On the eve of Canadian citizenship

Just a day and a half now and I'll take my oath as a Canadian citizen. I'm thinking about what this means today, to me and my life and my country.

As for myself, it means the culmination of a decade and a-half journey that started in the US, when I met a beautiful Canadian woman who changed my life utterly. Through all the frustrations of obtaining permanent residence and bringing our lives together here in Canada, we always had faith and hope in the future. We dreamt of the best outcome while preparing for the worst. You can read here that it took us a long time to gain my permanent residence, but we persisted. And then the process began to obtain citizenship. Primarily a waiting game, but also one of integrating myself into Canada, understanding personally its culture and values and ingraining them into my own as I learned about the history of the country, the political system and the responsibilities of being a citizen.

My life changes again on Friday when I become a citizen. I will be able to travel the world as a Canadian - a lot easier these days when compared to traveling as an American. I will be able to vote and serve on a jury and fully participate in the life of my home country.

And what does Canada get? They get someone proud to wave their flag, to stand for their values, to contribute to their society and culture. They get a successful Canadian author! That's not bad. They get someone who understands what a special place this is and who is committed to spend the rest of my life working to help it remain that way.

The oath awaits. I'm sort of excited if you can't tell.

Goodbye Seattle

This is the city where I was born. It's not a view of it that you see much, but I wanted to share it because it reveals a couple of things about Seattle, Washington. What you see here in the entire downtown from the foot of Queen Anne hill to the left, to the industrial district or "SODO" (South of the Dome) to the right. You could walk from one end to the other in about a half an hour. It's a mid-sized American city for all intents and purposes.

I used to work in architecture (not as an architect) and I could name most of the buildings downtown - I did some photography and was lucky enough to get into and even on top of a lot of the skyline in the late 1980s. But the city has grown and changed like all cities do and that place is gone now, the landmarks of my youth torn down and replaced by some shiny box to house the next Amazon spin off I suppose.

I was downtown again the last time I was out and what struck me was how small Seattle is. Narrow downtown streets, narrow sidewalks...not many people to be seen, quiet after dark. The other thing that really struck me was how the character of the city has changed. I used to think we Seattleites were nice and genteel, sophisticated, worldly...But life in Toronto has exposed that in general, while a very liberal town, it is also a very "provincial" town with all the NIMBY suspicions you'd expect to find in small-town America. The tech millionaires go home to their protected communities and their exclusive lifestyles in their BMWs while all over the city transients live in run-down mobile homes, or under the freeways in tents and everyone's angry about it and no one wants to own the problem, let alone attempt a compassionate solution.

I really only come home for parents, other family and a few friends that remain here. But a lot of them are looking to get out. They don't recognize Seattle anymore either. What's complicated is that this isn't a change that's come about because of immigration or some external force. The change in Seattle is one brought on by the success and wealth and greed of Americans  and it is duplicating itself in cities like San Francisco and New York. These places are becoming the shimmering bastions of the elite, and just like in days of old, outside their castle walls, the peasants eek out a living on the scraps left behind.

In my youth, I helped build a city where artists and workers and intellectuals could all do their thing, but that city is gone now. It's shell is prettier than ever, but it is hollow inside. Goodbye Seattle.

Notice to Appear - My invitation to become a citizen is here

I never dreamed of becoming a Canadian citizen until I met my love and realized I had a choice to make not only about how I lived my life and with who, but also where I lived my life. I've always been able to find a home wherever I laid my head. But after I fell in love with her, I quickly fell in love with the place that fundamentally formed who she was - Canada. And from that moment, I dreamed of making a home there and living the rest of my life there, not as a visitor, but as a citizen. That dream had its beginning back nearly 15 years ago.

And now it is coming true.

Today I received my Notice to Appear to take the oath of citizenship for the country that has been so generous to open their door to me. I can't begin to describe how I feel about becoming a Canadian. Just the thought of answering that question - "Are you Canadian?" "Yes, I am." blows my mind.

Citizenship means so much to me and I am so grateful for the opportunity to participate fully in the life of my new country after 6 years of permanent residence. It is the final step in this journey I have been on and writing to you, dear readers, about since 2005 - 12 long, eventful years.

I haven't thought of where this blog goes from here? Maybe I leave it here to inspire others. Maybe it's time for it to go away? Maybe it's time to explore a different part of the Canadian experience? I don't really know yet.

I am grateful I have been able to share this adventure with so many of you from all around the world - over 100K page views to date. I hope you've been inspired and I hope I've passed on something of value to you.

Thank you for reading. This isn't goodbye, but I see the final shore now, and it's all I could hope for. 

The long night in which the Old World lost its way

My elderly father has news channels on all day. He's a political nut. He watches CNN and MSNBC and BNN and CNBC and yes, even FOX at times (though he's a staunch Democrat). He doesn't say much as he watches, which is very un-American. We LOVE to talk back to the TV. But when he's done, he'll tell me what exactly he thinks is wrong with the world and in this he demonstrates one of the primary issues facing this country and part of why I think it's so divided: He believes he is right. And everyone else who doesn't agree, is wrong.

I believe this characteristic is not unique to my father and I also believe that someone with political power who understands this American flaw of pride, can manipulate the public.

Enter #45, from the dumpster behind the theatre. This evil man does recognize this flaw and he used it to propel himself from someone who had never held public office to the former leader of the Free World in one election cycle by parroting back every worst suspicion that those who believe they are right and everyone else is wrong on the conservative side of the spectrum has been thinking.

You're right - you don't have a good job because of that Mexican. You're right, universal healthcare is the first step toward socialism. You're right, the world would be a better place if all those people stayed out of our country. I can make your dreams come true..."trust me". The man is a fucking hypnotist. With the hair to prove it.

So here we are in the long, dark night of our own making. From Canada, I watch as the US loses it place atop the world stage and becomes a reflection of its current leader: a global bully, a petulant child and a greedy, self-serving nation. They/we could take care of our own - but we wont. We could help the most needy of our citizens - but why should we when their problems are their own fault. Let's put them in jail instead. The legal system is a joke. They had it right in revolutionary France. Steal a loaf of bread. 10-years hard labour and a record for life. Les Mis' had all the great songs!

So I'm ranting. But the US has lost its way and lost its soul. I only hope it can get it back one day, but I am not ignorant of the fact that the country is now a second rate player, deserving of caution and suspicion by other nations and weakened where it once was powerful. It's going to be a long night.