Oh, Canada!

Today is Canada Day and it's finally hot and sunny day here!   My three kids and our three dogs have been living with me full time for several weeks now so it's been extremely busy.... but no complaints here!  They all have summer jobs with varying schedules and busy social lives so we're on the fly all the time.

We'll spend today relaxing and going kayaking to an offshore island near our house.  Tonight, the kids all have separate plans with their own friends to attend the Canada Day festivities in the spectacular waterfront park in town.  

I most likely will go on my own to check out the fireworks and the hot guys who will be everywhere.  I could easily arrange a hookup but, meh, I don't feel like it. 

This hot married guy I posted about will be coming over in a few days, so I'll just wait for that.  There's a strong possibility that I would be able to make an arrangement see the fireworks with my new friend, Ethan (the transgendered dude) and his friends, but I think that I'd rather attend on my own.

Now for my thoughts on Canada Day: my Canadian citizenship is among my proudest possessions.  I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world to be gay in Canada. 

Oh, I could quote all sort of statistics showing that Canada has among the highest rates of acceptance of gays in the world (80%) in the world or that a recent OECD "Better Life Index" ranked Canada as third highest of all the world's industrialized nations.

But here's what I like about being gay in Canada:

1. I can get married to whomever I want.  And if this happened, my marriage wouldn't just be "accepted" or "tolerated", ,but would be greeted with excitement and a sense of celebration by everyone I know, from my kids, parents, friends, bosses and colleagues.


2. My school division is one of the leaders in LGBTQ initiatives in the country.  Since coming out, I've received unequivocal support from everyone at work, from my colleagues, administrators and from the Director of Education herself.


3. While it's not perfect, most of my rights as a LGBTQ citizen are constitutionally protected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and elsewhere.


4. Hanlan's Point gay nude beach on Toronto Island.  My favourite gay place to go in Toronto!  Wall-to-wall hot and average-looking naked men of all ages in a (for me) sexually-charged atmosphere.  And you get to feel the warm breezes wafting about your nether regions. 


5. Hockey players.  My town is hockey-obsessed and our region has (arguably) produced more NHL hockey players than anywhere else.  I live in eager anticipation of hooking up with a "curious" hockey player..... muscular, aggressive, masculine, naturally-furry and with testosterone coming out of his ears.   


6. Our Gay Villages in Toronto, Vancouver and in particular, Montreal, which has the hottest gay guys and clubs and the least-constipated society in North America with regard to gay sexual expression.


7. We don't have the Bible-thumping, irrational, conservative, "born-again" nut-jobs preaching God's will against LGBTQ rights and trying to run the government, as in the USA. These folks may exist in Canada but they're much quieter about it and their sort of bigotry wouldn't be tolerated by the rest of society.


8. Those nice Canadian guys.  We hear so much about rudeness and bitchiness on the online gay dating sites, but that hasn't been my experience at all.  I've been with many guys  (er....  many, many dozens of guys) and with only one or two exceptions, they've all been extremely polite, respectful, considerate and appreciative of my efforts.   Maybe its because of our small-town mentality but I really think it is just the "Polite Canadian Syndrome."