Canadian eh?

Every weekday morning (unless I am sick or have the day off of course) I drive my little blue car (AKA-the blue bomber) to the train station closest to my house, park it there and take the train downtown to work. And each morning there is a very friendly man that stands at the base of the train platform handing out the daily free newspaper for commuters to read on the train.

Each morning, he hands me my paper, I thank him, we exchange a tiny bit of chit chat or sometimes just a smile and a have a great day greeting.

This particular morning he joked about something as I walked up to him, I responded and we laughed. As he was handing me my paper, he noticed I was wearing mitts. Yes, I was. My big warm red “Canada” mittens. You see a lot of people wearing these in our parts. They introduced them to Canadians for the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver and each year since you can buy them. You see them everywhere, on all ages and genders.

And he smiles and says to me “figures”. I must have looked a little confused and he continued to tell me that he has noticed over the time he has been at the train stations handing out papers that the people wearing these “Canada” mitts were friendlier. He mentioned it to friend who hands out the paper at a different train station. His friend laughed and said he was crazy but a few days his friend called him up and told “you are totally right, the people wearing the Canada mitts are way friendlier!”.

I have thought of this over the past few weeks and every time I slip on my mitts I think of his theory.

Could there be something to it? If there is, what makes it so? Is it a certain type of person that might wear these mitts? Or was he drawn to people wearing them just out of personal preference and his own Canadian Pride? Is there something there in the old stereotype I hear about that Canadians are friendly and polite (which by the way, I disagree with, we have lots of jackasses too, just like the rest of the world)?

 In any case I thought it was a neat story and theory. And now when I wear my nice warm mitts I think of him. I think I might even smile at strangers more, be a little more courteous, and even feel a little happier.

All while wearing what I now think of as, my friendly mitts!
 

 

 

 

Proudly Canadian!