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September 2, 1960 - September 2, 2020
June and I are Celebrating our 60th Wedding Anniversary today, September 2, 2020
Since the Virus has cut into all the various plans we had for traveling and celebrating our 60th Wedding Anniversary today, June and I are visiting all our family and friends by various methods.
The day we met, Wichita and the entire State of Kansas had been buried in a blizzard near the end of the 1st Semester (Jan 1960) and there were snow drifts 10 to 20 feet high near most buildings, vehicles, and parking lots throughout the city. My brother and I had put the chains on the rear tires of our car, thrown some shovels and brooms in the trunk, and headed out to Wichita University’s library which had just reopened, to check out some research books to write up a couple of final reports and turn them in.
We were seated in the Student Union Cafeteria working away when I heard a soft voice say, “Can you Please Help Me?” And standing there was what I guessed was a half frozen girl, all covered in snow, with a ski mask on with tiny slits for the eyes, nose, and mouth. I brushed her off, bought her a cup of hot chocolate, and we learned she had backed her Daddy’s car deep into a huge snowbank in one of the parking lots and had to climb through the driver’s window to get out. It took us well over 90 minutes of shoveling snow and ice for us to finally get the car free as we kept stopping for breaks to warm ourselves up in her car. It was sometime during these time outs, that it finally dawned on me that this this girl was really beautiful and smart. And the time between shoveling and needing a break kept getting shorter and shorter. We finally got the car cleared, made a huge push, and suddenly the car spurted forwarded, and my brother and I fell face forward into the the snow, ice, and the slush. When I managed to clear my eyes, I saw her hand extend from the car window and we got a wave as she drove away. My thinking was, I probably will never see her again.
On The first day of second Semester, I was sitting with some friends drinking coffee after classes, and a voice said, “May I join you?” My best friend Clark, later told me I nearly broke his rib elbowing him over to make room. She was an 18 year old Freshman, and I was a 21 year old senior. Seven months later on September 2,1960, when she was 19, and a Sophomore, and I was 22, had graduated, and been commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army, we were married. Prior to the wedding, her parents and mine, like the old song, kept telling us, "We were too young. Too young to really be in love. They said that love was a word, a word we had only heard, but were too young to know the meaning of.” Finally, 10 years later, on our 10th Anniversary, along with our 3 year old son and our new born daughter, both sets of parents admitted that perhaps we had not been too young at all.
The Luckiest day of my life was the day we met.
And the two Best things I have ever done in my life were Loving her and Marrying her.
60/60
June and I are Celebrating our 60th Wedding Anniversary today, September 2, 2020
Since the Virus has cut into all the various plans we had for traveling and celebrating our 60th Wedding Anniversary today, June and I are visiting all our family and friends by various methods.
The day we met, Wichita and the entire State of Kansas had been buried in a blizzard near the end of the 1st Semester (Jan 1960) and there were snow drifts 10 to 20 feet high near most buildings, vehicles, and parking lots throughout the city. My brother and I had put the chains on the rear tires of our car, thrown some shovels and brooms in the trunk, and headed out to Wichita University’s library which had just reopened, to check out some research books to write up a couple of final reports and turn them in.
We were seated in the Student Union Cafeteria working away when I heard a soft voice say, “Can you Please Help Me?” And standing there was what I guessed was a half frozen girl, all covered in snow, with a ski mask on with tiny slits for the eyes, nose, and mouth. I brushed her off, bought her a cup of hot chocolate, and we learned she had backed her Daddy’s car deep into a huge snowbank in one of the parking lots and had to climb through the driver’s window to get out. It took us well over 90 minutes of shoveling snow and ice for us to finally get the car free as we kept stopping for breaks to warm ourselves up in her car. It was sometime during these time outs, that it finally dawned on me that this this girl was really beautiful and smart. And the time between shoveling and needing a break kept getting shorter and shorter. We finally got the car cleared, made a huge push, and suddenly the car spurted forwarded, and my brother and I fell face forward into the the snow, ice, and the slush. When I managed to clear my eyes, I saw her hand extend from the car window and we got a wave as she drove away. My thinking was, I probably will never see her again.
On The first day of second Semester, I was sitting with some friends drinking coffee after classes, and a voice said, “May I join you?” My best friend Clark, later told me I nearly broke his rib elbowing him over to make room. She was an 18 year old Freshman, and I was a 21 year old senior. Seven months later on September 2,1960, when she was 19, and a Sophomore, and I was 22, had graduated, and been commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army, we were married. Prior to the wedding, her parents and mine, like the old song, kept telling us, "We were too young. Too young to really be in love. They said that love was a word, a word we had only heard, but were too young to know the meaning of.” Finally, 10 years later, on our 10th Anniversary, along with our 3 year old son and our new born daughter, both sets of parents admitted that perhaps we had not been too young at all.
The Luckiest day of my life was the day we met.
And the two Best things I have ever done in my life were Loving her and Marrying her.
60/60
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