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“You live in… happy town?”
 Posted
6/30/2009 7:34:00 PM
I was downtown a few months ago and I was just getting out of my car when I was approached by a stranger, an American with what I recognized as a Bostonian accent. He was asking for directions to a business several blocks away. Somehow, he had become turned around and had spent twenty minutes walking in the wrong direction. I started to explain how he needed to re-trace his steps but I could see he was already becoming more confused.
Finally I said, “You know what, it would be easier if I just drove you there.” I walked over to my car, opened the door and was about to get in when I realized he was still standing on the sidewalk. For a moment, he stared at me with disbelief, obviously uncertain what to do. Eventually he must have decided he could trust me and he got in the car. As I was driving him, he said, “I would never do this in Boston.”
A few years ago, we had a student from Caracas, Venezuela living with our family and attending the University of Alberta. After about a week she shared her observations of Edmonton with us one night at dinner.
“You live in… happy town.”
She was here to study English so we weren’t quite sure exactly what she was trying to say, but eventually it came out. When she was trying to cross the street, cars stopped for her. When she walked to university, none of the houses she passed had bars on the window. And most amazingly… sometimes total strangers would say ‘hi’ as they passed on the sidewalk. You could tell, that part of our culture stood out for her.
As a country, we’re not perfect. But the things we have here, the things we take for granted, are envied around the world. To me, Canada Day is a chance to reflect on that. Have a good one and do something truly Canadian… say hi to a stranger for me.
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Spin Doctor
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