An Anniversary and a Birthday Celebration

2nd Row-James, Belinda, Myself, Guy, Annmarie, Daryl, Erica, Bev, and Curt 1st Row-Danielle, Mom/June, Shylah, Dad/Bob, and Emily

Written on 6-25-13.

    Two days ago, my siblings and I hosted a 50th wedding anniversary celebration for our parents at Belmar Park.  Mom and Dad picked out the location there, a one-room schoolhouse that had an additional room added on for larger group events like ours.  It was a special event with plenty of family and close friends in attendance.  Part of my contribution was editing, revising, and then telling the story of how Mom and Dad met over fifty years ago. Mom wrote it to near completion, but I made some revisions, more to make it ready for me to read out loud than anything; it was already so well written.  Then some other people chimed in to help make the story even better for the upcoming audience that would hear it. 
    I read it...
out loud in the middle of the celebration with a captive audience, being the teacher/ham I can be.  It went very well, but I told some of the people who complimented my performance after it was over that it was a great story, and great stories mostly tell themselves anyway.  It’s based loosely on the song “Some Enchanted Evening.”  Here it is...

    One enchanted evening, a hot July summer evening in Lakewood, June was invited to dinner by her co-worker Laurene from Farmer’s Union Marketing, her summer job while attending Colorado State College (now known as UNC). After supper with Laurene and her husband, Leo, they wanted to do something fun, but stay cool.
    Meanwhile, Bob the bachelor, who had no plans and was bored, was looking for something to do.  His bowling League had been over for a month, so he decided to dust off his bowling ball and go practice a little.  He stopped by his sister Sylvia’s for a visit and because it was such a hot night, he thought it would be cooler and more fun to borrow his brother-in-law’s MG A British Sports Car, with the top down, of course.
    June, with Laurene and Leo, and Bob, all by himself, ended up on adjacent lanes.  It was an enchanted evening.  Some would say it was coincidence, others fate.  Still others might say it was God’s plan, but no matter how it is perceived, they saw each other. It was not across a crowded room; nobody else was there, but they definitely were strangers.
    They were “forced” to sit next to each other for scorekeeping purposes (this was 52 years ago, no automated scoring back then).  Conversation naturally ensued and first names, places of work, etc. were exchanged. The usually quiet, introverted June was having a fun evening with friends and even flirting a little with this stranger she never expected to see again.  He was mysterious.  He said his name was Bob, but his score sheet plainly said, “Jer.”  He said he owned a ’61 Oldsmobile, yet he drove away in a sports car, an MG!  Who was this guy? 
    It was back to work the next day.  June thanked Laurene again for the delicious supper and enjoyable evening of bowling.
    Before the day was over, though, someone called asking to talk with June.  She thought it might be her grandparents who lived in Commerce City.  Or it might be her roommate, Pearl.  She and Pearl were sharing a studio apartment in downtown Denver.
    It was neither.  It was Bob, also known as “Jer.”  He was able to find her number because he knew where she worked.  He asked if she would like to go out.  She said, “No.”
    He said, “Why not?”
    “You said your name was Bob, yet you wrote ‘Jer.’  You said you drive an Oldsmobile, yet you drove off in an MG.”
    He said, “Let me explain.  My family calls me Jerry because my father’s name is Robert, but I decided I’d rather be called Bob by everyone but my family.  The MG belongs to my brother-in-law who lives here in Lakewood with my sister, and he let me borrow it for the evening.”
    June wasn’t totally convinced it would be all right.  So, she asked Laurene if she and Leo might make it a double date.  Then she might be willing to go.  They agreed, and it was a date.
    Six weeks later she started back to school at Colorado State College.  He made trips to Greeley, and she occasionally came to Denver to stay and visit with her Nana and Grandpa.  They corresponded numerous times.  She began to realize he had a wonderful sense of humor.  Bob had moved to Colorado after visiting his parents here.  They were originally from Maryland, but his father Robert was transferred to Colorado with the Martin company when it was expanded.  It might seem silly now to call it a long distance romance, but with no interstate and lower speed limits, the drive took double the time it takes today.  The following summer, June worked at Farmer’s Union Marketing again and lived in downtown Denver, so they could see each other a little more often.
    June made it clear that she was determined to get her college diploma and teaching certificate before she was married.  Once she did, they were married on June 1st, 1963.
    Who can say who bowled over whom as they have walked down their lane in life?  They did not strike it rich, but they are incredibly wealthy in other ways.  They have numerous blessings, with even more to spare.

    I think the best part of the entire weekend celebration for me, though, was watching my parents renew their vows in a small ceremony after mass on Saturday.  Deacon Chuck led the renewal, and his voice even cracked when he talked about how blessed they were because of their love, their faith, and their commitment to each other.  It’s a rare thing to have a 50th wedding anniversary and he recognized that, but it shouldn’t be. 
    I’ve seen former students that I taught in my classes numerous years ago, and I always see those glimpses of the children I had in their now adult faces.  A young boy’s eyes will shine out from a now grizzly face.  A smile from a young woman will pop out to me as her smile from when she was only eight or nine.  It’s surreal.
    With my eyes glistening and my throat hurting from the emotion of it all, I watched as my parents pledged their love to each other again, saying the words they had said to each other before I was even born.  I saw a young woman, my mother, completely in love with this man who would become my father.  I heard my father’s voice, and it was his voice from the past, before I was born, and he was professing his love for this young, beautiful lady.  He was completely enamored, and I could hear it; we could all hear it.  I know my parents love each other.  How could they have been together for such a long time without their never-ending love? 
    However, I was given this incredible gift to see how it all started, and it was like I was warped back into time to be a witness.  It was surreal, and it was an especially important gift that I could be there to witness it after surviving my brain surgery exactly two years ago to this date.  Happy birthday to me.  Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad.