Dear Rotarians,

Once upon a time, way back when in the year 2000 a song made a surprise appearance among the nominations for the Academy Award’s for best song. That song was "Blame Canada," a satirical song from the 1999 animated film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, written by Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman. 

Now, I am not a fan of South Park and normally I am a big fan of Canada. Big! 

The beauty of the Canadian Rockies, Banff and Lake Louise is just eclipsed by New Zealand, of course, and I could spend a lifetime immersed in their cultural museums and wildlife preserves. However, I do think that the two pranksters who wrote the song “Blame Canada” were certainly on to something because I learned that yes indeed, Canada was one of the driving forces behind the dreaded Daylight Saving Time (DTS)! 

Port Arthur, Ontario, was one of the first places in the world to use DST on July 1, 1908 and their federal government officially adopted it nationwide in 1918, and since then the horror has just spread. Ha!

Now, I know that we cannot have the blissful gift of an hour of extra sleep that “Fall Back” blesses us with in the autumnal season of sweater weather without the hour of sleep that “Spring Forward” so callously snatches from us, but DTS always catches me off guard and if you are like me takes me a few days of bleary eyed acclimation. So, if you share my predicament, I will meet you at the coffee station this Wednesday at our meeting. I will be the one throwing back cups of liquid sunshine, yawning, blaming Canada and lamenting my long-lost beloved hour of sleep.

I truly am so looking forward to seeing you all.

With love and gratitude,

Trudie