I recently received an email from my brotherinlaw, proudly informing me he had been selected to run a 300metre stretch of road in Southern Ontario as a torchbearer for the 2010 Winter Olympics crosscountry relay run.

Not bad for a beer-drinking, retired old bugger. Not only does he get an Olympic torchbearer's uniform to keep, but he can also purchase the torch as a souvenir.

This got me thinking about the Nunavut phase of the Olympic torch relay run. The dates and locations of when and where the torch was welcomed and blessed in Nunavut areas were Kugluktuk on Nov. 5, Alert, Resolute and Grise Fiord on Nov. 8 and, finally, Iqaluit on Nov. 9. Hopefully, they all had snow by then. The reason for the snow will soon become evident.

The Olympic flame flew directly over the geographic centre of Canada at Baker Lake, while on its way from Churchill to Resolute and Alert.

It's really too bad none of our Kivalliq communities were included in the crosscountry run. Or is it?

According to my brotherinlaw, it was Coca-Cola and the Royal Bank of Canada that sponsored the torch-carrying competition. Applicants had to pledge to do at least 30 things in order to be eligible as candidates. These ranged from turning off the lights when leaving the room, to picking up litter (even if it isn't your own), buying locally, reducing the use of plastics bags, etc. In other words, try your best to be a good allaround citizen.

Now, just using common sense was not too much to ask for. Eligibility had nothing to do with being athletic. The only sports my brotherinlaw is involved with is when he watches them on three different TV sets, having at least two remote controls on the go at all times.

It really is clear why Kivalliq communities were left out of the run. It's simply not in our nature to do anything remotely associated with any of the above pledges. We just do not take enough pride in our communities. Except for one special person I know who can't help but pick up butts and litter - even when she's travelling to Iqaluit - there are very few of us who would be willing and able to make, and keep, such a pledge.

Even oldtimers like Keith Sharp have remarked to me how dirty Rankin is in the summer. It became very noticeable to him after he had been away down south for awhile.

Yes, it's just as well the rest of Canada, and the world for that matter, rarely get to see the squalor we are content to live in. We just don't have any pride, nor do we seem to care what anybody thinks. That's why I always breathe a sigh of relief when there's snow on the ground whenever dignitaries like the Governor General happen to come to town. It's because the snow hides all the garbage.

So, it's good the Olympic flame shed its light on the darkness of Alert.

My brotherinlaw and the rest of the world get to see an area where the Armed Forces still have respect, and keep sacred the land that is now Canada's Nunavut.