This is the 35th anniversary of our first date. I remember it as if it were yesterday, probably because I was so nervous at the time. I talked to Stella on the phone for over an hour before I got the courage to ask her out. She has since told me that during that phone call she was wondering if I was ever going to get around to asking her out. Being the big spender I am, and trying to make that great impression on her, I took her out to the Old Spaghetti Factory. Honest, we have been out to nicer restaurants since then, but we often return here to remember what it was like over 1/3 of a century ago.
Where it all began
I have always liked this picture. Stella was working at LeRoy Jewelers at the time. Before we started dating, we spent a lot of time in our Young Adult group at church. We were good friends before we ever started dating. That was a good thing.
Hard to believe we looked like this in 1974. It is also hard to believe that nobody told me how goofy I looked with long hair and a Fu Manchu 'stache. Maybe all my friends looked goofy, as well. My parents and church leaders must have thought "this too will pass." They failed to tell me that the photos will live on forever.
Eighteen months after that first date
