There are a couple of things that make Canada very different. One is the Queen of England. Yes, Elizabeth II of Britain. Her image is everywhere. On the money and on huge murals (similar to Castro's in Cuba and Hussein's in Iraq) in hockey arenas.

Also, Canadians buy their milk in plastic bags, which is just plain weird, but I suppose there are advantages, to the merchant at least. They can cram far more bags of milk on their shelves than we can stock cartons and jugs here.

But the strangest difference by far is the Burning Schoolhouse. Glen mentioned this to me casually one day, like I knew what he was talking about. So he explained it. On Canada Day (July 1), Canadians celebrate with the same sort of fanfare as we Americans do a few days later in the month. And just like many Americans, Canadians have their own firecrackers and noisemakers that they detonate in their backyards on this day.

One such novelty is "The Burning Schoolhouse," that is, a small replica of a schoolhouse, jampacked with flammable material, that Canadians light up to celebrate their national pride.

So you thought Canada is the land of Bob and Doug, Sarah MacLachlan, Joni Mitchell, and Gordon Lightfoot. Well, it is. But judging by the Burning Schoolhouse, Canadians aren't quite as nice as this gang would appear. Glen says Canadians fight constantly, and he didn't mean arguments. He says Canadians have full-on hand-to-hand combat, on a regular basis. Any given night of the week at any one of Canada's bars, you'll be sure to see a fight. Maybe it's because it's cold. It makes them cranky and mean.

Perhaps it's in this spirit of meanness that they have The Burning Schoolhouse. Maybe they light up the schoolhouse so they aren't compelled to do it for real. Maybe we Americans should try it. Might prevent the real thing from happening so much.