Tag: canada

Cross the Border

That’s it. I’m leaving the country tonight. Just you wait and see. When I go to sleep tonight I will not be in the United States of America.

That sounds super dramatic but let me assure you it is not. It’s true, but it’s not what it seems. It’s not some politically motivated emigration. It’s more like it gets me where I am going.

My step son’s girlfriend is from Michigan, near(ish) to Detroit. Her family is going through some stuff right now (no, it’s none of your business) and my step son, my wife, and I are heading there to show a little moral support (no I am not sharing specifics. As previously stated, it’s none of your business). 

My step son and his girlfriend are both students at schools in Burlington, VT. The best highway route involves first driving North across the Canadian border into Quebec, and then driving Southwest past a couple of Great Lakes and recrossing the border into Michigan. Staying in the US involves detouring around those Great Lakes which adds hours to the trip. 

So the plan tonight is to punch out of work (about 15 minutes from now), load up the car, drive to Burlington to pick up Harry, then drive to a hotel just across the border. Then tomorrow at the crack of dawn start heading around those big lakes. On Saturday we will repeat the route in reverse.

Given the situation in the fascist states of america right now though… leaving Canada is going to be tough. There are a lot of reasons not to leave once you’re there, you know? I’ll do it, but it will be tough, that’s all I’m saying.

Duel Citizenship

I have had three people recently tell me that they might qualify for citizenship to a country in Europe. Given the direction the USA is heading, I am seriously jealous. In 2017 there was talk of Ireland offering levels of citizenship to people whose family originated there. My paternal great-grandparents were from Ireland, but that was too far removed for me to qualify for anything.

Today, purely out of jealousy, I looked to a couple of other options. My maternal grandparents were born in Newfoundland. At the time it was still a British Dominion, not a Canadian province. What the hell, I checked on both options. Canada was a no. It said there might be possibilities if my grandparents served in the armed forces or worked for the government. My grandfather was a fisherman. He planned to enlist in the navy during World War I but the war ended just before his 18th birthday so he did not sign up. My grandmother was a house keeper. No government service at all.

I looked at the UK too, though after Brexit why would anyone want to sign up for UK citizenship? Since Newfoundland was British when my grandparents were born, the Google reported to me that there was a 13% chance I would qualify. How it came up with 13% I don’t know, but when I dug even a tiny bit deeper it was clear the answer was no.

Maybe I could hire a lawyer to dig a little and pull some legal strings. You know… just in case the USA continues it’s trend of flushing itself down the crapper. Just to have options, you know? Not that I would ever leave… it would be nice to know I had somewhere to go if I needed to… not that I would.

Kids in the Hall

The Kids in the Hall are back with the first new season since 1995 and it’s glorious. Instead of writing skits where they pretend to be old people, they actually are old people and it’s amazing.

The Headcrusher comes back in episode four and it’s incredible.

The old naked men part… that’s not so great, but everything else is phenomenal.

Thank you, Kids in the Hall. Thank you for coming back to us, especially when you’re not naked.

Dunville

My mother’s parents both came from a nowhere town in Newfoundland called Dunville. They didn’t actually meet until they moved to Boston, but they did live in the same nowhere town.

Actually, I don’t know that it’s a nowhere town. I don’t know anything about it except that there were people named Power there and other people named Murphy.

I also know that Google Maps says the drive, including two ferry rides, would take about 26 hours.

We should go there.