I recently read Mike Myers: Canada. You may know him as Wayne Campbell from Wayne鈥檚 World on Saturday Night Live or Austin Powers, Dr. Evil or Shrek from his life in film.
The proud Canadian who often wears a Toronto Maple Leaf jersey has made many of us laugh for decades. He spent his first 20 years in Ontario before moving to the U.S.
鈥淔ame is a real experience,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not a Canadian experience. And nothing about growing up in Canada prepares you for a public life.鈥�
Myers, 54, says he learned that fame has no intrinsic value and he is grateful for what being famous has brought him. He adores Canada.
鈥淢y American friends once accused me of enjoying being Canadian. Guilty as charged.鈥�
In discussing Canada, on its 150th birthday, Myers mentions how we are obsessed with statistics.
鈥淲ell, seven out of ten Canadians are obsessed with statistics. And of those seven, 25 per cent of them鈥ou get my point.鈥�
We also love lists and Myers informs his readers that Canada invented time zones, the telephone, the first steamship, Pablum, insulin, the chocolate bar, Greenpeace, lacrosse, IMAX film, the green garbage bag, the snowblower and of course Trivial Pursuit.
He also notes that Canadians love it when other countries mention Canada.
鈥淚 still get excited when I hear Carly Simon鈥檚 1972 song You鈥檙e So Vain when she says, 鈥楾hen you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun.鈥� My brothers and I would cheer when she mentioned Nova Scotia. I guess we thought this song was about us, didn鈥檛 we, didn鈥檛 we?鈥�
The youngest of three boys writes that America is comfortable with achievement while we aren鈥檛. He says Canadians are at a disadvantage when it comes to describing their childhood.
鈥淓nglish people have Lord of the Flies, Harry Potter, Mary Poppins or even Bend It Like Beckham. Americans have鈥nything by Disney. Canadians, on the other hand, got nothin鈥�. Therefore, when I try to describe my Canadian childhood, I often feel like I鈥檓 describing a dream I had.
鈥淭ry explaining to a non-Canadian The Friendly Giant. Or Mr. Dressup. Or Danny Gallivan. Or Howie Meeker. Or Stompin鈥� Tom. Or Don Cherry. Or Lanny McDonald. Or Eddie Shack. Or Cherry Lolas. Or the Food Building. Or the PNE, Or Le bonhomme de neige. Or Luba. Newfoundland. Or Lotta Hitschmanova. Or the Roughriders, and then, of course, the Rough Riders. Or St. Johns and St. John. It was all a dream鈥r was it?鈥�
Myers鈥� dad, Eric, loved comedy and made Mike鈥檚 friends tell a joke or a funny story whenever they came over to the family home in Scarborough. Eric was a die hard Liverpool fan but after moving to Canada, saw hockey as an 鈥渋mprovement鈥� on soccer.
Fame has allowed Myers to get up close and personal with Wayne Gretzky, John Candy, Gilda Radner, Lorne Michaels, Barack Obama, Pierre Trudeau, Justin Trudeau and Phil Hartman, just to name a few.
He has not let fame change him, but rather give him a deeper appreciation for being Canadian. He gets a charge when people greet him when he鈥檚 back home in Canada.
鈥淚鈥檒l be on the street and a fellow Canadian will say, 鈥楳ike鈥amloops!鈥� And that鈥檚 it. Nothing else has to be said. I love that!鈥�
On the last page, Myers wishes the country a happy birthday and says 鈥渨ithout you, I鈥檇 be nothing.鈥�
He writes: 鈥淚鈥檓 so confident in Canada鈥檚 future. We know ourselves now. I can鈥檛 wait for my kids, who are American, to be old enough to be proud that their old man comes from that cool country to the north that has tried harder that any other country in the history of the world to get it right鈥anada may not have put a man on the moon, but it鈥檚 been awfully nice to the man on earth. And perhaps that will be Canada鈥檚 greatest legacy.鈥�
鈥�-Kevin Mitchell is the sports editor and newsroom funnyman at the Vernon Morning Star.
