For the first time in 31 years, the Canadian dollar has finally been on par with the U.S. greenback...and chomping at the treasury to lurch past it.
Understandably, in the great White North, hockey-lovers are rubbing their hands with glee.
Canadians are jubilantly tossing a few beer busts with party favors purchased south of the border - no doubt - now that the Canadian buck has some kick to it.
Years ago, when I first moved to the California, the dollar generally trailed behind the greenback by a few pennies.
Although the copper often took a gentle roller-coaster ride - up a few cents, then down again - there was little consternation over the issue.
Over time - the gap stretched so - that the "Maple Leaf" stooped to a dismal 87 cents on the dollar and was being referred to with disdain as the northern peso.
Ouch!
When I returned home to Toronto one Christmas, the monetary system was in a disturbing state.
The Government had cast out the "dollar bill" and replaced it with a coin.
The face was graced with a fine-feathered Canadian friend, the Loon. Not as awe-inspiring or as commanding as the all-powerful American Eagle on U.S. currency, though. Perhaps for this reason - or dismal fiscal state of things - the coin became known as the "loonie".
To make matters worse, the Canadian mint banished the two-dollar bill and introduced a two-buck coin in its place. It was quickly dubbed the "doubloon", or more succinctly, the "toonie".
Although crafted with a breathtaking design, the beautiful coin is flawed.
Fashioned in two alloys - with an outer rim in silvery tones, and a brassy-looking interior circle - startled Canucks discovered by accident one day that if tossed against a wall in frigid, freezing winter weather - the center popped right out!
Loon-acy, alright!
My pet peeve? Once you pass a five-dollar bill to a cashier, you never catch sight of paper notes again...yeah, cashiers foist nothin' but flashy coins at ya!
It was kind of an unexpected windfall for waiters and bartenders, though.
American tourists, and other world-weary travellers, are not always aware that the change on the table may amount to a fistful of dollars; so, ignorant of the fact - and assuming the amount a paltry sum of a buck or so - they're prone to leave the change intact on the counter as a tip, none the wiser.
Do you think the congenial workers are aware of the fact tourists may be in the dark?
You bet your sweet bippy...why else would people in the service industry warm up so quickly to the new currency???
For me, the coins cause too much jangling in the inner recesses of clothes - and over time - wear holes in trouser pockets.
Give me the greenback any day, to fold crisply in a billfold, or slip with a flourish into a fancy money clip.
It's so much easier to pass the buck, too!
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