A4

Greg Mulock
At the Desk

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Blue Rodeo. Maple Leaf hotdogs. Hockey Night In Canada.

All these things and more exemplify our great nation for me, in one way or another. Next Tuesday is Canada Day, our country's equivalent to the fourth of July celebration south of the border. It's a good time to fire up the barbecue and reflect on what being Canadian means.

Whereas the United States is the great melting pot, here we have so many identities – Maritimers, French Canadian, westerners, you name it. And yet together, we all make up the great Canadian mosaic.

For me, being Canadian means not having to worry about the cost when I need to see a doctor.

It means the pride I felt standing on a pier in Portland, Maine last summer with 3,000 other music fans, listening to the Black Crowes play Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere."

It means late August in Bathurst, when I can play golf in the morning, swim at Youghall Beach in the afternoon and watch the Acadie-Bathurst Titan play hockey in the evening.

It means taking pride in singer Celine Dion's great international success, even though I wouldn't sit through one of her concerts if my date was Annette Bening.

It means McCain french fries and Irving Mainways.

It means watching Trailer Park Boys and Wayne's World and Bob and Doug MacKenzie and thinking, "I used to know guys like that..."

It means remembering family vacations on Prince Edward Island and building a raft on the LaHave River in Nova Scotia.

It means listening to CBC Radio on Saturdays to hear the programs hosted by Brent Bambury and Randy Bachman.

It means watching J.D. Roberts on CNN News and remembering when he was a veejay on MuchMusic.

It means following the whole Maxime Bernier/Julie Couillard affair and thinking, "Who says Canadian politics are dull?"

It means taking pride in the role our soldiers had in the two world wars, and their current role in Afghanistan in the War Against Terror.

It means four seasons – sometimes in the same day, it seems.And perhaps most of all, it means freedom to kick back with friends and family on Canada Day, living in the moment and celebrating the privilege of living in the best country in the world.