Living my formative years in the land of the silver birch, and summers thereafter, I have, from birth, been able to speak fluent Canadian.  In fact, I often speak ‘Canadian’ in the states. When I taught in a high school, whenever I said ‘the washroom,’ the kids would say “What? Why do you call it that?” “Well, I know you’re not going to bathe there, but I hope that you wash!” I replied. Also I say ‘process’ so that it rhymes with ‘no less’ rather than the ‘lot less,’ rhyme of the American pronunciation.  (These are not great rhymes, sorry, hope you get it.)

Today, at the store I saw an endcap display of Kraft Dinner.For Americans who may be reading this, I am talking about macaroni and cheese. Now I have a certain song running through my head…if I had a million dollars, by the Barenaked Ladies where they sing about Kraft Dinners. Apparently, there was a time in the early years when fans would throw boxes of the stuff on the stage, pelting the performers and strewing powdered cheese onto the equipment, where the lights and the heat would bake it into a stinky, bubbling mess. Ewwwww. Here is a happier thought: The songs were written when Ed Robertson and Steven Page were camp counsellors. they also sing about a chesterfield, which is a sofa. According to Wikipedia:

If I Had $1000000 is one of the earliest-composed Barenaked Ladies songs. It was first conceived as a simple improvised song while Page and Robertson were counsellors at a summer music camp. On the way home from camp, Robertson played the tune for the campers, randomly listing amusing things he would buy with a million dollars. Upon returning to camp, he brought the idea to Page, and the two fleshed out the song.

But anyway, I loved hearing BNL singing about Kraft Dinner, because it reminded me of Canada, and 99% of my memories of time in Canada are happy ones. I wonder, is Kool-Aid still called “Freshie’?