It all began in October 1962 in Paris where I had been posted two years before.  A new communicator was being posted from Ottawa to Paris and as was the custom then, a staff member from our office would go to the airport to pick up the new employee.  As I happened to be the only single person in the office at the time, Jean Bleau our supervisor asked me if I felt like picking up that new employee.  I already had been advised that the employee was female so of course I agreed to go, at least to check out the "moychandise".  At the airport, we usually got to go on the tarmac where we could hold up a "Canadian Embassy" sign in order to make it easier for the new arrivals.

   We were both standing there watching the passengers exit the plane when my eye caught sight of a nice looking blond coming down the stairs.  I would be lying if I said I didn't think it could be the new girl.  Well lo and behold she starred at us with a smile and started walking toward us.  My heart started pounding and I couldn't believe how beautiful she was.  She walked up to me and introduced herself to both of us and after picking up her bags we proceeded back to town to book her at the hotel where she would be staying.

   As we were driving into town, I was figuring out a way to impress her so as I could begin a relationship with her.  I wanted to do this before she reported to work at the Embassy where she would be hounded by all those wolves at the Embassy.  There were at the time an impressive number of single guys. I also knew that George had to make all the right moves.

   At the hotel, we booked her in and helped her up to her room with her bags.  By this time it was almost 4 pm.  I asked her if she had eaten anything and if she was hungry.  Much to my delight, she said she could indeed eat something so I offered to take her out for something to eat.  I suggested she take her time, freshen up and I would be back to pick her up in my car.  WHAT A SET UP... That was exactly what I had been hoping for all along. (I must add here that I was also being sympathetic to her as I had gone through some culture shock and I didnt wish her go through the same experience).

   There was a nice Italian restaurant I knew and patronized on a regular basis because of its nice atmosphere and wonderful food, which I thought was an ideal place to start practicing my remanticizing.  This restaurant was approximately 4 stories high and had a multitude of different levels and small private rooms, ideal for the situation.  Of course, as a gentleman should, I explained the menu and the wines to her and ended up a very beautiful meal. At least I thought....I am sure she liked it too....Before taking her back at the hotel, we went on a mini tour of the main sites in Paris, including the Embassy where she was about to spend the next 3 1/2 years.

   While eating, I told her about the communicator she was going to replace.  There was a going away party planned for that person in a few days and I suggested I could pick her up and escort her to the party where I could introduce her to the people at the Embassy and make it easier for her.  She was very impressed and I guess she must have been somewhat interested because she did not hesitate to say ¨ Yes¨ .  I knew then that I had done a good job and my chances were pretty good.  Well, from that day on, we courted and all the other guys never had a chance. 

   One big problem occurred two years down the road when my posting was over and I was getting ready to return home.  We were pretty serious at that stage and had, in our conversations, touched on the subject of marriage.  The problem was, as you all know, the fact that returning to Canada meant that we might not see each other for a long time and perhaps never again unless I was reassigned close to Paris which would allow me to visit.  That to me was practically a non starter.

  I returned home and began my duties at the comcentre in Ottawa always thinking of my girlfriend in Paris and how could I possible arrange something so that we could be together and get married.  I decided to go and speak to our boss Stan Daly.  I sat down with him and told him I had somewhat of a problem.  He asked ¨Whats the problem¨ ?  I explained that I wanted to get married.  He smiled and in a typical Stan Daly reply said ¨Getting married is not a problem¨.  He knew about our relationship because of his many courier trips to Paris had met Madeleine and was also her boss.  He then asked me what I had in mind.  I explained by asking if he could bring Madeleine back to Ottawa so as we could be together.  He replied that it was not a good idea because treasury board would not be too happy with it being that Madeleines stay in Paris was way to short and she would also have to pay a portion of her removal to Canada.  He went on to say that he had another idea in mind.  He asked me to give him some time to think about it and he would get back to me.  I must admit that I didnt have too much faith in what would or could be done.  I assumed I would get a typical run around although I had to put my trust in Stan because he was that kind of a man and one could trust his word.

   Two weeks later having just gone to bed after working on the midnight shift, I received a phone call from the office.  The lady where I boarded woke me up to answer a call from Stan.  He apologized for waking me up but was quick to add that I would not be disappointed with the call.  Could I come and see him sometime during the day regarding a proposition he had for me.  I could not wait any longer so I got dressed and rushed to his office.  I sat down and in a typical Stan Daly style with no preamble, he asked ¨How would you like to go on a posting to Brussels¨ ?  He went on to explain that there were two posts opening up in May and June and he would post me there in May and Madeleine would be cross-posted from Paris to Brussels in June.  I frankly didnt believe it as it was not External Affairs policy to have two married persons working in the same department let alone doing the same work.  Well, somehow Stan had pulled it off.

