Still Standing: Canadian Culture, History, and Comedy

Nine years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Viola Desmond refused to move from the main floor to the balcony of a movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.

Had I not watched Still Standing, an endearing and pisscutter funny show about Canadians who live in towns that have endured hard times, I might not have learned about Ms. Davis.

Or Dominic Filane of Schreiber, Ontario; East Preston, Nova Scotia’s Justine Colley-Leger; or Arnold of Churchill, Manitoba.

A boxer turned hat-maker; a local basketball legend; and a hardware store pig.

Never heard of them?

Me neither—not until I watched the CBC show featuring Jonny Harris, a Newfoundland comedian and actor.

I got teary meeting these people and that pig.

I laughed. And I smiled as I thought of how much I love Canada, as I sat, eating my supper.

Still Standing, until recently, was not available from the States, but now we can watch the CBC from home. Even so, the show is better in person.

In 2019, my wife and I drove from Massachusetts to New Brunswick to watch the live show, from a hockey rink in Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick.

Still Standing stage - Cap-Pelé, NS
(image courtesy of J.C. Dwyer) 

Eight hours. 865 kilometers. Well worth it.

Thank you, Canada.

See you next time, maybe in Newfoundland.

Newfoundland: Icebreaker and Song

 

Photo Courtesy of JC.Dwyer

“La la la la la, la la la la la,” a TSA agent at Logan International Airport sings as I collect my shoes and backpack from the tub on the conveyor belt.

“La la la la la,” I sing back to her.

Then we alternate lines: Sing, sing a song

Sing it simple, sing it strong

Don’t worry that’s it not good enough for anyone else to hear.

And we conclude, together: Just sing, sing a song.

“Someone else knows a Carpenters song,” the agent says, surprised.

If it weren’t for COVID, we might have chatted a bit longer. A nice icebreaker though, right?

The pandemic caused my wife and I to avoid getting on a plane since January 2020, when we flew to Nashville.

Because the total active COVID-19 cases in Newfoundland have been fewer than fifty and strict protocols have been in place on “The Rock,” we felt it was time to fly to visit our Northeastern neighbours again.

This would be about our 20^th trip to Newfoundland. We’d seen our fair share of icebergs in the summer, and we figured another November visit was in order. Who would we meet? What would we learn? Would there be snow flurries, as one weather forecast indicated?

At the Alt hotel, perched on the 5^th floor and overlooking St. John’s Harbour, I notice the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Terry Fox, it’s orange base in the cold North Atlantic water. Classified as a heavy icebreaker, the vessel named after a Canadian hero doesn’t seem to have any work to do yet. Cold, but not cold enough.

In the hotel lobby, my wife plucks Canada C3 from the “library” shelf. A giant book full of pictures and words, it documents the story of a Students on Ice initiative. Very little to do with hockey, I learn. Everything to do with breaking down cultural barriers and getting to know the complete Canada, from coast to coast to coast.

Every day, I read about this 150-day voyage aboard the MV Polar Princess, an icebreaker that traveled 23,000 kilometres—from Toronto, Ontario to Victoria, British Columbia.

Youth ambassadors, musicians, artists, journalists, environmentalists, scientists…these people of all colors and who spoke many languages opened their hearts and minds and tear ducts as they got down to business: connecting Canadians who might otherwise never meet to delve beyond the buzzwords of diversity and inclusion, reconciliation, youth engagement and the environment.

Tears, laughter, music, difficult conversations. Lingering sadness for missed opportunities mixed with tonnes of progress and hope, as far as I can gather, swelled together as the participants made their way about this great big country, including stops in Newfoundland and Labrador. That was in 2017.

Here in 2021, my wife and I walk along Water Street to visit the Terry Fox Mile Zero Memorial Site. A statue of the brave young man and plaques capture his quest to raise awareness and funds for those fighting cancer. For the uninitiated: Terry Fox commenced his Marathon of Hope here to commence his coast to coast (East to West) trek on April 12, 1980.

Imagine Terry, crossing Water Street and up a steep hill. And then all the way to Thunder Bay, Ontario before cancer caught up to him and took control of his lungs.

On two good legs, I walked to Fred’s Records on Duckworth Street. Fred Brokenshire, the store’s founder, died last month. I bought a piece of Newfoundland music history, Ryan’s Fancy – What a Time! A 40 Year Celebration.

Down at the other end of Water Street, on our last day here, my wife and I meet a couple of friends at Boston Pizza. Jon Drover, a member of Newfoundland’s premier party band, 709 tells us about their drummer, Jon Lane, who passed on in September. So sudden, so sad.

We chat about the music that binds us. Jon mentions his love of Nashville, where one top-notch act covered songs from Lenny Kravitz and the Carpenters. Jon couldn’t wait to witness whatever song was next on the set list.

I don’t know when my wife and I will be back to Newfoundland. The memories of this trip, like those of Karen Carpenter, Terry Fox, Canada C3, Fred Brokenshire, Jon Lane …well, I trust they’ll live on every time I play those Ryan’s Fancy CDs.

Thanks again, Canada. Merci, Maarsii, Qujannamik.

The Canadiens, Canadians and Canadianity

Most Canadians I know are backing Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge—even if the Habs aren’t their team—against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

I missed Game Four because my wife and I had other things going on and finished at different times. She ended up listening to the game on the Internet while I continued reading Canadianity: Tales from the True North Strong and Freezing, by Jeremy Taggart and Jonathan Torrens (TnT). 

Canadianity. Did you catch that? A tough word for you to pronounce, too? Say it with me: Cuh-nay-dee-ANN-ity.

I thought I knew a lot about Canada and what makes the folks from Newfoundland to Nunavut to Nanaimo so Canadian, you know, what gives them their…Canadianity.

In all our travels and conversations with friends we’ve made since first visiting our northerly neighbours in the late 1990s, my wife have become familiar with the Canadian entertainers TnT reference in their book, from Great Big Sea to the Guess Who, Leslie Neilsen to Steve Nash.

We’ve even been to some of the eateries that TnT mention: Clementine Café in Winnipeg; Two If By Sea Café in Halifax; Mallard Cottage in St. John’s.

I know the difference between St. John’s (Newfoundland) and St. John (New Brunswick). Look at me, braggin’.

But, man, so much I didn’t know. Kind of embarrassing for a Canadian spy to admit: I didn’t realize when MuchMusic went on the air (1984). Never heard of Taggart’s band (Our Lady Peace) or the program Torrens hosted (Jonovision). And Dan Hill and Gino Vannelli are Canadian? Whoa.

“I Just Wanna Stop” and cry when I get to the story Torrens tells about Mike Stevens, another fella I didn’t know existed. A harmonica player and founder of ArtsCan Circle, Stevens won the Slaight Music Humanitarian Award at the Canadian Country Music Awards (2016).

So much I’ve learned up until page 197, and I’m sure TnT have more in store for me in the next eighty-three pages of Canadianity.

I’ll watch Game Five tonight and hope the Canadiens come back to win the series. As soon as it’s over, though, I’m going right back to Canadianity to up my Canadian Spy game.