But especially to my own beloved country of Canada which is 150 years old today.
(YIKES! And I thought I felt old.)
Isn't it strange that a person is "old" at 65 but a country is still considered very "young" at 150?
God bless history.
Have a safe long weekend everyone.
Here's a quick, "Canadian" memory of mine:
When I was a teenager I went on a student exchange for my high school and found myself in Canada's capital city of Ottawa.
My friend and I were wandering around the grounds of our Parliament Buildings while we had some free time, but we didn't realize there was actually an official event just beginning. Before we knew it, we had ended up actually trapped behind a group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (aka. Mounties) actually on horseback when they suddenly all came to attention (the policemen AND their horses).
We suddenly realized that we were, where we should NOT have been. But the dignitaries had already started arriving (and by carriage no less). My friend and I wanted out of there badly but we were literally trapped behind the horses and could not have escaped without some of them actually moving out of our way. We decided it was better to just quietly stand still and wait it out.
One of the Mounties made eye contact with me and gave an almost imperceptible nod to show that he both understood our dilemma and agreed with our choice to stay put and stand still. My greatest fear was that one of the horses would get "spooked" with us behind them but they are the best trained in the world, so I need not have been concerned.
So my friend and I stood quietly and tried to "look casual" as our brand new Governor General, (the representative of the Queen of England to Canada and the first woman to hold that position) "The Right Honorable Jeanne Sauve" arrived by her carriage, She was welcomed by our Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau and several other dignitaries just a few feet away from us.
The entire event was also televised across Canada and I remember wondering if anybody we knew was watching and recognizing us.
"Hey. That can't be Laura-Lee and Kim standing behind those RCMP horses, could it?"
"Knowing them, ... Oh YES, it could!"
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| Mdme Sauve (We were standing about 15 meters to her left) |
"Thank you, Jesus, for your 'multiplied mercies' ".
"But also, 'thank you' for allowing me to be in some of the most prestigious places in history by allowing me to just "bumble" into them in my own 'special' way".
By the way. I also learned that each of the Mountie's horses have a Maple Leaf (Canada's symbol) shaved into the hair of their butts from the "exalted" place I was standing.
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| RCMP Horses Rump Hail the "Maple Leaf Forever" |
Happy Birthday, Canada. I love you, Ol' Girl.
And also a nod to my friend, Kim, who shared the entire thing with me. What's also funny is that once the event was over and we were free to leave, I took a picture of Kim that ended up in the school yearbook. But we never told anybody the details of the situation. Only that it was "Kim at the Parliament Buildings".
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| Kim |
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| Arch at the Canadian Parliament Buildings A direct quote from Psalm 72:8 "He shall have dominion from sea to sea" (KJV) |
Follow the LINK below if you want to hear "The Shat" do his own version of Canada's National Anthem. (William Shatner is Canadian if you didn't already know).
William Shatner Sings "O CANADA" YouTube LINK
Love Laura-Lee [who] Was Here
