A Nice Place to Live

Sakina had emigrated to the United States in the 1980s.   Saad found it ironic that even after becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen,  Sakina still pronounced the T in citizenship with such vehemence. Sakina's neighbor,  Carla admitted that she still didn't really understand a word Sakina said most of the time due to the stubborn Brit-isms.  Saad would also be perplexed at his wife's die hard European foibles. Marmalade spread on waffles.  Lemon and sugar sprinkled on pancakes. And the refusal to laugh at a single American sitcom. No one in her family found this to be at all endearing any more. It was all filed under 'Mom's a snob'.

Decades passed by and slowly Sakina became firmly entrenched into this American life. She began to understand Seinfeld references, stopped turning her nose up at peanut butter jelly sandwiches and even talked of trying Aunt Jemima's syrup .  One day Sakina was watching the news and Trump was addressing the press. She reached for the remote and shaded her eyes from the screen. It was this visceral reaction, akin to watching a horror movie unfold and knowing a grisly butchering scene was about to occur.

Sakina was flipping channels and then landed on MSNBC.  President Trudeau was talking about how we were living in a new multi-cultural world and how we should come together in peace and harmony.

Sakina turned to her family and said, "I don't know what it is about him. I don't trust him. He's too good looking, too perfect. Prancing around doing bhangra in a shalwar kameez, saying Eid Mubarak. Canada has health care, low crime rates and months of paternity leave. People are polite and stress-free. There's something not right about it.

"Congratulations Mom, you're finally an American, " said her eldest son.You have an irrational  and illogical distrust of Canadians."

"Oh dear, " replied Sakina sheepishly. Canada really is our Toby Flenderson.

He's a good, kind man but everyone hates him anyway. Now for that PBJ."