Slightly more than a week ago it was Memorial Day in the States, and American remembrance focused on Arlington National Cemetery. Where, you may ask, is Canada’s National Cemetery? There isn’t one, is there? Canadian soldiers have long been buried where they fell or back in their home towns. A National Cemetery for Canadian soldiers? Well, I just learned there is one. It’s recent, contains a whopping five acres and it took some local Ottawa citizens to create it. It’s the five acres I love—may there never be cause for it to expand.
Thinking about Memorial Day brings me to mention The Memorial Cup. I’ve been hearing about it on the radio so much I decided to learn what it is. It’s the Junior Ice Hockey trophy awarded to the Canadian Hockey League Champion, and was given to honour the dead of WWI (which is, I suppose, a way of saying that a hockey cup to honour the fallen is the Canadian equivalent of a National Cemetery). The scores of the tournament are announced on Canadian radio well before the NBA playoff results get mentioned, if they get mentioned. So move over Dwight Howard and your Magic; step aside Kobe Bryant and the Lakers; it’s time to hear about the Halifax Mooseheads, Medicine Hat Tigers and—my favorite—the St. John’s Fog Devils (who sadly moved to less foggy Montreal).
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