As I was walking beside Colonel de Kovachich while he was leading the 3BAM procession up towards St-Catherine's street, he asked me quite innocently if I had ever imagined when I joined the regiment back in 1982, if I would be one day marching here with him in a St-Patrick's Day parade. The answer was quite obviously, "No!" I'm sure that the thought had never occurred to him either back then. In all truth, I'd thought my days of shooting photos of parades were over many years ago. I'd shot photos of just about every one in the first years that I was learning photography, eager as I was back then to shoot photos of just about anything, just for the practice. Those however who know my work, know full well that normally shoot photos of what can best be described as a "different nature," and usually under far more controlled, not to mention warmer, circumstances.
In any case, this was only the second time this weekend I was doing something I'd never thought I'd be doing. The first had been to repeat a photographic assignment my father had shot at the Cote des Neiges armoury some 46 years earlier. (More on this one in a my next post) Back to the issue at hand: St-Patrick's Day. The turn-out was great, the weather damned cold, and the light way too harsh, too blue and too contrasty for my liking. Still struggling from the throat infection I'd caught the last time that CWO (ret) Aubé had offered me a parka and which I had stupidly declined, I graciously accepted the offer of one on this day and happily went about my photographic business, with my trademark once again making me stand out like a sore thumb.
3BAM had hoped to have both it's guns and four vehicles on the parade, but an unfortunate run of events limited us to just one tractor, one gun. I suppose there's always next year. But given how much the crowd seemed to appreciate and applaud 3BAM, it would have been just awesome to have had both guns and tractors in the parade. As mentioned, Colonel de Kovachich led the procession. LCol's (ret) Jaques Borne and Yvon Bégin were both also present, as was Capt (ret) Maurice Noreau, OCdt Monique Champagne, our Sunray, CWO (ret) Gilles Aubé, MWO (ret) Tom Savoie, WO's (ret) Gilles Pelletier, Michel Lepage, and Dominic Varvaro. Also present, Sgt Marc Castonguay, LSgt's Michel Lapointe, Bdr's Rocheleau and Coulombe and Gnr Castonguay, and at least two or three others who's names I still haven't learned because I'm quite frankly, a lousy reporter. 2Lt Francois Bélec and about two dozen members of cadet corps 2719 also participated, along with several family members of 3BAM personnel, mostly riding in the back of the gun tractor. 
LCol (ret) Bégin probably had the most fun as he got to be the one to stand in the cupola of the FAT and fire off salutes like a conquering hero, but hey! If they had offered me the chance to take his place, I would have jumped on it, though I would have looked a bit silly doing this with my fedora. Sillier still if the wind had blown it off my head while I was standing there. Nope! That's a job for a colonel or someone important, not a humble photographer and one-time sergeant.
Ubique!
Gary Menten
Photographer
