January 3 1994
My Canada Includes....
Diane Brady, Maclean's
RICK GREEN, comedian and host of TVOntario's Prisoners of Gravity.
I love Canadians' lack of fashion sense. Our GQ magazine is the Canadian Tire catalogue. Winter is simply so brutal that we give up caring about how stupid we look in parkas, tuques and big rubber boots. Our weather keeps us well behaved. Could you imagine the Los Angeles riots erupting in Winnipeg in February? You can really tell winter from summer here. In winter, icicles dangle from your nose; in summer, you can bake potatoes on your car's upholstery.
I like living in a country where adults still announce I'll never understand the metric system as long as I live' and be proud of it. I also like the fact that we have more natural beauty and more tolerance and true freedom than any other country--and absolutely no appreciation of it. We have matured from a nation of two solitudes to a nation of about 43 solitudes.