Blog and Photos by Garrett Fulton
Crossing the border into Canada made me reflect on their flag. Throughout the world nations have come up with symbols that they feel best represents their country. They are often predatory animals of strength and aggression. The American eagle threatens to swoop down with its talons and beak. The Russian bear is imposing and dominant with its massive teeth and powerful claws and the British Lion with its dominance and terrible roar is the king of all beasts.
And the Canadian flag? A single solitary Maple leaf…….and that’s it.
Even a bag of leaves could be mildly threatening for they could potentially mess up your golf game on the putting green. A bag of leaves might overfill your garbage container, or a pile of leaves could plug up your gutters………….. but a single leaf?…. Its not much more than a crumbly book marker.
In a world of endless war however, where an African country like Mozambique has an AK-47 assault rifle as the symbol on its flag, its very refreshing indeed to come into a country that is so confident in its manhood that it can just simply enjoy a slice of peace andecology as its national emblem. Any country that puts nature above war has my vote.
Border crossings are always a bit of a grab bag. Consider. While crossing the border from Jordan into Israel the Jordanian border guard wouldn’t let me cross until I arm wrestled him. Once while entering into Britain, the car I was riding with was disassembled before our very eyes while the border guards went through every part looking for drugs. And when I asked where I could change money after crossing from Uganda into Rwanda, the border guard closed the window, marched across the lawn with me and showed me a young man in a worn t-shirt with a large brick of money and informed me that “this is the black market, you can change your money with him.”
Crossing into Canada however was really nothing much worth writing about. I was impressed however with the scenery, in particular with the lack of billboards, advertising and road signs. Canada was America 2.0. Still suffering from many of the same ills as it's American neighbors, but definitely one step closer to its European ancestry.
Crossing the border into Canada made me reflect on their flag. Throughout the world nations have come up with symbols that they feel best represents their country. They are often predatory animals of strength and aggression. The American eagle threatens to swoop down with its talons and beak. The Russian bear is imposing and dominant with its massive teeth and powerful claws and the British Lion with its dominance and terrible roar is the king of all beasts.
And the Canadian flag? A single solitary Maple leaf…….and that’s it.
Even a bag of leaves could be mildly threatening for they could potentially mess up your golf game on the putting green. A bag of leaves might overfill your garbage container, or a pile of leaves could plug up your gutters………….. but a single leaf?…. Its not much more than a crumbly book marker.
In a world of endless war however, where an African country like Mozambique has an AK-47 assault rifle as the symbol on its flag, its very refreshing indeed to come into a country that is so confident in its manhood that it can just simply enjoy a slice of peace andecology as its national emblem. Any country that puts nature above war has my vote.
Border crossings are always a bit of a grab bag. Consider. While crossing the border from Jordan into Israel the Jordanian border guard wouldn’t let me cross until I arm wrestled him. Once while entering into Britain, the car I was riding with was disassembled before our very eyes while the border guards went through every part looking for drugs. And when I asked where I could change money after crossing from Uganda into Rwanda, the border guard closed the window, marched across the lawn with me and showed me a young man in a worn t-shirt with a large brick of money and informed me that “this is the black market, you can change your money with him.”
Crossing into Canada however was really nothing much worth writing about. I was impressed however with the scenery, in particular with the lack of billboards, advertising and road signs. Canada was America 2.0. Still suffering from many of the same ills as it's American neighbors, but definitely one step closer to its European ancestry.
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