at the airport for our return trip, we were heading through security when my very considerate hubby offered to carry my overnight bag while I grappled with a jacket and bulging shoulder bag.  Awesome, I thought.  I breezed through the security line in no time and walked out the other side expecting my helpful spouse to follow within a few seconds.  Looking back through the glass enclosure, I saw a security officer motion him to the side.  That darn belt buckle must have set off an alarm, I figured.  No such luck.  Hubby had been randomly selected for a more in-depth search and swab test.  Oh me nerves!  You can imagine what was in the overnight bag.  There were several pairs of clean underwear, a nightdress, toiletries, a couple of magazines, etc.  – all of a decidedly feminine nature.  My 6’1”, 200 lb partner wore an expression of profound sheepishness as I watched him try to convince the security personnel that he really was carrying his wife’s bag. 

Mercifully, this embarrassing debacle lasted only a few minutes.  I guess the male security officer took pity on a fellow member of the brotherhood of chivalry.  As the man who vowed to love me for better or for worse strode by with his head held high, I uttered a muted apology.  “Sorry, next time I’ll definitely carry my own bag through security.”

“Yep,” was his terse reply.  Oh, the perils of travel!