Of Donuts and Pennies

Have you ever tried to slip an American retailer a Canadian penny? Occasionally one gets through much to the ire of said retailer. It’s insidious they say. A quiet attempt to disseminate Canadian values and unload our lower value coins.

But we have made our mark on the world and while I will forego the accomplishments of Lester Pearson for this post I want to take a moment to recognize Norman Breakey, Louise Poirier and James Arthur Gosling, the Canadian inventors of the Paint Roller, the Wonderbra and Java script respectively. Go Canucks!

What brought on this rash of patriotism? Well the latest volley in the donut wars of course. Who among can forget the jittery buzz created by the arrival of Krispy Kreme in Canada five years ago? We have struck back. This morning in Lewiston, Maine I had a old fashioned sour creme glazed from our own Tim Horton’s. There it was on the side of the road like a fifth column and I was drawn to it like a 401 trucker is drawn to a large double double.

With the old guys talking about the price of gas and what kind of mileage their trucks get, I could have been back in Belleville, Ontario. Right up until the cashier picked the Canadian pennies from the change I handed her, “Sorry” she said, “do you have any American pennies?”