The strangest job nonfiction writer Ann Walmsley ever had

Ann Walmsley made a career as a magazine journalist working for the Globe and Mail and Maclean's. After taking an assignment in a men's prison and writing The Prison Book Club, she added "author" to her resume. But long before all of that, she was a hostess at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.

The strangest day job I ever had would have to be the summer job I had in 1976 when I was hired as a hostess for the Montreal Olympics. Back then, who was being hired was quite controversial. Women with glasses were not encouraged to apply — and I had glasses, I did not have contact lenses. I was a poor student and I think I was hired because of the media pressure about hiring women who wear glasses had finally caused the Olympics committee to change their point of view. And so they hired me, even with my glasses on.

We had a lot of dramas in which some of the other hostesses were proposed to by representatives from a number of Arab nations. And then there was somebody who tried to defect from Russia. These are stories I heard, I didn't actually see it, but there was a defector who approached a hostess and asked to have asylum. I think he ended up on a plane back to Russia the next day. It was an exciting experience, but I'm glad it was just a summer job. 

Ann Walmsley's comments have been edited and condensed.