Many of you already know my affection for the ability to convey meaning with concision. I came across this today and wondered if any of my friends on these forums had any thoughts they'd like to share.

"Canada is the linchpin of the English-speaking world. Canada, with those relations of friendly, affectionate intimacy with the United States on the one hand and with her unswerving fidelity to the British Commonwealth and the Motherland on the other, is the link which joins together these great branches of the human family, a link which, spanning the oceans, brings the continents into their true relation and will prevent in future generations any growth of division between the proud and the happy nations of Europe and the great countries which have come into existence in the New World." - Winston Churchill, Speech given at a luncheon in honour of Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, Mansion House, London, September 4, 1941.

I greatly admire Winston Churchill's use of the English Language. I have a small journal in which I collect any item which moves me. I have Lincoln's Gettysburg address and his eloquent letter to Mrs. Bixby tucked away in there. Also, I have this:

"Good night then:
Sleep to gather strength for the morning. For the morning WILL come.
Brightly will it shine on the brave and the true, kindly on all who suffer for the cause, glorious upon the tombs of heroes.
Thus will shine the dawn."

Winston Churchill
From a radio broadcast to occupied Europe.

I am a student of World War II history, and I can only imagine what it would have been like to be lying in the darkness of the Nazi occupation and hear those words of comfort delivered in Winston Churchill's gravely, determined voice.

i have always liked this one, its from 'Leaves of Grass'

This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.-– Walt Whitman

i wish we lived in a world more like this.

bigjohn

that's funny Tom! Winston Churchill actually had a very unhealthy dislike for WLMK.

You know, when I started the thread, I was really looking for reflections upon Canada. But I am so much more greatly enriched by those responses from Jack and John. They are both new to me, and inspiring beyond measure. Thank you so much for sharing.

"Use what talents you have; the woods would have little music if no birds sang their song except those who sang best." - Reverend Oliver G. Wilson

Oh, well, then canada is cool too..

at least thats what people tell me.. i would like to visit, but man, thats one hell ofa' drive..

bigjohn

Well I'm Canadian and although I usually don't watch the news much, more often than naught when I watch a news story or read about something going on in the world I am very happy and proud to be Canadian.

BigJohn, yes it is a hell of a drive. I know because a friend and I drove from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Dallas, Texas - STRAIGHT.

It was about three or four years ago during reading week. It was cold here and my buddy and I gave each other 30 mins to pack before we started driving. We didn't have a plan so we just told people we were going to keep driving until it got warm.

24 hours of straight driving later we got to Dallas. I still remember that weekend!

From all I've seen and heard, Canada seems like a wonderful country. Haven't visited since I was 2. A fishing trip would be nice one day though. Make sure you guys don't catch them all.
My doctor is Canadian-born. He's a saint for what he does helping less fortunate children.

several questions..

what is "reading week"??
where you just coming to dallas for the warmth??
what did you do in the 'big d', once you got there??

hope you didnt drive straight south thru nebraska, kansas, and oklahoma!! if so, that had to be the most boring drive in the history of road-trips!! and if you would have kept driving to where i live, you can tack on another 4 hours to the trip..

i am prety much 4 hours, or more, from everything.

bigjohn

HEY, THAT WAS MY 200TH POST..

i think im gonna cry.. *sobb*-*sobb*

im a local now baby..

bigjohn

Oh John. Thanks for the Whitman. Wonderful! However, as the owner of an Axiom setup I have a little trouble with the "despise riches" thing, because I feel undeservedly rich. With apologies to those who don't like this kind of music, I'm sitting here, right now, enriching my soul with Nat King Cole.

Tom, apologies for missing the point. I can't say much about Canada because I've never been there. I think of Canadians as respected cousins. I can only hope that they feel about their country as I feel about mine. It's home.

"Count no day lost in which you waited your turn, took only your share, and sought advantage over no one." - Robert Brault

I believe it was Winston Churchill who said (or it could have been Big Bird): "America and England are two great countries separated by a common language." I'm almost positive the quote includes Canada by reference.

The did us a solid when they saved a large number of Americans from the Iran hostage crisis during Carter's administration by taking them into the Canadian embassy.

We get to Toronto quite a bit and it's a warm, friendly country. Matter of fact, I'm wearing a flannel tie in their honor today, hey. Long live the MacKenzie brothers. I bleed Labatt's.

BigJohn
I was fortunate to make that very scenic drive last winter. Myself and 3 friends took in Mardi Gras last Feb/Mar. We drove nearly straight through on the way down. On the Wednesday morning after Mardi Gras, we hopped in the van @ around 8:00 a.m. and headed for Dallas. We caught a hockey game there that evening and we were back in the van around 10:00 or so. We drove straight through the night/morning/afternoon/evening and made it back to Winnipeg around 8:00 p.m. (as I recall). I would assume the rental agency was all too happy to take that van back, what with 4 guys living, eating (steady diet of beef jerkey and McDonald's), sleeping in the van. I'm sure it would have been prettier if we'd parked it at a rendering plant with the windows rolled down for the 10 days.

Another Winnpegan?
Our ranks are growing.

BigJohn, reading week would be spring break. I forget when it actually was but I know it wasn't too warm here. We didn't really aim for Dallas for warmth per se but we just pointed the car south and drove untill we could wear shorts! We didn't really even have a good destination for the border guard. He asked us where we were headed and we said somewhere warm! Now don't tell me that kind of ambigous answer would fly in this day and age!

We stayed in a hotel in the downtown area, entirely by chance. It was walking didtance to an area I think that is called "The Market?" It's like a street with restaurants and bars with no cars and people walking around drinking. Sunday we picked up tickets to a Stars game and then went to a place called "The Red Jacket". Which was a blast. I forget the name of the area it was in, something like deep ellom.

Yes, that seems to be the route we took. Lincoln and Oklahoma city were two places we went through. All in allnot the most scenic trip ever. But if you think that it's the most boring trip ever you havn't driven Winnipeg to Edmonton. There is a cure for insomnia, it's called Saskatchewan.

ah, spring break.. we usually go to the texas coast(padre island), or if we had money, i would fly to tampa bay and stay with my aunt for the week. at least i could save hotel fees.

you were probably near the 'market square'.. cool place, kinda touristy, but still fun. the stars were probably playing in 'reunion arena' then, now they have built the 'american airlines arena', which is just huge.. it is the first and only triple decker indoor arena i have ever been in.. and 'deep ellum' is a really cool place.. it used to be the 'bad' part of dallas, but a bunch of investors went in, fixed it up, and turned it into a bar/club mecca.. you can find everything from heavy metal to techno to rap.. all depends on your mood that evening.. i like to go there when i go to dallas. more locals hang there.

dallas is a fun town, as long as you can stand the traffic. but i guess that goes with any big city..

bigjohn

Tom, while we're sharing quotes, mine are labour related but that's what moves me:

"We'll hold this line until hell freezes over - then we'll hold it on ice skates" - Anonymous picket sign

"The fight is never about grapes or lettuce, it is always about people" - Cesar Chavez, UFW

"The superior person understands rightness; the inferior person understands profit" - Confucius

"While there is a lower class -- I am in it;
While there is a criminal element -- I am of it;
And while there is a soul in prison, I am not free"
- Eugene Debs, co-founder IWW

"Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living" - Mother Jones

Wow. You Canadians seem to be a uniformly socially-conscious bunch.

How about, from the ever eloquent Janis Joplin:

"It's all the same f***ing day, man."