Cabin v. Cottage Edition

Vernacular is an amazing thing. I say Toronno, Americans (very correctly) call it Toron-toe. I say univer-city, Americans say college. But, I say cottage and I am corrected to cabin/lake house. Take your pick.

For Americans cottages are not little homes by a lake. They are monstrosities by a waterway, many of which are owned by the very rich or have been converted into romantic country inns. The differential is key.

Americans know to size me up and think to themselves "This ain't no rich girl - she's off to a cabin." Or simply a house by a lake. A lake house.

For Americans with cottages or lake houses (probably not cabins), the power of American muscle extends to the care and control of the wilderness. They are all about their powerboats, their SUVs (yes, even in a gas crisis) and monstrous homes. The wilderness exists as their play ground. They control it. It is for their pleasure.

Canadians, in the tradition of the Wacousta Syndrome, are taught to tip toe around it. We are of the canoe, the kayak and the sailboat. We don't go too far into the woods (you never know if there will be a bear there) and are careful not to disturb the birds, insects and animals of the forests. Of course, as those students of Wacousta will know, we are also taught we never really penetrate the woods. We exist instead on the periphery. Our view into the woods is haphazard, and they are often misunderstood.

Cottages (and camping) in Canada as our singling chance to come close to the great abyss of the woods. We flirt with a misunderstood entity each time we visit. We defy the odds, the advice of the elders, and stand on the brink of the great unknown.

Americans, in the tradition of James Fenimore Cooper and the Leather Stockings Tales, have been progressively mowing over that abyss for the past hundred years or more. Americans do not fear the wilderness - they own it and will destroy it if they must.

Cottages/Lake houses/Cabins are just en extension of their city life. They exist for their own pleasure, so if the anything causes their life to be anything less than commodious, well they just get rid of it. And that includes the woods.