Wow! Hard to believe that the year is officially half over. It seems that it was just a short time ago that I was writing that I wanted to make at least 300 more posts here this year. Oh, does appear that isn’t going to happen. Not unless I’m planning on two to three posts a day here for the rest of the year. I’m NOT!

Canadians, of which I’m one of course, celebrated Canada Day yesterday. The Branch held a BBQ to mark the day which included swearing in two new members, good food (and drink), a cake cutting and minnow races for the big kids (adults). We had intended the minnow racing for the children but none showed up so the big kids got to play. Great fun was had by all.

I’m proud to be a Canadian even though it took me a long time to come to understand that I had a country to be proud of. Some of that was the lack of having any pride of country instilled in us as kids in school. In my generation, at least in the rural schools that I attended, it was just sort of taken for granted sort of ‘yeah you’re Canadian, so what’ attitude.

It was after joining the Royal Canadian Legion and rubbing shoulders with those men and women who had served during two world wars and Korea that I started to understand that this was a country that was to be proud of. These people were proud enough of it that they went to war to defend the freedoms we have. They might not always be happy about what is happening in our country, but damn it, it is OUR country.

The flag we now fly so proudly was once strongly opposed by groups like the Legion. Once adopted, the members may have grumbled about “Pearson’s banner” but like it or hate it, that flag represented all that was Canada and the old sweats treated it with the same care and respect as the Red Ensign they had served under. It was from them that I learned that the flag and all that represents our country was to be treated with care and respect.

So, for better or worse, this country is the greatest in the world to live in and I’ll never surrender that belief.