I recently read Mike Myers: Canada. You may know him as Wayne Campbell from WayneB次元官网网址檚 World on Saturday Night Live or Austin Powers, Dr. Evil or Shrek from his life in film.
The proud Canadian who often wears a Toronto Maple Leaf jersey has made many of us laugh for decades. He spent his first 20 years in Ontario before moving to the U.S.
B次元官网网址淔ame is a real experience,B次元官网网址� he wrote. B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 not a Canadian experience. And nothing about growing up in Canada prepares you for a public life.B次元官网网址�
Myers, 54, says he learned that fame has no intrinsic value and he is grateful for what being famous has brought him. He adores Canada.
B次元官网网址淢y American friends once accused me of enjoying being Canadian. Guilty as charged.B次元官网网址�
In discussing Canada, on its 150th birthday, Myers mentions how we are obsessed with statistics.
B次元官网网址淲ell, seven out of ten Canadians are obsessed with statistics. And of those seven, 25 per cent of themB次元官网网址ou get my point.B次元官网网址�
We also love lists and Myers informs his readers that Canada invented time zones, the telephone, the first steamship, Pablum, insulin, the chocolate bar, Greenpeace, lacrosse, IMAX film, the green garbage bag, the snowblower and of course Trivial Pursuit.
He also notes that Canadians love it when other countries mention Canada.
B次元官网网址淚 still get excited when I hear Carly SimonB次元官网网址檚 1972 song YouB次元官网网址檙e So Vain when she says, B次元官网网址楾hen you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun.B次元官网网址� My brothers and I would cheer when she mentioned Nova Scotia. I guess we thought this song was about us, didnB次元官网网址檛 we, didnB次元官网网址檛 we?B次元官网网址�
The youngest of three boys writes that America is comfortable with achievement while we arenB次元官网网址檛. He says Canadians are at a disadvantage when it comes to describing their childhood.
B次元官网网址淓nglish people have Lord of the Flies, Harry Potter, Mary Poppins or even Bend It Like Beckham. Americans haveB次元官网网址nything by Disney. Canadians, on the other hand, got nothinB次元官网网址�. Therefore, when I try to describe my Canadian childhood, I often feel like IB次元官网网址檓 describing a dream I had.
B次元官网网址淭ry explaining to a non-Canadian The Friendly Giant. Or Mr. Dressup. Or Danny Gallivan. Or Howie Meeker. Or StompinB次元官网网址� Tom. Or Don Cherry. Or Lanny McDonald. Or Eddie Shack. Or Cherry Lolas. Or the Food Building. Or the PNE, Or Le bonhomme de neige. Or Luba. Newfoundland. Or Lotta Hitschmanova. Or the Roughriders, and then, of course, the Rough Riders. Or St. Johns and St. John. It was all a dreamB次元官网网址r was it?B次元官网网址�
MyersB次元官网网址� dad, Eric, loved comedy and made MikeB次元官网网址檚 friends tell a joke or a funny story whenever they came over to the family home in Scarborough. Eric was a die hard Liverpool fan but after moving to Canada, saw hockey as an B次元官网网址渋mprovementB次元官网网址� on soccer.
Fame has allowed Myers to get up close and personal with Wayne Gretzky, John Candy, Gilda Radner, Lorne Michaels, Barack Obama, Pierre Trudeau, Justin Trudeau and Phil Hartman, just to name a few.
He has not let fame change him, but rather give him a deeper appreciation for being Canadian. He gets a charge when people greet him when heB次元官网网址檚 back home in Canada.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l be on the street and a fellow Canadian will say, B次元官网网址楳ikeB次元官网网址amloops!B次元官网网址� And thatB次元官网网址檚 it. Nothing else has to be said. I love that!B次元官网网址�
On the last page, Myers wishes the country a happy birthday and says B次元官网网址渨ithout you, IB次元官网网址檇 be nothing.B次元官网网址�
He writes: B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 so confident in CanadaB次元官网网址檚 future. We know ourselves now. I canB次元官网网址檛 wait for my kids, who are American, to be old enough to be proud that their old man comes from that cool country to the north that has tried harder that any other country in the history of the world to get it rightB次元官网网址anada may not have put a man on the moon, but itB次元官网网址檚 been awfully nice to the man on earth. And perhaps that will be CanadaB次元官网网址檚 greatest legacy.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址�-Kevin Mitchell is the sports editor and newsroom funnyman at the Vernon Morning Star.
