Fun Monday - In the Beginning

This week's Fun Monday hostess, From the Planet of Janet, has given us this mission. "Describe your meeting with your spouse/significant other. I especially want to hear "meet cute" stories. Illustrate with photos, of course."

Daddy D and I met at the Fort Wayne Indiana University Extension library at 8:10 AM on July 1, 1964. Daddy D, our handsome red-haired hero, a college junior, was a trusted university employee. He worked in the library and was responsible for locking the building after the last class finished in the evening. I was an eager freshman-to-be beginning my job as a student library worker.

This picture was in the college newspaper. When I met our hero, he was sporting a flat-top. The Elvis hair was gone.

My best friend, Becky, was starting to work in the library on that same day. Our job as student workers consisted mostly of preparing the books of the two libraries of the downtown extensions for the move to the brand new Indiana-Purdue Campus, which is located on the northeast side of town. My husband-to-be says that he was deciding rather to ask out the blond, my friend Becky, or the red-head as I was at the time. Fate may have helped my chances because Becky left for England with her mother for a high school graduation present.

This picture of the glum-looking me is from the summer of '64. My sullenness has nothing to do with our date.

Eventually, Daddy D did ask me out. He invited me to see the Beatles movie, A Hard Day's Night. However, he arrived 45 minutes late because Daddy D was adventuresome and had two dates on this summer evening. Strangely, the boy that I had been dating called me twenty minutes or so before the tardy suitor arrived. Ironically my ex-boyfriend, Ron, asked me to go out to see the very same film at the very same theater. I explained to Ron that I already had plans for the evening. Ron thinking that he was getting the brush-off said, "We would be going just as friends." I told Ron, "No, I really do have plans." Not wanting to be indiscreet, I did not tell Ron that my plans were with another man.

When Daddy D and I arrived at the theater, many of the seats were taken. This was a Beatles movie, and this was in 1964. Since this was our first date, Daddy D being a gentleman asked me where I would like to sit to watch the movie. Although the theater was almost filled, I saw that we were in luck. There in the middle section, right where I liked to sit, were two empty seats. However, as I walked into the aisle, there in the third seat in was my former boyfriend, Ron. Not wanting to sit in between my old boyfriend and my new beau, I backed out of the aisle quickly telling Daddy D that there were two good seats in the front row. Thus, our first date we sat in the stiff-neck seats and watched the movie. I do not know whether that Ron saw us that night, and Daddy D did not learn about Ron until later.

So our first date began with Daddy D definitely having two dates, and I had two offers. The beginning must have not been too bad; we are still together 43 years later.