The big Air sa国际传媒 jet broke through the thin layer of cloud and there was Montreal, spread out in all directions for miles. The airplane veered over the narrow Jacques Cartier Bridge and dipped just enough that I could see the Expo 67 site spread out in a blaze of glory.
Three long years before this, they were just starting construction and I鈥檇 watched the event from the bubble of a CF100 jet fighter, sa国际传媒鈥檚 only jet fighter ever, as I took off from the St. Hubert military base just east of the big city.
Now I was a helicopter pilot on leave from a summer flying in northern Alberta. We landed at the airport and I headed straight for a phone and called Jan, my Australian girlfriend, who had driven my car to Toronto and taken a very busy train to Montreal.
One did not drive in Montreal without lots of experience and a suicide wish. It was late September 1967. We spent three days wandering from pavilion to pavilion, avoiding the long lineups for the most famous events. Our favourites were the Australian and Jamaican pavilions. The Australian for obvious reasons and the Jamaican for its rum punches.
That was 50 years ago. Sadly, none was planned for our 150th. The mini expo in Vancouver in 1986 simply
didn鈥檛 match up to the Montreal event. 鈥� Hank Sands