Monday, July 1, 2013

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."
 

18 comments:

  1. Oh, how we all wish we could seriously curb the entry of religion into our governmental agencies, from local to federal... The various religions have become way too powerful in politics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interference of religion is not a problem in Canadian politics, as far as I know. But this post by Michael-in-Norfolk puts forward the idea that the GOP has now become a religious and not political organization.

      Delete
  2. Happy Canada Day, Buddy! Just had a great Pride here in Toronto. I agree about Hanlan's Point - in fact I just did an interview with Randy, the naked beach lounge chair dude :)

    http://pinkplaymags.com/downloads/summerplay2013/community-cornerstones.pdf

    Jeffrey

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Canada Day, Jeffrey! I loved your article and will feature it on my next post.

      It saddened and distressed me to hear that about 50% of the people at Hanlan's no longer get naked. Unfair! The two times I was there, it was mainly all naked people.

      Delete
  3. Thanks for your comments on my blog. Glad you are doing well! Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rick, I look forward to seeing you again the next time I'm in Toronto!

      Delete
  4. why can't we be as civilized as canada? :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One day! I'm sure the vast majority of Americans are thoughtful, reasonable people. The vocal,crazy ones just get more than their fair share of attention.

      Delete
  5. Happy Canada Day, Buddy. I can totally understand why you are so proud to be a Canadian. I am proud to be an American, but I know I would not have been rejected by my born again family if we had all been raised in the Canadian culture. Our country needs to take heed of how much better our neighbors to the north handle many things.

    My husband and I will be celebrating 17 years together (four of them married) next month. We have three adult daughters and the first grandchild is on the way. Life is good!

    I loving reading about your gay journey. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for reading and commenting. I hope your adult daughters (and new grandbaby) are a part of your life and aren't part of the family which rejected you?

      Delete
    2. Our daughters are very much a part of our lives. They escaped the fundamentalist trap. All three are caring and intelligent and don't have a judgmental bone in their bodies. They have rejected the family that rejected me. Karma?!

      Delete
  6. You say Bible-thumping, irrational, conservative, "born-again" nut-jobs like it's a BAD thing! Hahahah. Happy Canuck day

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny! There must be lots of those "nut jobs" in the SLC area.

      Delete
  7. Siiiigh...everything I wish my life was. You're a lucky guy, BB.
    On all counts.

    Peace <3
    Jay

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hope you have/ Had a wonderful day.


    Hugs
    Ray

    ReplyDelete
  9. overall a more kind and civilized nation.
    and they have tim horton's

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete

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