On this day of Stephen Harper talking (again) about his modest approach to nurturing Canada's economy and as world stock markets wobble to and fro, this non-political anecdote from a Harper supporter who attended this morning's Conservative event near Waterloo, Ont., home of the world headquarters for the so-far-unstoppable high-tech firm Research In Motion ("BlackBerries — locally-grown!).

Not long ago, the fellow sees an expensive sports car in the parking lot at his local suburban tennis club. The custom licence plate reads: MY RIM. Out marches its owner, a woman. Another man approaches from across the lot and says to her "Hey, did you buy that car with money from RIM stock?" And she goes "Absolutely I did." And he goes "That's how I bought my car too!"

It's a safe bet there are more than a few stories like that in and around Waterloo.

— Paul Hunter