Friday, February 14th, marks the 50th anniversary of the first time that Ruth and I went on an official date. We’d known each other since the prior August, rode in a car pool with another first year teacher, flirted with each other on several occasions, discussed and met other people we were dating, but never went out with each other. The junior high counselor, Tim Stewart, and his wife, Julie, hosted a Valentine’s Day party in their home. Ruth and I went together.
Our first date was unremarkable. We had a good time, shared our first kiss, but other than those two firsts, I have nothing more to report. The subsequent fifty years have been an adventure. We’ve shared all sorts of emotions during our time together.
If you took each of us in separate rooms for an interview, I expect we’d report many of the same stories. Most of the people, places, and things that brought one of us joy, brought the same to the other. I believe we have similar regrets as well.
In 1969 Eddie Holman released his hit, Lonely Girl. It reached the top of the charts in time for Valentine’s Day 1970. Since that first date I’ve been a lot of things, but “lonely” is not one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0F4i1_MnEk