The "No sugar in 2015" resolution lasted about as long as it took my friend Alia to stop by and wish me happy new year with a platter of Lebanese treats. Try as I do to justify eating these -- they're full of cashews and pistachios which are good for you! -- they are sweets.
How generous of her, though, to think of me while she was preparing food for her family celebrations on Christmas and New Year's. I know Alia loves to cook and she knows I love Lebanese food but what this thoughtfulness reminds me of is the generosity of Maritimers.
There can be a "Not them" attitude in this province towards immigrants (a closed-mindedness that is ten times greater than the one exhibited towards "Come From Aways") but if we could learn to be a little more open, a little more accepting, a little more gracious, we'd discover that the generosity and friendliness Maritimers take such pride in can be found in most of the people who choose to move here from other countries.
We are all members of the human race. Where we are born -- Canada, Lebanon, China, Australia -- is a result of a great cosmic lottery; it's nothing we have any control over.
Alia and her husband Sam, who have lived in Nova Scotia for 25 years, who chose to remain here when the immigrated instead of moving to Montreal or Toronto, feed a visitor to their home as well as any fourth generation Maritimer I've ever known. Tea? Coffee? Sweets? How about an entire meal? No problem. Whether you're eating a boiled dinner or falafels and pita bread, you don't come away from anyone's home in Nova Scotia with an empty stomach.
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