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Good joke, eh?

Have you seen this large sticker? It can be seen on Maple Street, just east of the College intersection. I know most of you click on the Flyer to get info rather than get asked for it, but I know nothing about how it got there. I have to ask: does anybody know the story behind this?

That is either one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on a sticker, or I’m just totally out of the loop and there really is a cluster of Canadian ex-patriots living on and around Maple Street.

I know not everyone gets the joke, in fact, when my wife and I first drove by it she asked why I thought that was so funny. I had to explain it to her, and she’s usually pretty sharp about these things.

But it’s like this: Some cities have areas in which a population of immigrants have settled, and that area of town is named after their country of origin, such as “Little Italy” or “Chinatown.” These areas are usually a popular way for tourists to sample new cultures without leaving the country. This street is “Maple” and there is a Maple Leaf on the Canadian flag, so that would be an ideal name of a street one would find in a “Little Canada,” even though, to my knowledge, there are no cases of Canadian neighborhoods in the U.S. Get it?

After explaining it to my wife, she gave me the usual: “Yeah, I get it, I just don’t find it as funny as you do.” It’s something I hear often.

Yes, it’s not laugh out loud funny; it’s dry and kind of subtle. It’s kind of like the humor you would find in a Canadian television program. Maybe the Canadian’s are behind this after all. Perhaps it’s an elaborate prank pulled off by the writers of Corner Gas or the Kids in the Hall on some Canadian reality TV show.

But this is a great opportunity for Fayetteville locals to have fun when hosting guests to our fair city. This fall I had a member of my extended family stay with us for a football game. He is an alumna of the University but hadn’t been here in years and wanted to see the campus. On the way to the campus I drove him by Fayetteville’s “Little Canada.” He sees the sticker and hilarity ensues.

HIM: Little Canada? What’s that all about?

ME: Yeah, this whole area has all been taken over by them.

HIM: Canadians? Really? I used to live on this street when I was in college.

ME: Well, it’s a different neighborhood now. You’d hardly recognize the place anymore. Shame, it used to be a nice area, before he Canucks came.

HIM: Hey! That sounds racist! Canadians are the same as you and me.

ME: Well you don’t have to live near them, with their beady little eyes and their flapping heads.

It’s fun to confuse people. I would encourage us to take the joke further.

Let’s line the streets with Maple Leaf flags, and put in a Tim Horton’s. Someone should open a sports bar that only features hockey on television and only serves Molson, Moosehead and Lebatt’s Blue. Let’s have a Thanksgiving Parade in October and invite the Canadian Mounted Police. Every store on Maple Street should serve maple syrup as a condiment, and if you want to order Canadian bacon on your pizza, you would simply say “bacon.” But you should be carful driving through “Little Canada,” because all the speed limit signs would be in kilometers.

Want to add another reason why Fayetteville is so awesome? Let’s make it the first city in America with a Little Canada. But seriously, does anybody know the story behind this?

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