Patriotism

Today is Canada Day. I have thus far not heard a single note of "O Canada," and have only seen one maple leaf flag. But then, the day is still young.

But! I have noticed an odd trend of stylized red maple leaves pasted onto signs of various stores and fast food eateries. Ontario's Pizza Pizza pops a spiny leaf smack dab in the middle of the last "a" (eh?). Wendy's? No more apostrophes for us! This is Canadian fast food because we have a maple leaf in between the "y" and "s." But my favo(u)rite by far has been McDonalds, the grand double-golden arches tattooed cunningly with a little red leaf as the "M"'s bellybutton! How very natural!

In Ottawa, I'm sure, the festivities run quite rampant, but we are not destined to arrive there for another few days, now cycling through the calm countryside, engaging with beautiful people and hoping for a bit of dryness.