A Californian In Canada
Senseless Memory

This is my third autumn in Canada, and while the sharp, clear distinctions between seasons—brisk mornings, leaves changing colors, frost on the pumpkin or least my old Chrysler—bring back memories of my high school years in Western Pennsylvania, there is one thing I simply cannot adjust to. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in early October.

We Need A Little Halloween

To begin with, even this far north, the weather is all wrong on the second Monday of October for Thanksgiving. Yes it’s fall, but to paraphrase Linus van Pelt, the air’s all wrong. Then there’s the three-day holiday weekend. In America Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday and while the following day is not a legal holiday, millions of Americans make it a four day holiday weekend by playing hooky from work and indulging in an orgy of commercialism gorging themselves on Black Friday bargain hunting.

In Canada, while the actual holiday is on a Monday, most Canadians have their family feast on Thanksgiving weekend Sunday and spend the actual Thanksgiving day wearing off a food coma and snacking on leftovers.

And on top of it all, they have the audacity to revel in Black Friday madness and countless hours of football during American Thanksgiving weekend.



Never mind the fact that Halloween isn’t for another three weeks, my real problem with Thanksgiving being so early in the fall season is a lifetime of feeling and believing that the end of Thanksgiving day marks the official beginning of the Christmas Holiday Season.

Or as my dad used to say, “the leftovers are wrapped up and the Christmas lights are up,” and on.

I can’t help myself, the day after Canadian Thanksgiving dinner, the Holiday Spirt naturally begins to rise within me. I have to consciously tell myself that it’s okay that so many of the homes in my neighborhood are decorated with all manner of ghosts, goblins, and ghouls, and not brightly colored lights, dancing elves, and prancing reindeer.

“it’s okay that so many of the homes in my neighborhood are decorated with all manner of ghosts, goblins, and ghouls”

I find myself unconsciously slipping into humming Christmas carols as I go throughout the day. Four out of five of my favorite internet radio stations are Christmas music channels of one type or another.

Every trip to Costco is a major struggle to keep from spending hours, not to mention hundreds of dollars, in their seasonal decorating, wrapping and lighting aisles, which the bastards have had up since late August.

And so it goes day after day, week after week, until finally the last “Fun Size” Trick or Treat candy has been given out and we finally arrive at November the 12th.

November 11th, Remembrance Day, known as Veterans Day in America, is a major solemn occasion in Canada, commemorated by bloodletting as millions of Canadians stab themselves with symbolic poppies mounted on the heads of little lethal pins.

It has been my experience, at least here in Ontario, that the day after Remembrance Day the starting gun is fired and Canadians light up the night with home and hearth holiday displays that take a back seat to no one.

It’s said that before the advent of LED Christmas lights, Ontario was building at least one new power plant a year to keep up with the demands of Christmas lighting displays. You see the North Pole is part of Canada and Canadians have always been committed to making sure Santa and his reindeer can find their way out of the frozen north.

And the truly wonderful thing about the Christmas Holiday Season in Canada is you never have to do a lot of dreaming about having a white Christmas.



The LGBTQ Bear Challenge

I may have returned to writing about life in the Great White North, however, I’m also still a full time fund raiser. Last week Jon and I challenged our friends in California to help us reach enough people via social media to meet our goal of 1,800 donations of $25, or whatever people can afford. Californians are listening and donations continue to trickle in from the Golden State.

This week, we’d like to expand our Chuck and Jon’s GoFundMe Bypass Fund campaign challenge to members of the Bear community. Bears have proven themselves to be among the most generous members of the LGBTQ community raising funds for cause after cause. Both Jon and I are proud to consider ourselves part of this worldwide fellowship.

I know many of you have already either made a donation, shared the announcement of our campaign, or both. Repetition is, however, one of the keys to successful fundraising. Here’s our challenge to all you Bears, Cubs, and admirers out there, let’s see how close we can come to reaching those 1,800 people willing to donate $25.

Using the “Share on Facebook” button, which is just below the “Donate Now” button, on our Chuck and Jon’s GoFundMe Bypass Fund page, add the following text—or words of your own choosing—to encourage those on your Friends lists to help make the Bear Community the leader in this fundraising campaign.

Hi, my friends Jon and Chuck continue to work at meeting their GoFundMe goal of $51,000 to cover the costs of Chuck’s emergency open-heart bypass surgery. Following the initial success of their campaign, they’re now relying on the kindness of folks like you who’ve probably never met or even heard of them to make this a reality.

As Chuck says, “If 1,800 people donate $25 or whatever they can afford, we’ll make that goal.” They have challenged the Bear Community, to help lead the way for their campaign. Please consider helping my friends pay for this life saving surgery by showing them Bears are up to the challenge.

Of course, if you’re not a Bear, Cub, or admirer and want make a donation or set up your own challenge, that would be great as well.

Thank you in advance it means so very much to us that you’re willing to help us prevent defaulting on this debt.

Here’s a puppy to help make you feel good.

Edited by
Kenneth Larsen

Next week: TBD

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