As a freshman at Drexel and still looking for the right girl for me, I decided to go the familiar route and ask Ann on a date. She is the younger sister of my best friend since eighth grade. We took a train from Delaware County to Drexel, in Philadelphia and went bowling. I was sure things were getting more serious in my life because the train tickets, bowling and I assume we got something to eat, but I don’t remember, cost me a lot more than my movie date with Connie back in the fifth grade! I should have known this relationship was to be of a short duration when shortly after our date Christmas day arrived and I had no present for her.
However, I was a bit resourceful. My mother received a small bottle of perfume for Christmas from a lady she worked with and Mother, who would do anything for anybody, gladly gave me the perfume to re-gift to Ann. I don’t know if Ann thought the perfume was an old lady fragrance or what (the problem couldn’t be me) but this “budding romance” didn’t last long either. I am happy to relate that I now have known the family for more than 50 years and have seen Ann and her siblings many times at family birthday parties, weddings, funerals, etc.
Wow, at the age of 19, I was sure I was going to be a shy bachelor for the rest of my life. I hadn’t even kissed a girl yet (not counting the spin the bottle party I attended in sixth grade). Would there ever be another chance? YES! My sister, Linda, who was four years older than me, spent time doing church work in the inner city of Philadelphia with Barb, a senior in high school, who just happened to live four blocks from us. Linda brought her home for a Sunday family dinner, supposedly to introduce her to Bill, my best friend, who happened to be Ann’s brother. We were watching television with other members of my family in our living room. She sat on one couch behind me and to my left, while I sat on another couch closer to the television. Every once in a while, I turned to say something to her and by golly, I thought she was pretty cute: petite, with brown hair and as you may see in her graduation photo above, she looked like she could be a bit Asian, which I liked.
A short while later, I found out Barb needed some help with algebra homework. Since she was “only” a high school senior and I was in my second year in college, certainly I could help her. I never told her I went to summer school in ninth grade for algebra. We sat at our dining room table for quite a while trying to figure out the answer to a problem with no success, at which time my father walked through the room. My father was a salesman for most of his life and if he didn’t know an answer to a problem, he made one up and was so convincing with his answer, he always had me believing him. After about 10 minutes, he threw up his hands and continued walking to the kitchen. This was a first and a great point for Barb!
Our first quasi-date was when she drove a friend in her class and her brother and me to an away high school basketball game. There was much laughter during this trip because her dad didn’t take very good care of his car, and although it had an automatic transmission, the car stalled many times. Next was a real date when we went bowling. The night went okay, but the bowling alley was a mile or two from her home and we walked home with snow on the ground. My memory is too foggy on how many times she slipped and fell on the sidewalk, but I was not familiar enough with her to hold her hand to keep her from falling. My memory is even worse about helping her up from her falls, which Barb claims I wasn’t much help. And she still stuck with me… Second point for Barb!
As time passed, we started to spend more time together. Barb’s parents were nice and they knew how to help sink the hook into a prospective son-in-law. I sat with them at a high school football game, where Barb was a majorette, AND they bought me a hot dog. Then I was invited by them to Perkins Pancake House, where I had my first ever country toast. Before long, I was eating meals at Barb’s house a few times a week. BIG POINTS!
It wasn’t perfect all the time. I remember the day we had an argument and I stormed out of her parent’s house. I got down to the end of the block and remembered the next day we had a big date (not bowling this time). We were to go out to dinner and to a movie. I swallowed my pride, turned around and went back and apologized to Barb. The date went well! Another point!
Please excuse me for a few minutes. I’m becoming so thankful to Linda; I must stop and call her. Barb was the Right One! So, how have the 48 years of marriage been? Let me just say I just got off the phone with Linda, and I told her I not only loved her but really, really, REALLY wanted to THANK her for bringing Barb home to dinner! By the way, Bill also found a wonderful young lady to marry (without Linda’s help).
Jeff Hall, of Honey Brook, contributes columns to Berks-Mont Newspapers.