   Well, I can tell you I returned home that day not being able to go back to sleep very quickly.  I could not believe that this was happening.  Of course I phone Madeleine in Paris to tell her the good news and she was excited as well.

   I now had to wait six months before leaving for Europe again so we decided Madeleine would take a months vacation and come to Ottawa to get married before returning to our new assignment.  The date of the wedding would be on the 4th of May.  Arrangements were made with travel section in Ottawa for us to leave for Europe on the Italian line ¨Carmenia¨ from Montreal two days after the wedding.  Another surprise was awaiting me at the travel section.  The lady handling my departure saw that I was leaving as a married man.  She said ¨Do ou realize that the government will pay for your future wifes trip back to Paris ?¨ I didnt expect that at all.  Well they did.  Madeleine was able to cash in the return portion of her plane ticket and I obtained the tickets for her return trip.  I couldnt frankly believe this was all happening. I can tell you that I only had nice words to say of External Affairs at that particular time.

   Well, I thought everything would sort of settle down for a while but little did I know how hectic organizing a wedding would be with a mother in law whom I hardly knew at the time and without my fiancée there.  I must say it was quite an ordeal.

   Three months went by, and once again it was Christmas. Again I received a phone call from the office and this time it was Archie Mathews, the officer in charge of the courier section.  With his usual loud voice, he too asked me to drop in to see him as he wished to discuss something with me.  I wondered what he wanted of me.  When I went to see him he asked ¨ How would you like to spend New Years with your girlfriend in Paris ?¨ I couldnt believe my ears again.  He explained that a courier had asked to skip his New Years trip for personal reasons.  Archie told him that there should be no problem as he had the man to do the trip for him.  Me! I had done courier work while in Paris and had the necessary passport and various shots required to travel abroad. Archie knew that I would jump at the opportunity and of course I agreed to go.

   Now, relevant to this story is the fact that while in Paris, a good friend of mine had studied for a year at the Sorbonne University in Paris.  Of course, it was beneficial to him, considering the high cost of apartments in Paris to have a place to stay so he stayed with me. He helped out with the food and various expenses which one encounters while living in an apartment.  When he was getting ready to return to Canada, he thanked me for the favour and told me that if I ever needed any jewelry I could contact him and he would introduce me to his dad who was a jeweler in his home town of Ste. Marie de Beauce Qc.

   I never thought that I would pick up on the offer.  But, as everyone knows, being single is not easy especially when you live in a place like Paris. I WAS BROKE.  What an opportunity to get officially engaged on that trip.  I just couldnt miss that chance. I decided to call on my friend who happened to be home in Ste Marie.  We of course reminisced and talked about the good times in Paris before I mentioned to him what I had in mind.  I explained my situation to him as he knew my girlfriend Madeleine. He asked what I needed and then introduced me to his dad on the phone.  His dad began by thanking me for what I had done for his son; that I had basically treated his son like a brother and in return he would treat me as a son. " What is it you need he said "? I explained that I needed wedding rings but knew nothing about these things.  He said he would gather a few sets and send them to me in Ottawa for me to choose from.  Now, this man didnt know me at all and again I just could not believe my ears.  He ended up sending me five sets of rings by registered mail.  I chose one set, returned the other four and he never wanted me to pay for the set I chose.  You can imagine how proud I was being able to make our engagement official on New Years Eve in Paris, an even paid by the government.  Only a milliaonaire could afford this.

  Because I was arriving Paris at 5pm (southern run) on New Years Eve and because of the special situation, Archie told me I could return to Canada the day after New Years. By the way, Stan met me in the hallway one day before leaving and I told him about the wedding rings.  In his serious style, he said ¨I wont allow it because that is smuggling diamond abroad¨  For a moment I thought he was really serious.  Of course he did not allow me to panic too long before finally telling me he was pulling my leg.  I arrived in Paris as planned, the Embassy car picked me up, dropped my courier bags at the Embassy and then my girlfriend picked me up.  After freshening up, we attended the Embassy New Yers ball where we became engaged with all our friends present.

   I left Paris as planned and returned to Ottawa where I worked for another three months prior to our weding.  We got married on May 4, 1964 and the next morning, we travelled by train to Montreal and jumped on the boat for Europe.  I proceeded to Brussels to begin my posting and Madeleine joined me a month later.  We have been together now for 58 years and still counting.

I hope some of you will remember all of this as it was really something else.  This had never been done in External Affairs, where both husband and wife worked together in the same office doing the same work.  As a result, we happen to be he first employee couple.  It turned out to be a vey nice experience for External Affairs and ourselves.  Unfortunately, employee couples were not the norm although we heard of some other couples working together since.

   The above turned out to be the most wonderful years of our lives.  Thank you Stan, Archie and External Affairs.

George Levasseur and Madeleine Lagasse