USA VS CANADA- THANKSGIVING DAY DIFFERENCES

My favourite internet information source states that, “Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.” I have much to be thankful for over these past twelve months and I sure hope you do as well.


The United States of America is our closest neighbour, trading partner and ally. Because of its geographical closeness to Canada, Canadians have been inundated with American television for over 60 years. I’m going to go out on a limb here and also say that Canadians were taught a lot more about American history than Americans have been taught about Canadian history, so…short story long…as usual…between the TV and the history lessons, Canadians are very well acquainted with the American story of the first Thanksgiving by the Pilgrims at Plymouth in 1621.

Following the Pilgrims’ historical Great Britain roots the event was both a religious thanksgiving as well as a harvest festival and over time it evolved into a single day Thanksgiving event. Many state governors began to recognize an annual “Thanksgiving Day” and the custom quickly spread to many other regions of the country culminating in President Abraham Lincoln declaring it a national holiday in 1863. Many of the states had celebrated Thanksgiving Day on different dates until Lincoln’s proclamation made it the last Thursday in November.

One of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in Canada may be attributed to British explorer Martin Frobisher. Frobisher and his fifteen ship expedition were searching for the Northwest Passage and his last voyage definitely wasn’t “third time’s the charm” as he encountered ice and freak storms which scattered his fleet. Upon the ships and crews finally meeting safely together again in what is now called “Frobisher Bay” on Baffin Island the expedition’s minister led them all in a prayer to be “thankefull to God for their strange and miraculous deliverance in those so dangerous places.”

Years later, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, in 1604 onwards also held huge feasts of thanks. After the Seven Years' War ended in 1763, with New France handed over to the British, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving days were observed beginning in 1799 but did not occur every year.

After the American Revolution, American refugees who remained loyal to Great Britain moved from the newly independent United States and came to Canada. They brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada, such as the turkey, pumpkin, and squash.

Currently we Canadians celebrate our Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday in October. The reason for the earlier date has often been attributed to the early onset of winter in our northern climate, thus ending harvest season earlier. Prior to Confederation, and similar to our American neighbours, Thanksgiving didn’t have a fixed date as individual governors of the Canadian provinces declared their own days of Thanksgiving, but by the end of the 19th century the date of November the 6th had been established as Thanksgiving Day. However, when World War I ended the Armistice Day holiday was usually held during the same week so to prevent the two holidays from clashing with one another, in 1957 the Canadian Parliament proclaimed Thanksgiving to be observed on its present date on the second Monday of October.

Hopefully you will be thankful for my Thanksgiving history and the reasons why Canadians and Americans celebrate the holiday in a similar manner but on different dates. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving long weekend feasting with friends and family. I know I will.

“Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.”-Amy Grant (1960-).

A HARVEST-TIME STORY FOR YOU

By the time you read this we will officially be in autumn. September 23rd, 2015 is the first day of autumn. I’ve got mixed feelings about autumn in that it is such a visually beautiful time of the year but the shorter, cooler days are something I could do without. I guess you have to take the good with the bad though.


This time of year always reminds me of harvesting the crops. I had the good fortune of working on my sister and brother-in-law’s farm during a couple of harvests in the middle 1970’s when I was just out of high school. I drove truck during the harvest and things were a little different than they are today. Equipment wise that is.

My brother-in-law and his brother farmed two sections of land and they had a couple of smaller self-propelled combines and the truck I used to haul the grain back to the bins was an aptly named 1942 International Harvester. It was a long time ago but my memory tells me that the truck box held about 200 bushels of grain so I ran pretty steady trying to keep up to the two combines.

I had a great time during those harvests. We worked hard but we had fun, too. We built a lot of great memories during those long days and short nights. If the weather held we could cover a lot of ground, too.

One year we finished up our crops and moved over to help a neighbour finish off his last field before a fast moving thunderstorm was about to hit. We barely got the grain in the bin and the equipment into the shop before the skies opened up. Great timing! We were pretty excited that everything was finished and a celebration was in order.

However, my brother-in-law’s brother had promised his father-in-law that we would move over to his land and combine his swathed durum starting the next day. We all thought that the rain would have been pretty wide-spread so we weren’t too worried about the celebration going a little long and hard that night. As luck, or back luck as it were, would have it, the durum crop was completely missed by the rain and was dry as a bone and ready to go bright and early the next day. We, on the other hand, were not, but there was very little choice so we had to suck it up and go.

