Kerry in Canada

No, John Kerry wasn't actually in Canada last week, but I was. My Kerry button was pinned on my jacket, and I debated whether to take it off while traveling in Canada, just because I didn't think anyone would be interested in it there. I left it on as it turned out. Then the people started coming up to me. I was surprised. I usually forgot I had the button on. After all, I was on vacation, and I needed a break from politics! I hadn't been near a computer or a newspaper in days. So when people struck up conversations, I was not expecting it. I discovered that Canadians and US citizens alike wanted to talk. Not surprisingly, the people I talked with were not Bush fans. Presumably there aren't too many Canadians who want another Bush term, and they wouldn't be approaching me wearing a Kerry button anyway.

I ran into a man from Florida in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. He wanted to know what I thought about Kerry's choice of running mate, so we talked about that for awhile. He thought Edwards will really help the ticket a lot. When I asked him where he lived, he told me Florida. I must have given a look without realizing it because he went on the defensive a little. He told me he regretted that Florida had been singled out in the media in 2000. He said there were quite a few places in the country where voting went awry, but Florida got most of the blame. I tried not to add to his discomfort. But I guess I may have when I asked him if he thought Jeb Bush would do whatever it takes to deliver Florida to his brother in November. He said he did not believe that could happen again. (I wish I shared his optimism.) And he made it clear that not all Floridians like Jeb Bush. I was dumbfounded that I was talking about the US elections in this little fishing and boat building village. I even had a conversation with the lady at the Visitors' Centre in Mahone Bay. She appeared to almost pity me, and she told me she would be thinking of me in November, wishing me luck!

Then in Baddeck, Cape Breton, I was approached again by US vacationers from Minnesota. They spied my Kerry button and wanted it! I just couldn't give it up! I had some bumper stickers and deception dollars with me, but they were in my suitcase back at the bed and breakfast. After that I put them in my purse in case I had the opportunity to give them out.

The funniest thing that happened was at a restaurant in Baddeck- the Yellow Cello. It is the only place that stays open after 5 p.m. in Baddeck. It is so quiet at night there that it is almost alarming! Bruce and I went in to get something to eat. Our server told us they weren't serving sandwiches since it was very late. We acted like we really wanted sandwiches I guess. To our surprise, she said she had noticed my Kerry button and she would go to the kitchen to ask for special treatment! She came back to say that we could have anything we wanted on the menu! Can you believe that a Kerry button could be so useful? She was so excited about meeting Kerry supporters. She told us she was going to tell her parents. I figured that she must be American, but she said no. We felt sort of like celebrities!

One day we sailed on a ferry to Big Tancook Island off the coast of Chester, Nova Scotia. Population: 130 in winter, 150 in summer. There is one little restaurant on the island run by the wife of the ferry captain. We walked there from the dock and had the best scallops we ever had. Some of the locals were there, too, having lunch. I decided to give some of them deception dollars. One man told me if I came back in 2 years I would see it framed on his wall! However, he did say he supported Bush in regard to Iraq and compared Saddam Hussein to Hitler. I responded by saying I opposed the invasion of Iraq which surprised him quite a lot. I told him I thought we should have concentrated on Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden, and I said Iraq had not been a threat at all, that Saddam Hussein had been contained. I don't think I won him over, but it was an interesting dialogue. The wife of the ferry captain said it's all about oil. I guess we aren't fooling anyone. These people are on a remote island! And they get it. Why are so many Americans fooled?

One day in Baddeck we were getting ready to sail on a schooner on Bras d'Or Lake. A young man approached me and point blank asked me why I was for Kerry. Thanks to the Norfolk Kerry Meet Up meetings, I felt somewhat prepared to answer him. He said he was a college student from Moncton, New Brunswick- a political science major. So he was interested in my position on the presidential election. He said he was not for Bush, but he just wanted to know what I thought. We had a short chat. It was a good feeling talking with him. I have never had anyone come up to me in the States, asking why I am for Kerry.

One morning over breakfast, two couples from Canada struck up conversations with us, due again to my Kerry button. Both couples were anti-Bush. Actually I didn't encounter any Bush supporters who wanted to talk!

This was a completely unexpected part of our vacation. I never thought we would be talking about politics as we went from place to place in Nova Scotia. I felt good about expressing my views, hoping that my hopes for a new regime would be well-received and would in some way promote the idea that many Americans were working hard to get rid of George. I felt I needed to almost apologize for our government. I am looking forward to the day when we can travel abroad proudly again.