Since everyone’s still in a holiday mood, us Canadians having celebrated Canada Day on the first, and Americans Independence Day on the fourth, I thought I’d go easy on everyone. How about if I use Freedom Friday to show you some of my favorite moments?
I’ve been taking digital photographs for over nine years. I have 14,306 photos. Most of them shot in the early years. Some may ask how I keep them organized. Easy, I have an application that catalogs all of my memories in neat stacks of craziness. Believe me, just because I have over 14,000 photos doesn’t mean I’m a genius photographer. I may have deleted twice that amount in an effort to keep the very best. So, yes, over 28,000 photos may have bit the dust in cyberspace somewhere between my camera and the digital garbage heap called the delete key.
Below are some of my treasured memories of Canada Day with stories attached. I hope you enjoy them!
July 1, 2004—Here is my youngest son after having blown his knee (gotta love mommy tending after him). Uh, not the first time. During the course of several years, my beloved, accident-prone progeny had a few close calls with broken limbs, a finger trapped in a dust mop (long story), a second shy from being electrocuted, and several stitches sewn on his still-growing cheek. In this photo, he fell, scraping his knee. Honestly, it’s the tamest of injuries he’s experienced in his young life.
July 1, 2008—I find it amazing to look at these old photos knowing I shot them, and have them as a record of a time once spent. This particularly is the best portrayal of how we celebrate Canada Day. My family and I park the car near the town library and walk to Main Street. This is where it all happens. If you look up Main, not only is our clock tower visible, but you’ll also see a river of red. Our flags are red and white, but during this holiday, everyone wears red. If you’ve ever heard of the term “red coats”, we were the red coats.
July 1, 2009—I’m a proud Canadian. Really, I am. I love saying “eh” after my sentences, having a beaver on my nickel, and calling our dollar coin loonie and two-dollar coin toonie. There’s something to say about our culture when our packaging is bilingual, and a whole province speaks French. Others may call us Canadians Looney Tunes, but in some circles, we definitely know how to stand out. Check out the hand-painted Canada Flag in our town’s park and lake setting.
July 1, 2011—Moving equipment into position, folks dressed in full wartime regalia prepare for the town’s annual canon blast. It’s a one-of-a-kind event featured in local newspapers and magazines in our region. I gotta tell ya, it’s something to experience. When standing there fifteen feet from the blast, it’s like feeling a massive burst run through the chest that pushes the innards backward until there’s nothing left. It’s that powerful. I tend to plug my ears, and wait until I feel the shockwave hit. What an exhilarating feeling.
July 1, 2012—Of course what would Canada Day be without fireworks? There’s something amazing about the bright lights and awesome sound of explosions in the air. Amid the haze of mosquitoes, we usually park at the train station lot, a few minutes from our home in farm country to enjoy the show. Since I live in a small town, an hour north of Toronto, we usually recognize everyone there. We’re a tight-knit community and the fireworks makes for a nice cap to the evening’s festivities.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale October 22.
If you were fortunate enough to celebrate a day off this week, what did you enjoy most about it?
Looking to God 
Nice pics and memories. I didn’t realise Canada Day was so close to American Independence day. The closest we have here in England to a national day is St George’s Day, which isn’t really celebrated. St Patrick’s Day is much more widely celebrated here. Shame really.
To celebrate our July 4th my dog and I walked in our City’s parade. After that I didn’t do too much, it was a bit of a lazy day. No body was really doing anything else so I spend the day with my dog and spending time with her. It was a great day! Sometimes I just need some time to myself and that’s ok. Btw..I LOVE your narrative for July 2009, eh.
Photos are the best way to hang on to memories! I love that first photo of your wife patching up your son. So sweet! That’s what mamas are for!
It’s fun to see that our Independence Day celebrations are very much alike. Nothing says freedom like fireworks and a walk down main street. 🙂
Ha, you know it, she’s patched me up a few times as well!
I love the Main Street stroll we take during Canada Day. The street’s shut down from both ends and we take a leisurely jaunt to the lake. It’s great seeing the live bands, the volleyball games, the face painting, the canon firing, etc. So much stuff to do, but mostly it’s a wonderful time to spend with family!
Lovely post. I can see you joining the WordPress photo challenge.
Well, I may do that later on this year, perhaps during Christmas time, but for now, my time is maxed-out. Thanks for the suggestion, though!
I grew up there. 😀
Great post, and great pics. 🙂
Loved all these photos, and totally agree with you about the awesomeness of our loonies and toonies and everything else that makes Canada such a unique and wonderful place to live. Thanks for sharing, eh!
Ha! I love my country, too! Love my Tim Horton’s, my Hockey Night in Canada (what it used to be) and our Canadian Tire Christmas commercials!
Dude. That one commercial, where they set up all the lights to direct Santa to Sam’s house?!? Makes me cry every time!!
Great pictures Jack, I love that with pictures we can transcend time and return to a memory and relive it as if the event had just happened. As for Independence day, my family and I had a marvelously lazy day that ended in homemade chili dogs and a silly movie! 🙂
Thanks! I agree, pictures can take us back to that very moment deep and dormant in our memories to stir the emotions of what we felt that day. Great to hear you had a wonderful holiday!