For a few years I dated a girl from Brandon, Manitoba. Brandon was our first stop in Canada and we often found a number of employees there who wanted to get the hell out of town, and the Carnival was a great way to see this great nation and earn a few bucks while you were at it. My girlfriend was one of those people. As the summer progressed so did our sordid little romance.
At the conclusion of the CNE we were tired and in need of a good meal, so the day after the CNE ended I suggested that we go for dinner and maybe take in some live music, which she agreed would be good for our worn out souls. First off a little background, this girl from Brandon, Manitoba was maybe not very wise in the ways of the world, as this summer was the first time she had ever been out of Manitoba — therefore she was easily tricked.
At the time we stayed at Carlton Place, which was located right next door to Maple Leaf Gardens. I suggested that I would take her to a very fine eating establishment and maybe she could wear a nice dress and perhaps a little makeup would be in order. She was released from work earlier in the afternoon and I said that I would have to stay later to take care of some business and would meet her for dinner. I drew her a map from the hotel, only three blocks north on Church street to where we would meet at the cross street of Maitland @ 7:00pm.
At that time Church and Maitland was a location for streetwalkers.
I arrived a bit early and sat in the coffee shop across the street and soon there was my girl from Brandon, Manitoba strutting up the street and stopping at the preset location. As she is standing there patiently, looking pretty as ever, waiting for me, the working girls at the corner are eyeing her up and pointing in her direction. Soon, one of the girls comes over to confront her, the Brandon girl just ingores her and thinks this is some sort of crazy whack job. Some guys in cars slow down and check her out, she still has not figured it out. The same working girl now approaches her again and I think enough is enough I better go get her. The working girl is having some cross words with my friend and she finally clues in to what she has gotten herself into as I cross the street. As I get close she is furious with me and does not see the humour in the matter — still the working girl is firing cross words in our direction.
Soon Ms. Brandon has cooled down and thinks I need some serious mental assessment — we go for dinner with live music to follow.
The girl from Brandon now resides, very happily, in Waterloo, Ontario, with four children and is a long-time employee of TD Canada Trust. I see her every August as she visits the CNE each year with her family and she often says that the three summers she spent with Conklin Shows ticket office were some of the best times of her life.