He was working in Pittsburgh, auditing Gulf Oil for Price Water House. One of his married buddies approached the crowd at the water cooler and asked a guy, John, if he wanted a blind date with his wife’s friend from dental school. “Wait!” Arthur said. “You already have a girlfriend, John. How about me? Why… Continue reading Betting on a Jersey Girl
Category: firsts
Homecoming Hopes
Marci was voted to be on Homecoming Court by her senior class. With 107 girls, she was one of just five who made it. Marci was walking on clouds until she realized she had no date — no steady boyfriend. She couldn’t go alone. What was she going to do? Could she refuse? The football… Continue reading Homecoming Hopes
Pre PC Computer Date
The idea for computer dating has been around as long as computers for personal use. Carolyn should know! In 1965 (yes, in the Dark Ages) she had her first and last computer match. In those days one filled out a computer punch card, the data was computed, and the results took a day or so.… Continue reading Pre PC Computer Date
Worst Weekend Getaway Ever
While student teaching in Venezuela, we learned how to have fun with not much money. One of the American teachers had stolen a couple of striped beach towels from an upscale hotel, and she had been sneaking into the hotel pool for years. “Just carry the towel and act like you belong,” Linda said. Christy… Continue reading Worst Weekend Getaway Ever
Rocky Mountain Low
He was the good-looking cousin of my best friend. Tall, tan, and bearded, with a killer smile, it was love at first sight. Marcus had moved from Minnesota to Colorado to be near his sister. He asked if I wanted to come out and go backpacking with him. I said yes but that my girlfriend… Continue reading Rocky Mountain Low
Prom Be Gone
It was supposed to be junior prom at Stoughton High, but it got cancelled (thirteen years before the movie Footloose). Patsy wasn’t going steady with anyone, so she wasn’t too upset. At the last minute the school arranged a dance in the high school gym, but with no decorations, no court (no prom queen), and… Continue reading Prom Be Gone
Salsa and Salsa
We had been student teaching in Venezuela for three weeks. Linda and some of the other teachers at our school, Campo Alegre, decided to take us to the beach. We grabbed our suits and climbed into Linda’s car and took the highway through the long tunnels down to the Caribbean Sea. Kristy and I had… Continue reading Salsa and Salsa
Wrestlers and Basketball Dudes
The summer after high school graduation Debi, Donna, and I climbed into Debi’s blue Ford Pinto and cruised over to the next town of Johnston. Why? New guys, of course, not the same old, same old Urbandale guys. Debi was petite, Donna a little taller, and I was a giraffe. We made an odd trio… Continue reading Wrestlers and Basketball Dudes
Three Strikes, You’re Out
He didn’t seem her type — he was a few pounds overweight but not bad looking. He wore a nice suit in his online photo. He was an architect. He pursued her with photo-likes over a few weeks and text messages, too. Ellen agreed to a phone chat. At least he seems intelligent. He was… Continue reading Three Strikes, You’re Out
One Flood, Two Fishermen
Kristy and I met at ISU. We had been around the world together, at least to Venezuela where we did our student teaching, plus Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. Now we were roommates in the middle of nowhere, Nebraska. As the story goes, I applied for the third grade teaching job, the principal interviewed me, showed… Continue reading One Flood, Two Fishermen
