For this I say, 'twas a Special Day in May!!!!

NO NO, Don't worry, there is no poetry coming next. Well, at least not from me.....
I told you about the trip 'cross the bay' to see Garrison Keillor do a Live Radio performance of

Garrison Keillor

A Prairie Home Companion and that it was to celebrate an anniversary. But i never said an anniversary of what!!!!!

Back in 1997 i was trudging along as a single parent of two teenage daughters. One in college and one in high school. It was a simpler, slower time back then. A time of partial innocence. Of course that could have been my Seafood diet causing euphoria. A time before social networking removed all human, face to face, hand in hand contact. A time when you were still expected to woo the one you desired in a romantic quest to win her hand.... Ah yes, those were the days. Only thing I was missing was the white stallion and suit of armor.... but i digress as usual.

That January i discovered a web site called 'Web Personals". On a whim i wrote one and sent it out into the cybersphere. Not much happened, so i started reading some of the other posts. I won't add the details here of what ladies were looking for.... lets just say the life of a hermit was looking good. BUT, one post in particular caught my eye. I don't remember the whole thing but there was a line in it that was sort of

"I love to wander around hardware stores". YES.... like many of you guys out there, my ears perked up, my jaw dropped...... Hardware stores!!!!!! Visions of midnight strolls, hand in hand, through a 24 hour Home Depot began running wild in my imagination. Standing together admiring the power saws, having long discussions about the torque of the battery drills, fondling the same framing hammer handle. Be honest guys,,,,,, that's better than visions of sugar plums dancing in your head (a common delusion around Christmas time). I mean really guys, does it get  better than that????? His and Hers nail guns sharing the same compressor.

Before i knew it, I'd hit the SEND key. Oh my God. What had i done? What had i written?? Who had i written it to??? Well maybe she won't answer. Maybe.
But the next morning the answer in my email box. I just stared at it, unopened. Would she be a crazy? Would she have her own tools? Would her hammer be bigger than mine?? With trepidation I opened it and read. OMG, she was normal. She was looking for someone who would carry an ax, would run through a burning building to save her, would re-light her fire!!!! What a break.... all things i knew how to do.

This lead to a three times a day email affair. I like that term affair, it sounds so continental. Over the next three months we continued the e-mails and sort of played 20 questions. She asked me stuff, i asked her stuff. Likes, dislikes. And why bother lieing  about the answers. We may never even meet since our schedules seemed to be in opposite directions. Eventually we decided that we knew each other enough (we had covered family, home, jobs, likes and dislikes, books, movies, plays, music) that we should meet for lunch. You know, the 'Safe Date' where if things go bad you can make an escape. Have to get home to the kids, cat, sick friend, its my night to rearrange my sock drawer, something. The date took about two weeks to set up due to schedules.

FINALLY the date, time, and location was set. We traded phone numbers in case something went wrong and we had to cancel. On a whim (again) i called her the night before the Lunch Date. Up until then, neither of us had actually spoken before. We had never heard the others voice. Neither of us had sent the other one a picture of ourselves. I had thought of wearing a rose behind my ear so she would recognize me, but decided flamboyance might not be the best opening move. At least not on the first date. I mean she might have been faking this whole thing and been closer to normal than she sounded in her e-mails. She could have been stringing me along!!!!!

Father's Day Poster

Somerville Town Hall

SOOOO we met on Friday, May 16, 1997, at high noon. We both showed up packing stacks of pictures of people we had told each other about. Lunch stretched out to 3 hours. Next was a movie....we both liked Robin Williams and Billy Crystal so we saw "Fathers Day".  Yes, there was some hand holding. I forget who started it. One of the nice things about where she lived was their Friday Evening Concert series at the Town Hall Green. That night just happened to be a Jazz group. Did i mention we both like jazz??? So we decided to go there next. BUT first she had to stop home. I don't remember the reason, but it was something in the basement. Once there she went down to take care of this thing. I figured everything was going well since she let me see where she lived, and let me inside, and left me alone upstairs. Did i mention that she was just as much fun in real life as in cyber land????? Well she was. Anyhow, she called me to come down to the basement. By this time my mind was swirling. Finding someone i liked and that seemed to like me. Who liked the same things I did. Was this real. I was in a daze. The next thing i knew i was in the basement getting kissed. YES, getting kissed. And not just a little peck on the cheek either. A serious, full fledged kiss. AND I WAS KISSING BACK!!!!! AND I LIKED IT...... A LOT!!!!!

Beachwood Marina

Well this is getting long and i'm sure you see where it is going.... and you already know the ending, so i'll condense a little. The concert was good. That led to dinner, which led back to her place, which led to talking, and..... well you know. First date lasted 14 hours. I guess she liked me.
I had to work the next day but invited her to go sailing with me on Sunday. Unfortunately the weather turned nasty and that is not the time to take someone sailing for the first time. SOOO a bottle of wine and some snacks at the dock were the order of the day. Then dinner, and take her home. Did i mention that we lived about an hour and a half apart???? Wine, food, and driving can really wear you out, so i stayed over. Second date lasted 19 hours. Now i knew she really liked me.

Third date was a weekend in Providence RI for my older daughters first graduation. Sixteen years later here i am retelling the story. And loving it more each time. AND it all started on May 16, 1997. That is the reason for the celebration.
Grenville