Just so that there is no misunderstanding, the French Canadian woman in this story was not my wife. Francine would keep her cool enough to clarify the situation all by herself. This little gem was recounted to me by a friend. This is my paraphrase of what happened.

The eastern most corner of the province of Ontario between Ottawa and Montreal is a mix of French and English speaking communities. L'Orignal is a French community along the Ottawa River. L'Orignal translated into English means The Moose. The English in the area had similar town naming proclivities. A nearby town is called Moose Creek.

The aforementioned French Canadian lass was driving on a main road minding her own business when a moose bolted out of the bush onto the road. She hit it. Hitting a moose is serious business. A lot of people have been killed in collisions like that. She was lucky though. Her car was badly damaged but she was unhurt. The moose wasn't so lucky.

Parked on the side of the road shaking and emotional she pulls out her cellphone and calls 911. Keep in mind this entire conversation takes place in French.

She tells her story and they tell her they will send help. All is going well until they ask her where she is parked. She tells them she is close to L'Orignal (the moose). The operator does not understand. He tries to soothe her emotions by telling her not to worry about the poor departed moose. He asks her again the name of the nearest town. She replies with L'Orignal again and starts crying. The operator still doesn't get it and this goes back and forth hopelessly until another motorist stops and explains it all for her.

This to me is hysterically funny. Don't name towns after large animals or this is what could happen.



