A Canadian Treasure to Share on Canada Day

There aren't too many songs that bring tears to my eyes every time I hear them but I'm sharing one here today that always does. And in a good way! 

For me, Gordon Lightfoot is one of the real treasures of Canada. This song came to mind when I was deciding what to write about for Canada Day.

His beautiful tribute to the building of the national railroad in Canada: Canadian Railroad Trilogy is a song that never gets stale. Lyrics that always touch my heart.

This video is from a concert in 1972. And check out those groovy threads!!! The "experts" said this song would never fly when it was released, much too long for radio air-time, at over 6 minutes. How wrong they were.

I've seen Gordon Lightfoot perform several times over the years. Including at his beloved Massey Hall in Toronto, his "home base" since the beginning of his career. He is a songwriter in a class of his own. And a survivor too, still performing after all these years and still with a loyal fan base.

Our family has had ties to the national railroads for many, many years. You can read more about that here including a rather romantic poem too!

Happy Canada Day wherever you may be!

Flag photo courtesy of Flickr

A Telemarketing Tale and Honoring Our Veterans

Sometimes, it IS worthwhile, listening for a minute or two when a telemarketer calls.

That happened to me this past week. I was busy on the computer typing away, when the phone rang. Rather than letting it click over to our answering machine, I decided to pick up. A young man on the other end of the line proceeded to tell me about the Memory Project an initiative to preserve the history of our veterans for school children across Canada. Apparently, this is something that is being dropped as regular curriculum in many of our provinces.

This nationwide bilingual project will create a record of Canada’s participation in the Second World War as seen through the eyes of thousands of veterans. The Memory Project will provide every living Second World War veteran with the opportunity to share their memories through oral interviews and digitized artifacts and memorabilia. These stories and artifacts will be available on this site for teachers, students and the general public.

I was so happy to hear about this initiative. How does the saying go... "if we ignore our history, we are destined to re-live it" .

I don't think we can ever do enough for the veterans of all the wars. And yet these are the people who are often forgotten or not recognized for their sacrifices and contributions after they return from their military duties. It is gratifying to know that there are still individuals and  organizations working to change that before it's too late. Not only are veterans going out to visit school children as part of this program, there is also an interactive online option where veterans can tell their stories from home and in turn they will be shared via the Internet.

So, not only did I learn about this wonderful program that touched on a subject that I hold near and dear to my heart.It also proved that sometimes, telemarketers can be worth listening to! :<) 

I guess we can learn from the most unexpected sources at times.