Among the 80,000 plus people who flock into Yuma, AZ in the winter to escape the cold winters of the north are many Canadians. The place is flooded with license plates from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. I soon came up with a system for identifying Canadians anywhere in Yuma. It’s easy: when I’m wearing long pants and a windbreaker (yes it does get cool in the early morning) and see someone running around in shorts and tee shirts I know for sure they are Canadians. I guess when you come from somewhere with below freezing temperatures 50 degrees can be warm. If I can get close enough to hear them talk and pick up an “ay” or two, as in “It’s a nice day, ay” I know for sure they are from the other side of our northern boundary. They get a lot of kidding but they are really nice folks. Another way you can tell a Canadian, although not as sure, is by when they arrive in the winter and leave to go back north in the spring. Residents of that country have strict limits on how long they can be out of the country and not lose their health insurance and are usually among the last to come and the first to leave our winter oasis in the desert.
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