The farm we were going to was close to forty miles away and we had to drive the equipment to the durum field at an average speed of 11 miles an hour, or something, and it was about 37C that day. Pounding head, sandpaper mouth, no air conditioner, one radio station, water and aspirin for lunch, Rolaids for a snack…what a ride! Needless to say that was one of the longest, hottest, dry-mouthed rides I have ever had to make!

As I recall we didn’t get a lot accomplished in the field before the sun went down that day but we did manage to get a few rounds off before we called it a night. We were offered a full harvest meal and anything we wanted to drink. I was able to eat by then but I think coffee was the beverage of choice that particular day.

As I cruise the area roads I see a lot of crop has been harvested with more still to come in some areas but it looks like things are winding down a bit now. If you’ve been harvesting I hope it went well for you and I’m pretty sure there will be more than a story or two to tell once the grain’s in the bin.

“And Fall, with her yeller harvest moon and the hills growin’ brown and golden under a sinkin’ sun.”-Roy Bean (1825-1903).

THE NEW FALL LINEUP

Here we are with another Labour Day weekend behind us and “normal” ahead of us. Another summer season having passed into the memory banks once again. Now it’s time to settle into the upcoming fall season as we harvest in the garden produce and get the canners and pickle jars out. Those of you with crop in the field I wish you all the best in your harvest efforts and may the weatherman be on your side.


He/She sure wasn’t very kind to us at all during the 2015 version of the Labour Day Long Weekend as it seems that a door was slammed shut on summer-like weather and the cool daylight shortened days door was opened to us far too quickly.

While doing a review of all of the activities that we have enjoyed this past summer and checking on the old ToDo List of Home Repairs show me that there seemed to have been a lot more fun activities than work related activities this past summer. I’m okay with that, though, but I am going to need a pretty fair long fall season to get caught up on my procrastinated handyman chores.

Speaking of the fall season we are constantly being reminded of the new upcoming television lineups as the networks are unveiling some new shows while bringing back some old favourites and rekindling bygone beauties like The Muppets. I love the Muppets and I can hardly wait to see what they are offering in this new version of the old show. We Baby Boomers are a nostalgic lot and we cannot get enough of the old stuff it seems.

Like most, I probably watch too much TV anyway but I’m kind of looking forward to the new fall television season, in between the Blue Jays and Rider games, of course. I’m not a big “Reality” show fan though, because none of it really seems real for me so I’ll stick to news, sports and weather for my reality check.

Speaking of reality I’ve got a couple of pet peeves when it comes to the networks’ efforts on making things “real”. Like using empty coffee cups all of the time and expecting the viewers to accept that they are actually filled with liquid. Why not just fill them with water or something so they don’t look totally fake? Hmmmm? Would it be that difficult? I know it’s television and it’s all fake but they could try a little harder to not assume everyone is a dumb-ass couldn’t they?

Same thing with the keyboard usage whenever there is computer work being done on a TV show. Why is it that everyone else in the world but a Hollywood character uses their mouse the majority of the time while they’re on their computer? Maybe I’m being a bit picky but it just irritates me to no end. Who does that? Clicking away at a keyboard like a madman when a couple of clicks of the mouse is what normal people would do. They seem to go out of their way to make all of the blood n guts and gory details of murdered bodies look as real as possible so why not all of the little details? Is that too much to ask?

As usual, we’ll be seeing some winners and some losers but for the most part the New Fall Lineup will give its intended entertainment value despite the flaws and I’m ready for it.



“Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your home.” David Frost (1939-2013).

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

            I've been a lazy blogger this summer, sorry to say. It's been so beautiful and we've been so busy and being a Saskatchewan boy I know that I've got to make hay when the sun shines which means that when the weather allows it I have to be outside. I could write outside, I guess, but there's always way too much on the old to-do list to sit and peck away in the sun.
            I hadn't posted anything on this blog since we left for a vacation to the BC interior so I've added a few of my weekly columns. Have a look. Once the fall settles in and the summer activities slow down I'll be posting up some more stuff.            

IT'S OVER

            I seem to be suffering from the Post-Family-Reunion-Blues. You know how it is. You anticipate and wait and wait and wait for an event like a family or class reunion or a wedding or a vacation or something and then before you know it...there it was...gone.

            So it was for the 2nd Annual Rose and Lowell Hubbard Family Reunion that was just held in Regina on the weekend of the 14th, 15th and 16th of August. Our family has had many gatherings similar to this year's version but this is the second one that we have had since Mom passed away in 2013.

            Mom's birthday is the 30th of August so for the past while the family has traditionally met around this time of the year to celebrate her birthday anyway but as Mom's age advanced and her health slowed her down she made all of us promise to continue the gatherings even after she was gone. I'm pretty sure we would have continued to meet anyway but it's always a good idea to listen to your Mother.

