In a daggy Canadian nightclub, Clark Kent lookalike Clif asked Pilar Mitchell for a dance – and her life changed

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It was Christmas night, I was 19, and my friend Carmel called. “Are you done with your family stuff?” she asked. Being done with family stuff was my personal brand, so her call was an instant salve. Then she said: “Clif wanted me to ask you to come out. We’re going to Legends.”

Legends was a nightclub of near-last resort in the Canadian city where I grew up. There were worse places to go – the Boom Boom Room, for example – so it was lucky that Legends was open, even on Christmas Day.