Happy Birthday #150 Canada!
Under the heading: “Where Did The Time Go?”, I reflect with great fondness on my Canadian Experience on the 150th Anniversary of this great country.
I was living in Montreal in 1967 the year of the Centennial – having just arrived from England some 18 months previously. I was the typical fresh-off-the-boat immigrant, a wide-eyed ingénue, so happy to be in my new adopted homeland and feeling so welcomed by my new country. Although it was difficult leaving parents and family behind, nevertheless there was an excitement about the new life I was about to embark upon – new challenges, new lifestyle, new friends, all of which served to help weave the cloth of my new life in this wonderful land.
Expo 67, Canada’s 100th birthday celebration was a wondrous time. With Montreal literally playing host to the world. Île Ste-Hélène, Île Notre-Dame, Cité du Havre, La Ronde, these various location names that comprised Expo 67 have an almost magical ring to them. The incredible structures, for example, of the Canadian Katimavik, the US Pavilion, with the Buckminster Fuller Geodesic dome, the trapezoidal Russian pavilion, all incredible architectural masterpieces in their own right, allowing us an insight into the countries’ cultures. What a time was had!
And now we fast-forward 50 years to experience the next celebration – Canada’s Sesquicentennial. Hard to believe I am now 50 years older!
I have felt very privileged to be a part of this land, to make my contribution, however small and somewhat insignificant. I believe that as Canadians we have all been contributors to the building of this land, no matter the race, religion, political beliefs, etc., since, as Aristotle so succinctly opined: ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. This phrase aptly defines the modern concept of synergy —together, everyone achieves more.
“Set a good example for the world. If you are excellent, if you are of high quality, the world will imitate you.”
– Albert Schweitzer