            This year it was even more important that we get as many members of the family together as possible as the Hubbard sisters and brothers were down a sibling after our brother Jack recently passed. We all have to make the best of the time we have here on good ol' Mother Earth because things can change in a hurry and you just never know how different things may be in a twelve month span.

            My bluesy mood can also be attributed to the fact that our summer is dwindling down all too soon. As we tick off the summer events calendar we are reminded that there are more summer days behind us than in front of us. British Columbia vacation...tick...July 1st long weekend...tick...Geezerball Baseball Tournament...tick...August Long Weekend...tick...2nd Annual Family Reunion...tick...

            Then again, there are still two weeks left until Labour Day so there's a bit of time to cram in some more summer-type events. Hopefully the heat haters haven't been too efficient in their collective wishing for cooler temperatures but I'm afraid that's  also wishful thinking on my part. We did go from 37C to 12C for daytime high temperatures in 48 hours over this past weekend, though. Just saying. Are ya happy now? Brrrrrr...... 

            I guess the rapid drop in temperatures makes the retail outlets look pretty smart as it's a lot easier to buy a parka right now than it is a bathing suit. Go figure. What did they know that nobody else knows? Hmmmm? Was it a fluke? Yes, it was a fluke,  is the answer to that question  because there seems to be a jump on the next season's product lines earlier and earlier every year regardless of what the weather's doing. But I think I'm going to lump them in with the heat haters, too, as far as cold weather-wishing culprits go. Thanks a lot.

            Now I've just gone from bluesy to downright cranky so I'm going to follow some more of my Mom's advice and say nothing more if I don't have anything nice to say at all.

            "Nothing helps a bad mood like spreading it around."-Bill Watterson (1958-).

PHOTO SPEED ENFORCEMENT....MY VIEW

            Has anyone else been caught by the famed “Photo Speed Enforcement” program? No? Lucky you! I have and for me it sure created some mixed feelings about the whole process.

            My first thoughts on Photo Speed Enforcement ticketing is that it was lazy policing. How easy is it to set up a few cameras and catch speeders as they fly by? And where's the "human element"? What about discretion? What if there was a very valid excuse for speeding? Say... sudden explosive diarrhea? Or your wife is in intense labour pains and she's this close to delivering the baby? Will the camera know for sure?

            Actually those are bad examples. I don't think that if I was experiencing either one of those situations that I'd like a Police Officer pulling me over at any time. I'd take my Photo Enhanced speeding ticket lumps and get to the nearest restroom or hospital but I think you know what I mean.

            However, let's back it up to the $118.00 speeding ticket that I received in the mail that shocked and angered me. I'm like..."what the deuce? When the heck was this? Was this me?" because I'm not a speeder. No, really! I know everyone says that but I'm not! This is the third speeding ticket in my life and I've been driving for forty-plus years. And some of those years I was driving for a living and logging a ton of miles on the road. Oh sure, like most, I'll maybe push the limit a bit but I'm not a 20-30 kliks an hour over the speed limit kind of driver.

            You know what, though? Turns out that it was definitely me, or our truck with the very noticeable HUBZ vanity plate on the rear bumper. It was also the day of my oldest brother's funeral in Medicine Hat and we were on our way to the funeral home at the time of the ticket so it was definitely me driving. And I know that.

             Distracted driving? Yes, kind of, I guess. I was about to deliver my brother's eulogy in a short amount of time and I probably didn't have my head in the driving game. But that's no excuse. I was speeding through a school zone that I had driven through probably a hundred times or more. A school zone! 44km/hour in a 30 km zone. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Again, no excuses! Lazy policing?? I think not. Did I deserve the ticket? Damn right I did. Smarten up! Pay attention...you are endangering children's lives here!

            Let's back up again to the earlier point about discretion and the "human element". Maybe there are a few drivers who could schmooz their way out of the occasional ticket, or something, and there will always be the odd "judgment" call but the percentages would be so miniscule that, in my humble opinion, it doesn't offset the good that can be accomplished by policing our roads 24-7-365 with the technology that is available to us today.(I.E.-Photo Speed Enforcement).

            Do you know how many people speed through school zones and road crew work zones? Do you have any idea how many Highway Patrolmen, Highway Traffic Officers and road construction workers have been killed or maimed by drivers who were speeding or impaired or just plain inept at their driving skills? Even one is too many and we know that the number is a lot higher than that.

            I've put on an awful lot of kilometers on many vehicles over many years and my observance is that there are more people on the road than ever before and there are a lot more speeders than ever before. And excessive speeds, too. When they pass you like you are standing still going 110km/hour then we need to do something about it. And if it's too dangerous to police our highways with actual Police Officers then what are we left to do?

