Ah Kat this is such a sweet story! Thanks so much for sharing it and healthy blessings to you and your Dad.

and YES! The Internet is so amazing! In spite of the 'hard cold technology' it can be such a personal 'tool', uniting people heart to heart worldwide, nurturing what is most 'human' about us all. Love and Joy and Hope and Music and Creativity and Good Company via silicone chips ... I hope these wonders NEVER cease!

Re The Maple Leaf Forever - I've always loved that song! I remember in the 60's when they made the red-and white Maple Leaf our official flag, and we were taught a few of the runners-up for the national anthem in elementary school. I was disappointed that 'The Maple Leaf Forever' was not chosen - I always thought it had the best melody, the most endearing words. But as someone pointed out above, without the French element it was doomed ...

But I've always wondered if the melody came from an old British tavern song! Remember the musical Oliver! from the 60's? Well there's a scene in the tavern where 'Nancy' works - I think it's the final tavern scene before she spirits Oliver away to meet his uncle at London Bridge, just before she rouses the whole bar into a hearty "Oom Pa Pa!".

Everyone in the bar is singing a half-drunken song in the background, and I can't make out the words but the melody is definitely exactly the same as "The Maple Leaf Forever"! I've rewound the movie a couple times to listen more carefully, and I'm sure I'm right! Has anyone else noticed this? Is it possible that back in the 1800's Alexander Tain just used a very familiar - and wonderful! - British folk melody and wrote new words to reflect the history of 'British North America'?

daylia