The Mother Corp is Going to Sue Me, I Just Know It.

The CBC has been a part of my life since forever. I have fond memories of the beautiful “exploding pizza” logo, of morning watching Mr. Dressup, The Racoons, The Friendly Giant and of course, Fraggle Rock! I grew up with the Kids of Degrassi and followed them all the way to Degrassi High. I watched Good Rockin’ Tonight with TDM, Twitch City, and Kids in the Hall.

As I got older I would try to stay up as late as possible to listen to Patty Schmidt on Brave New Waves (RIP). I listened as much for her beautiful voice as I did for the sometimes weird, often fantastic, music.

When I lived in Vancouver I would listen to CBC Radio 2 on my way home from work. DiscDrive with Jurgen Gothe turned my long, crabby commute into a calm and peaceful drive. I no longer cared that it would take me an hour to go 15 km, I had the CBC to calm the drive and make it fun.

I slowly started to listen to more and more Radio 2. It became a fixture in my life. Then I made the decision to leave Vancouver for Calgary, and before I left I was going to go on The Greatest Roadtrip Ever (2006 Edition).

A huge amount of that drive was out in the middle of nowhere BC and I was driving along in a car with only a tape deck. I had no way to charge my iPod when I was out in the bush, so I preserved as much of the battery as possible by listening to the radio. Out in the middle of nowhere, CBC is, more often than not, the only station you can pick up.

The summer of 2006 I fell firmly in love with CBC Radio One. I was driving through beautiful scenery, down roads that many will never travel, and I would pick up signals, CBC, the voice of a country. It was the first time I really realized just how much CBC is a part of Canada. Cross Country Checkup, The Vinyl Café, The Current, As It Happens. All telling different stories about us, about our country, about who we are.

It was an amazing feeling to feel connected to so many people, while in the middle of nowhere, all alone.

Now I’m getting ready to move again, only this time CBC won’t be there. Yeah, I could listen to it online (and I will!) but it won’t be in the car with me, it won’t wake me up every morning, it won’t tell me the news around my neighbourhood. It won’t be the same. I’m really going to miss it.

I don’t expect everybody to like it, and I’m sure many people will think I’m nuts, but I love it. I am so very happy with it. And to any nit pickers out there, yeah, it’s not red, but the print logo prior to the current logo was blue, so there.

Getting the maple leaf or the Canadian flag is pretty popular, and also instantly recognizable to anybody, including non-Canadians, but how many people can look at the CBC logo and think “Canada”? Not many, unless you are one. It’s a part of home, and it’s a silent signal to other expats. It’s a constant reminder of where I’m from, something I never want to lose sight of.

I just hope the CBC doesn’t sue me for copyright infringement. If they do, I'm taking Stuart McLean down with me. It's all his fault.