PART 2 Over the year that Aldo and I were friends we obviously didnt see each other all the time because I was in a relationship, had a child and had obligations and so did he. He also travelled, recorded, toured and promoted his Subject album. At some point in 1984 I remember going through relationship problems. The father of my child suddenly decided that he no longer wanted to be in a monogamous relationship and that he wanted his freedom back, so he left….ughhhh???? I was devastated!!! At around the same time Aldos first wife whom he had been separated from for a while wanted an amicable divorce so he went back to NY for a few days to work out the details. He never told me he was leaving this time and all I remember is that at this point I needed Aldos friendship and loving care but when I tried to find him he was AWOL. Instead I got his then roommate on the phone, he was what one would consider an english heartthrob french singer (whatever that is!). He told me Aldo was gone to NY and that he had not given any information as to when he was coming back, if he did come back. He offered a friendly ear and time for the two days until my ex decided to come back and that he really didnt know what he was doing or wanted and like a silly little girl I just took him back. I later found out this roommate friend of Aldos had a thing for me and I may have hurt his feelings and I think a few lies were told to Aldo. All I know is that after I went back with my ex, Aldo never called me back or tried to see me again when he returned to Montreal, he even left Montreal to go and live in NY until 1986 when in moved back to live at La Cité, on Park avenue. Well thats how the story goes for quite a few years, I did not see or speak to Aldo but the strange thing is that we practically frequented the same complex for about 4 years and never bumped into each other. You see, I started working at the Park Hotel in the summer of 1986. Im not exactly sure when Aldo moved back to Montreal but it must have been around the same time, 1986. La Cité and The Park Hotel were all part of the same Complex but across the street from one another, connected by tunnels and situated at the corner of the very popular intersection of Prince Arthur street and Park avenue for anybody who has ever lived or visited Montreal, it was a very happening place in the 80s. Aldo lived in the Penthouse and I worked on the 15th Floor of the Hotel which was private and exclusive to VIPs and High Ranking Executives. PS: By the way I have some very funny and amazing stories I will be sharing with you on my TBT of my 4 years there; encounters I had with legends such as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie (Bless their souls), Jerry Lewis and many more. Aldo and I frequented the same gym and spa which had a connecting indoor/outdoor pool that we both apparently used a lot. Aldo used to hang out at the bar of the Hotel lobby. But we never ran into each other. I used to always go in through the employees entrance and take the elevator straight to the 15th floor and I didnt hang out in bars! I guess I went to the gym on my days off which must have been different than Aldos!?!! I stopped working there in 1989. Aldo met his ex wife there in 1987 and married her when she was 7 months pregnant in 1989. I believe they moved to St-Lazare in 1989!! Again very strange. I then worked at the Metropolis where 2 friends and I, all employees of the Park Hotel applied on a dare against well over 3000 other applicants and all 3 of us ended up getting the job. I was hired as a barmaid for the VIP Sarah Bernardt section for their launch where I served characters such as Bill Idol among others until I was so proficient at making drinks and large cashes that they gave me the largest and busiest bar by the dance floor on the main floor. It later became a show venue and I saw amazing shows for free featuring Blondie, served the Pink Floyd guys, made tons of tips…good times :D (more cool stories). Then I worked at a bar named Zeebra. Now no one here probably knows this place but the reason I mention it is because I found this job in a newspaper (I cant remember which one). It was an in between job until I got what would become my full time career job at Musique Plus.The reason I mention it is because I did not know a soul who owned the place or worked there. They hired me on the spot. They wet all mostly italian, portuguese, greek and they all became my friends. Good friends. They were great, the bosses, their wives, the bouncers, their friends who were permanent fixtures there. What I didnt know until I met Aldo again in 2012 is that all these people were all close friends of his too, most of them from his childhood and some of them even related to him. Some helped him out through some very tough times too….Aldo even hanged out there….just never on the days I worked there. Again serendipity. I even kept the job on weekends for a year after I started working at Musique Plus and some bands who played at the Forum de Montreal (I think it was still called like that back then, not sure, correct me if Im wrong) used to come and play pool there after their show. They used to invite me to see their show but I couldnt go because I worked so some of the bands actually came with their roadies, girlfriends and managers to hang out there because it was private and out of the way :). More fun stories. Finally, MusiquePlus. This is actually where Aldo and I actually bumped into each other quite a few times before our faithful April 16th 2012 meeting that would finally unite us in love. Aldo dropped by the station over the years to promote his albums, BOTB, Novas Dream, or as the songwriter and/or producer for Celine Dion, Eric Lapointe, Garou…. and when he used to see me he would always introduce me as This is Paola, I love this girl, but she broke my heart….., but not in a nice way mind you! O.o Still I took it in stride, laughed a bit and rolled my eyes. What else can I do. By then he was married, had kids. I was in a relationship, my son was growing up, might as well laugh about it. Yet in the back of my mind I always wondered what it would have been like had he been there that faithful time I looked for him in 1984 when I needed him :) The last time I saw Aldo before our 2012 meeting was in 1995 or 96. He was hanging out with Bon Jovi when they came into the station to do a live show between two performances at the Forum (or Bell Center???). Except that by this time I did not give him a chance to embarrass me again. When I saw him I said HI!, smiled, (we used to have to carry around walkie talkies and huge , I mean huge, cell phones) and then proceeded to play with one of the bottoms on the walkie talkie so as to make some noise. I then excused myself, apologized and said I had to run to take care of a broadcast emergency. He never got a chance to introduce me as that girl!. Haha. I pretty much hid in the bathroom, control room or any other discreet room I could work from for the rest of the event till they left! That was it for Aldo until 2012. Sonia Benezra suggested interviewing Aldo Nova for her show Benezra and as with most other guests they asked me for my advice and if I thought it was a good idea. I said: OMG, of course, this guy is a genius, he is so multi-talented, and was always so ahead of his time. Hes worked with the biggest stars and was one of the pioneers on MTV for his own musical success. Plus hes from Montreal and he speaks french. great idea. I just hoped he would accept the invitation because he is such a private person and lucky for us he did. Please just make sure you cover everything, dont just talk about the 80s There are so many younger researchers there now and Im sorry to say they are not as musically curious as we used to be but I wasnt worried because Sonia is such a hard worker. She researches her subjects like no others and she is among the best interviewers I have met in my lifetime. My good friends Anne-Marie Withenshaw and Rebecca Makonnen rank high up there too. :) I had asked the producer of the show to bring Aldo by my office once the interview was over because I wanted to say hello to him. After all I hadnt seen him since 1996 and I wondered if he would even remember me. When he saw me he said I love this girl. Thats all he said, and I smiled. This time when he asked for my number I gave him my real phone number. We were both single for the first time. And I think that for the first time the stars were aligned just perfectly. I worked for Musique Plus 22 years, and 4 months after meeting Aldo I was no longer working there. It happened the first time Bel Media made an offer to buy Astral which was turned down by the CRTC. We both had to wait all that time to be ready to share our love and we both went through trials and tribulations and had we hooked up any time before that the outcome would not have been the same and it may have turned sour. It doesnt matter though because it wasnt time wasted. It gave us time to grow. We both have achieved amazing things, professionally and personally (our children) and this way Aldo and I have and will still be alble to share some of our stories with our friends. But the important thing to remember, for those who dont believe in faith or destiny….it does exist, and this story was written a long time ago in the stars. Peace out
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 02:38:34 +0000
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