Another guest entry from cousin San.
Another summer in the Maritimes is about to end. On my way to Ontario then home to Tucson, AZ. I find myself reflecting on the joys north of the border. I am a dual citizen but mostly Canadian. My parents and grandparents were from the Saint John, NB area so our family spent every summer down east from our home in Quebec. When I come back to visit, the calming spirit fills me for as long as I am here. Wish I could import the feeling but …guess I just have to come back each year.
It is the little things that I will miss. Walking in the park in Dartmouth, NS hearing Oh Canada over the loud speaker from the Naval Station across the harbour. Meeting people at the same park and they apologize for me stepping in their way. The politeness of people who actually let you go first when you only have 2 items and they have 10. Drivers who let you merge. My love of dulse, winegums, good jujubes, mars bars, butter tarts, Harvey’s hamburgers, Swiss Chalet (swiss chick) chicken and always having the french side of labels out in grocery stores it seemed. I had to remember the translations for harcourt (beans), betterabs (beets), pain (bread), biscuites (cookies) etc.
The friends both new and old as well as relatives, I will miss the most. What a special feeling to be so welcomed as only Maritimers do. Thank you all for helping me thru a summer that started out with such difficulty and ended with such love.
A new friend dropped over yesterday at my cousins to drop off a present of painted stones. Thanks Michelle. The stones below will always be cherished as a remembrance of that wonderful spirit that surrounds me above the border. Americans just don’t get it…with some exceptions.
