A column by Jeanne Hunter
In a letter to the Producer, Jeanne Hunter, from Corning, Sask., shared her sentiments for Canada Day:
“… As Canada’s 133rd birthday approaches, there are some definite moments when I have felt my heartbeat increase, stood taller at attention, and felt oh-so-safe and oh-so-proud. There is no prioritizing of these moments. They come and go and each at its time has filled me with … pride.
“Donovan Bailey in Atlanta, not once, but twice, not just winning, but beating the Americans. (You can’t get any more Canadian than feeling good about that.) Silken Laumann rowing to a third in Barcelona when she should have not been able to compete at all.
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“The snowbirds in formation, and then breaking in all directions, their red and white jet streams filling the blue skies.
“Sandra Schmirler and her teammates on the podium in Japan, gold medals around their necks. Rick Hansen. Terry Fox. The 3,000 Canadians singing ‘O Canada’ in Moscow in 1972 before that final game.
“Providing aid to the flood ravaged people in Quebec. Celine Dion. Wayne Gretzky. Mr. Dressup, who became a Canadian citizen after many years living here. The Musical ride. Maple syrup.
“An unbroken panorama on a prairie evening and knowing, no matter whose name is on the title for the land, this scene is mine.
“Oscar Peterson. Farley Mowat. The neighborliness that has never completely left Saskatchewan … and the presence in times of trouble and celebrations, of friends and family. Historic sites that keep our history alive…
“Pickerel. Block parties. Labatt’s beer commercials. Green, and then golden fields swaying in the prairie wind. …
“I am a Canadian.”
