Marlene and I met in high school typing class in 11th grade. We went out on our first date on the first weekend of our Senior year. She was a few days short of turning 17. We were in the Class of '76.
After high school I went to The Sterling School in Vermont. Marlene went to a local community college.
Marlene lived at home while going to college and needed a car to get there every day, so she bought that red Chevy Nova you see in the picture above. She bought it with her own savings. He father helped her pick it out and he paid for the insurance while she was in school.
While in high school Marlene worked at the local nursing home every day after school. When she went to community college, she earned money by lifeguarding at the school's pool. And she had a job staying overnights with an elderly woman in town who needed someone with her all the time.
Marlene was a worker and a saver when she was younger. She still is. If, perchance, you are a young man, yet to be married, I recommend that, in due time, you find a wife who is a hard worker and a good saver. She will be a great blessing to you all your days.
There are, of course, other important qualities to be mindful of in your future wife. And, of course, you yourself must have those same qualities for the best long term results.
The Nova was a great car. It had a big V8 engine. It really jumped when you put your foot down on the pedal. We had a lot of good adventures with that Nova.
As for me, it would be a couple more years before I was able to buy my first car. I worked on a dairy farm for a year after the Sterling School before I felt comfortable spending the money to get a car. And I had to pay for my own insurance. :-)
In the photo above, I was home on vacation. I hadn't had a hair cut since I left for Vermont six months before. And my hair was probably not real short when I left. Longish hair was in style.
I may have looked like a hippie, but I wasn't one. True hippies were liberals. I wasn't a liberal back then. I've never been a liberal. I was born a conservative, and I've just gotten more conservative with age.
Longish hair was a phase for me. It was a mildly rebellious but totally harmless phase. When Marlene and I got married on November 29, 1980 (38 years ago today), that longish hair was gone.
I often wonder...
If body piercings and tattoos were in style back in 1977, would I have chosen to permanently mutilate and deface my body with those things?
I really don't think so.
Well, those are some early morning blog ruminations for this day. Marlene and I are celebrating our milestone by going to some thrift shops in Syracuse. And we're going to eat at a CoreLife restaurant.
I've never eaten at CoreLife, but Marlene has. She says I'll like it. I'm sure I will because, after 38 years, Marlene knows what I like.
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| This is one for the very few wedding-day photos we have from 1980. It is grainy and faded, but it captures our joy at finally being married (after four years of waiting). That joy has not diminished with the years. I am a blessed and eternally thankful man. |
