The "Blind Date" Story

It was an ordinary day. Carol and I were reminiscing about the good olde times. The subject of how we met became the focus of the conversation. Time to share it with you! It was a BLIND DATE! Yep, they really do work out sometimes. Sometimes has grown to 42 years now. We both had recently broken up with boyfriend, girlfriend and were available again. My Father and her Mother worked together at Meiskeys' Jewelry store in Lancaster. Her Mom had told her a few times, "You should meet this nice LDub." After some bribing, Carol finally agreed and her Mom approached my Dad and said we should meet each other. My Dad approached me and asked if I was interested in a good looking girl whose mother worked with him. You bet I was! Well, I made the call. It was early June and we agreed to go out for something to eat for our first weeknight date. Carol and her parents used to live in Martic Forge, but had recently moved about two blocks away from my parent's house in Grandview Heights. How convenient. I showed up on my Honda motorcycle for our first date. After greeting, we hopped on the cycle and off we went for a bit to eat. After about five minutes it started to rain. OK, this isn't going to work so we headed back to my house to get the car. We went to Martin's Drive-In for a burger and fries and talked all evening about our lives. She worked at a cytology laboratory and I was in college and working part-time at the Acme Supermarket. A cytology laboratory does cell testing to find if a person has cancer. Since Carol saw the horrors of cancer and the effect smoking had on a person, she told me she would only continue to date me if I gave up smoking. She was gorgeous, so that was a no-brainer. She was 18 and I was 21. After taking her home, we agreed to take my Pontiac Tempest and go to the drive-in movie on Saturday evening. Did I kiss her on our first date, you're wondering. We both don't remember, REALLY! We dated all summer going to movies, the beach and family functions. On October 27th, her birthday, I presented her with a wooden jewelry box lined with red velvet that I had made. Inside was an engagement ring that I naturally had bought from Meiskeys' Jewelry store. Got a really good price on it!! Years later, after having the ring appraised for insurance purposes, she discovered the carat weight wasn't as big as I told her it was. Oops! Time for an upgrade. Now I know this isn't as exciting as when some people get engaged, but remember, I'm just an ordinary guy. We were engaged on her 19th birthday. We talked and talked and talked and picked a date, June 17th for our Wedding. Almost one year from when we first met. A lot happened during the first year we knew each other, but you'll have to wait for those stories. On June 17th we were married at St James Episcopal Church. Now, that's a really neat story. But, later. Anyway, the "Blind Date" story proves the TV and magazine ad, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda!" It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.