In these turbulent times...tariffs, counter tariffs, governments getting the boot or resolutely hanging on to something they no longer seem to have control of,  usurpers wanting the country for their own and confident they have ALL the answers...It seemed like a good time to reflect on and recall some of the finer qualities that we Canadians have and have ALWAYS had. I say "always" because I'm going to go way back to the mid to late 70's for this reminiscence about how welcoming , friendly and down to earth even our major rock stars can be. 

I was going on a summer vacation to see some relatives in England in 1978, and mentioned this to Terry Brown, who I was working on an album with at Sounds Interchange studios in Toronto. Terry was the producer of the great Canadian band RUSH at the time, having worked on several if not all of their previous albums. He graciously invited me to "stop by" the studio in England where Rush was going to be recording their upcoming album that summer , just to say hi and meet the band.  Well, "stopping by" the studio meant trekking into the middle of nowhere in Wales, as the album was going to be recorded at 'Rockfield Studios' near Monmouth. But it was such a nice gesture for him to have extended the invitation that I thought I would get there come hell or high water. After walking many long hot miles from the nearest train station, I decided to try some hitchhiking on the very narrow roads, which were bordered by tall hedges on either side. I had a Canadian flag sewn onto the back of my knapsack that I was carrying on my back, and after a little while an ancient looking woman stopped in front of me and opened up the door of her old Fiat and said "I normally don't pick up hitch hikers but seeing as how you have a Canadian flag on your pack, I decided I could chance it." Canadians seemed to have such a great reputation all over the world, that even an old Russian woman on a deserted road in Wales would stop to pick one of us up and take us as far as he could towards our destination. 

She dropped me off  quite close to the studio and I hoofed it into the courtyard area and saw a scruffy looking guy lounging in one of the doorways. I said to him "I'm looking for Terry Brown"....he said "...who?" and I said he's supposed to be here doing some recording with the band Rush. "Oh the Canadian band, what great guys...they're down the road about 2 miles at the rehearsal space. " He must have seen that I looked beat from travelling, and he said "I'll give you a lift over there." Turned out my new fiend was Roy Wood who was just finishing up an album at that studio. Roy left me at the rehearsal space and I knocked on the front door expecting Terry to be there. But lo and behold Geddy Lee answers the door and invites me in after I told him who I was and what I was doing there. He and Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart were playing billiards and just killing some time until a photographer was supposed to show up for a photo shoot. I was invited to join in the game, like a long lost friend, and I was totally amazed at how nice and welcoming and friendly they were towards me. They were doing Monty Python routines, each one taking a role and doing outrageous English accents, and just having a great time. This was the first time I had met any of the band, but I was treated just like a member of their crew (which was really a tight knit, almost family group) right away. I ended up spending 10 great days with the band and Terry, who let me bunk in his room with him for the duration. From Alex making breakfast for the entire crew and studio staff a couple of mornings, to Neil and I having a discussion in the studio lounge about Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" and how I should "really get into it", it was a truly wonderful friendly atmosphere and some times I shall never forget.

This is a perfect example of how Canadians are perceived and how we SHOULD be perceived even in some of our darkest gloomiest times. GO CANADA GO !