Silly Little Country

The Morning After the Night Before - Canada Day Fireworks Edition

My walk at the waterfront today did find some of what I expected - residue from the day before, where a fireworks display at sunset was the feature, a celebration of Canada Day.

The Parks cleaning staff had not got to this site quite yet.


Cleanup is in the hands partly of the city Parks Department, but some is also being done by street people gathering cans and bottles for redemption and some income, as well as these guys below (plus many many starlings).




During a walk there yesterday morning with my wife, we noticed many families arriving to spend the whole day. At one point we wondered what the young kids would do all day; of course, there is a beach, there are birds to watch, beach volleyball courts, and many other diversions. But this picture suggests one set of parents managed to keep a child occupied for quite a while gathering smooth stones.




As I arrived back at my car this morning, there was a man looking a little distressed standing nearby. He approached me, concerned about the parking rules where we were and I explained. He then realized his 20 dollar bill was no help and asked if I had change - I did and saved his day. We had a lovely chat - he had been there the day before, enjoyed the day, and his family had decided, after six years in Canada, to get brave and barbecue some hamburgers; for them this was a major barrier to cross in integration (it reminded me of the last scenes in "Barcelona", when the Spanish girls realize that European hamburgers are no representative of American ones, despite the globalized naming). We exchanged handshakes and names - he was "Mo" (I would wager Mohammed, not Morris). It was a lovely Canadian experience for me, and I hope for him.

On a similar note, let me welcome Alaa and family to Canada!

Lovely days in a lovely summer in an excellent place to live, however silly (in fact, its silliness is part of the charm).

posted by Alan Adamson @ 9:39 AM