So yeah, even though I didn't actually watch it, I do remember the mini series existed, probably because of its clever name. I also think it was a pretty big deal at the time because a Soviet invasion was a national fear (even if not a very realistic one) and also because it was fodder for a Saturday Night Live sketch called "AmeriDa," about the U.S. being taken over by our Northern neighbors (because nothing prompts us to shake in our boots more than the thought of being forced to drown our french fries in vinegar and finish every question with an "eh?").
Growing up in the Detroit 'burbs, though, we had some inkling of what Canadian life was like, at least for our friends in Ontario. For one thing, in Michigan, Canadian and U.S. coins are basically interchangeable. When you paid for your Big Mac with American dollars, you were almost as likely to find yourself with a quarter stamped with a buck (deer), a dime featuring a sailboat, and a penny imprinted with a bunch of maple leaves as you were to find Washington, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. The coins were the same color, same shape, and nearly the same weight (though not quite). McDonald's had no qualms about passing off this Canadian change as its American counterpart. (My mother, however, tried to factor in the exchange rate, and sent me to the Spencer Elementary School cupcake sale with a Canadian quarter and two pennies to purchase a twenty-five cent cupcake.)
For a hot summer day, a church group or swimming club would plan an all day outing to Boblo Island, an amusement park on an island in the Detroit River, inside the Canadian border. We'd take a ferry over there and spend hours on the "Wild Mouse" and stuffing our faces. It would never compete with Cedar Point, but it got the job done in a pinch. And the ferry ride was sort of cool. Though I rarely see music videos anymore, I happened to catch the video for Uncle Kracker's "Smile," while awaiting my fate in the dentist chair. Someone in the video was wearing a Boblo t-shirt. It made me a little sad - Boblo closed permanently in the early nineties.
Another big outing for my family was a trip to Toronto - to the science museum, in particular (and later, when I didn't know any better, the Hard Rock Cafe). My dad, a chemical engineer, is what made the science museum exciting. His enthusiasm for every exhibit kept us enthralled, and he even bought me a souvenir glass vessel filled with blue liquid that would rise when you held it in your palm. I tried to take it to show and tell, but it broke on the way to school. Any time he took a business trip to Toronto after that, I would beg him to get me another one, but it wasn't exactly on his schedule. When we finally made it to the science museum again years later, I was out of luck. They stopped making the souvie of all souvies - because the fun rising liquid contained mercury.
I guess what I'm saying is that I appreciate my childhood introduction to Canadian culture. I enjoy hearing the Canadian anthem at select hockey games. I think it's cool that Windsor, Ontario, is geographically south of Detroit (perhaps like the Journey song). I love that Tim Horton's has expanded to U.S. soil.
But I still prefer a Krispy Kreme.
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