The topic of what it means to be a Canadian appears to be a hot one these days. And it is one of those questions with as many answers as answerers. However, as I write these words to the accompaniment of the haunting call of a loon, I am reminded of what “Canadianess” means to me. I do not expect that all members of the Canuck Club, share my experience. They have their own, equally valid, perspective. But this does not invalidate mine.
Our daughter Ursula, and her husband Todd, kindly invited Terry and me to visit them at a cottage they rented on Salerno Lake in the Halliburton region. It’s very early Monday morning, and the weekenders have returned to the Big Smoke for a few days. Leaving the lake to a handful of full-timers and vacationers who, thankfully, lack the compulsion to pack as many noisy powerboat and Seadoo antics in between thundershowers as they can. The meta-silence of the weekday morning, before humans awake, is filled with the gentle sounds of silence: the distant chirping of unseen birds… the soft whisper of a breeze born of the rising sun… the velvet lapping of the lake as it kisses the glistening shore.
The experience, albeit short-lived, reaffirms that I am most at peace beside a country lake. My soul resonates to the sights, sounds and smells of cottage country… or “camp” if you’re from Northern Ontario. Don’t get me wrong. I love the home we’ve carved out in Dunvegan. But it’s not life beside a forest-ringed body of water… like the one I can see gently shimmering through the trees at this moment. Nevertheless, even a few moments away from the constant din of the 417, the pointless and selfish roar of pathetic bikers and the commuter-time swish of trucks and cars on County Road 24 is helpful to remind me of the simpler summers when I grew up in Lakefield, Quebec. A time when, rightly or wrongly, you weren’t expected to agonize over or apologize for being born Canadian, you just were.
While there is much I should be reporting on the goings on in and around our hamlet, I’m going to pass this week and head down to the dock for a swim in the life-filled and life-affirming soup of a Canadian lake. But before I do, I wanted to remind all those dedicated and wanna-be card players out there that I will be back home in time to host this Friday’s Euchre Luncheon.
DRA Euchre on the 21st
That’s right, this coming Friday, May 21st, is the July Dunvegan Euchre Luncheon. For the paltry sum of just $5, you get to enjoy a delicious lunch buffet of homemade sandwiches and sweets and an afternoon of companionship and light-hearted card play. A 50/50 draw is also part of the fun. All this happiness takes place in the DRA Hall at 19053 County Road 24, starting at 12:00 noon and wrapping up around 3:30 PM. Everyone is welcome.
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