            On July 13th, 2015 a 19-year-old woman was clocked at 195kms/hour (121mph) on the Trans Canada highway west of Regina at 11o'clock in the morning. 195 Kilometers per hour!! I don't care, nobody should be going that fast and we shouldn't even be manufacturing domestic vehicles with those kinds of speed capabilities. It's just too dangerous. If you want speed there are places for that kind of thing. If you have a death wish at 19-years-old then have at 'er honey but take up cliff jumping or rock climbing or parachuting or shoot yourself out of a cannon if you love speed so much but don't drive down one of the busiest public roadways in the country 85 kilometers an hour over the speed limit endangering the lives of every other person on the road.

            Photo Speed Enforcement isn't cheap or cheesy or lazy policing. It is simply using the tools and technology at hand to reduce high-risk behaviour while lowering fatalities on our roadways and increasing public safety. That can't be a bad thing, can it?

"Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands.", Jeff Cooper (1920-2006).

MEN BEING BOYS

            There appears to be a few items to discuss this week. Surviving and thriving at the fun-filled Hotter Than Hades Twilighter ball tournament, the rarity of the upcoming Blue Moon and the Saskatchewan Day mid-summer long weekend are all subjects that I’d like to touch on this time around.

            This past weekend the Eden Valley Senators baseball team travelled to Estevan as it was the host community for this year’s Master’s Twilight Baseball Tournament and Estevan’s designation as “Canada’s Sunshine Capital” was clearly on display as the sun shone brightly and the temperatures hit the mid-to-high 30C range throughout the three days of the tournament. Except for a brief and scary thunderstorm that hit late in the afternoon on Friday, the weather was sunny and hot, followed by sunny and hotter.

            Most teams would be a little whiny about having to play two out of their four games at eight o’clock in the morning but it was the best time of the day to escape the extreme heat of the afternoon games and even this heat lover appreciated the lower temperatures early in the day. Mind you, given the choice between playing in the heat over shivering through the drizzle and the 10C weather that we had to endure a few years ago at the tournament in Davidson, I’ll take the heat any time. They don’t call them the “Boys of SUMMER” for nothing. Besides, heat, within reason, is a lot better on the old muscles and bones than the cold is; but that’s just me.

            Once again, the fun level was higher than the baseball ability level but we don’t really care too much about that. It’s become the baseball-family reunion for the members of our team and their extended families. Some of the children of the players cannot even remember a summer when they haven’t attended a twilighter ball tournament. The player’s wives and children have always attended every game and our Eden Valley Wives & Kids Fan Club have become more well-known for their support of the team and their cheering style than the guys have with their ball playing ability on the field. It might even be easier for us to play the games than it is for them to watch us play but they are there every time.

            But, you know, as usual we had some great plays and some bad plays.  Ken Ede cracked a home run, which is always exciting, and there were just as many fine baseball plays on the field, like Daryle Roth’s running grab of a fly ball, as there were Keystone Kops “what the heck are they doing out there???” plays. Either way, it was pretty good entertainment.

            It was another eventful year as a few of our players accepted some long-term awards, including yours truly, which is a testament to our love of the game and commitment to the team. At times, it was hard to know if our muscles hurt more from laughing or playing, which is a good sign, and there’s never a lack of painkiller available in liquid, salve or pill form. There was even a bit of white lightening that somehow found its way into the campground, strictly for medicinal purposes, mind you, but now I’m starting to cross the line of “what happens at Twilighters stays at Twilighters” so that’s about all I’m going to say on that subject. Suffice to say it was another unforgettable tournament and it’ll be hard to top this latest version for fun but we’re ready to give it our best shot this time again next year.

            Now that I’ve taken up all the allotted room talking about the Twilighter tournament I will mention that this weekend it is both a Blue Moon on Friday the 31^st of July and Saskatchewan Day on Monday, August 3^rd. Too bad the Blue Moon wasn’t this past weekend while we were playing some of our baseball because, who knows, maybe it would have altered our results, but I digress. 

             Have a look at this Blue Moon as we won’t get another one until 2018 and then we get two…January and March and there hasn’t been a Blue Moon since August of 2012 so these celestial events are rarer than one would think.

            I don’t think the Saskatchewan Day Long weekend will quite compare to this past weekend’s fun a frivolity of the Annual Twilighter Pilgrimage but we’ll give it our best shot to have a fun filled weekend. I hope you do, too. Happy Saskatchewan Day everyone!

“A happy family is but an earlier heaven.”-George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950).