One of the joys of living in Western New York has been the lifelong friendship that we have had with our next door neighbor, Canada.

Back in the days when I was a bit more mobile, we would take a yearly trip to Canada for a week or two of wilderness canoeing. You had only to drive a few hours north of Toronto before you were in the “bush” as we called it.

There is the well-known Algonquin Provincial Park in the Huntsville area, but we also paddled rivers north of North Bay…up in the areas where the roads north end, and the only way to go further north is with a canoe and a paddle.

We also liked to canoe rivers with rapids, white water and portages. All food had to be carried in and the water for drinking was the same water in which you were paddling. There is nothing like wilderness canoeing to get you “back to nature” in a hurry.

About 90% of Canadians live south of this, within 200 miles of the U.S. border…but the beauty and immensity of their country north of that is an area comparable to that of the American west. It is a wonderful place to be.

We were always welcome in those areas of North America though we were from another country. Canadians also have come south, not just to Ellicottville to ski, but to vacation and spend winter months in Florida.

The economy of the United States dwarfs that of Canada, but the two countries have always been close, and friendly relations have existed along a 5,000 mile plus border.

Now, things have temporarily “soured.” The Canadians have been told that they should become the 51st state, and that, in the meantime, they are going to be treated with tariffs and economic pain.

Needless to say, Canadians are not happy about this. Visits to the United States from Canada have declined and some have put their properties up for sale in places like Ellicottville and Florida…and I can’t say that I blame them.

Just put the “shoe on the other foot.” How would we like it if Canada were more powerful, and they were telling us what to do? We would feel the same way.

So, for all of these reasons, I decided to buy a Canadian flag and raise it along with the American flag that we fly from our lawn here on the lake. The Red Maple Leaf flag is a bit smaller and flies beneath “Old Glory,” but there it flies. It seemed to me that it was needed here this summer–not just to assuage any Canadians coming by but to remind us of the neighborliness we have had between our two countries over many years.

And, to be honest, I am not really interested in expanding the United States into any other place whether it be Canada, Greenland or the Panama Canal. We have enough of our own problems to deal with, and working with other nations has always been a better idea than trying to take them over.

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.