Nine years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Viola Desmond refused to move from the main floor to the balcony of a movie theater in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
Had I not watched Still Standing, an endearing and pisscutter funny show about Canadians who live in towns that have endured hard times, I might not have learned about Ms. Davis.
Or Dominic Filane of Schreiber, Ontario; East Preston, Nova Scotia’s Justine Colley-Leger; or Arnold of Churchill, Manitoba.
A boxer turned hat-maker; a local basketball legend; and a hardware store pig.
Never heard of them?
Me neither—not until I watched the CBC show featuring Jonny Harris, a Newfoundland comedian and actor.
I got teary meeting these people and that pig.
I laughed. And I smiled as I thought of how much I love Canada, as I sat, eating my supper.
Still Standing, until recently, was not available from the States, but now we can watch the CBC from home. Even so, the show is better in person.
In 2019, my wife and I drove from Massachusetts to New Brunswick to watch the live show, from a hockey rink in Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick.
Still Standing stage - Cap-Pelé, NS
(image courtesy of J.C. Dwyer)
Eight hours. 865 kilometers. Well worth it.
Thank you, Canada.
See you next time, maybe in Newfoundland.
