Trudeau Stories: Yours and Mine
Date Posted: 02/02/2018
It was a dark and snowy night in downtown Ottawa. Two university students blew off studying to catch a movie. The Elgin Cinema was almost empty. Just as the credits rolled, two figures wearing luxurious fur coats slipped into the seats in front of us. “Hey, I recognize those fur coats,” I whispered to my companion.
“It’s Margaret and Pierre.”
As a young journalism student I worked weekends as a copy clerk at The Ottawa Citizen. My job was to rip the wires: sort incoming photos and stories submitted from news agencies around the world. That’s how it was done back then… before the net. (Man, I’m old.)
The students watched in fascination as the two famous heads conferred. Then Pierre, our 15th Prime Minister, quietly got up, walked to the back of the theatre, and returned a few minutes later with popcorn!
You have to remember that PET, like his son JPJT, was a media sensation in his day.
At the end of the evening, as they passed us in the aisle to leave, my friend stuck out his hand and murmured solemnly, “Good evening, Mr. Prime Minister.”
I remained speechless.
The film: “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”.
The date: months before Margaret and Pierre separated in 1977.
Brooke Johnson has her own Trudeau Stories, which Theatre Orangeville is proud to bring to the Opera House stage February 15 to March 4th. She met Pierre as a student at the National Theatre School in Montreal. He had by then retired from politics. However when the two shared a dance at a gala event, they connected and formed a unique and enduring friendship.
Share your chance meetings with Pierre Elliot Trudeau or tell us why friendship can sometimes be packaged to surprise. Post your thoughts through Facebook, Twitter or send me an email. We all have had our brushes with history. That’s what keeps life interesting.
–Bernadette
87 Broadway, Orangeville ON, L9W 1K1