Hoping for a long, long winter

November 6, 2001
Source: National Post
Original story - link verified on November 11, 2001
By Roy Macgregor

Hiro Okamoto could not have chosen a more appropriate metaphor, or quite such a chilling reminder of the day it all went wrong for Banff. The manager of four large souvenir shops in this mecca of Canadian tourism stands with his right hand raised in front of his eyes, fingers pointed ahead and palm facing the ground. He holds the hand steady a moment, pushes it forward, and then curls his hand as it plummets like a downed aircraft. "Our sales went down like this after Sept. 11," he says. "A real nosedive -- it was terrible."

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