Husband No. 1: VS/4 years
How we Met
I was a senior in high school given to sneaking off to the local university. Mostly I hung out at the library, reading whatever caught my eye on the shelves. I discovered Rilke and started thinking deep soulful thoughts, which, of course I had to share. That led to hanging out at the Newman Center. Hippie priests, hippie hippies, music - it was a good place to find someone to share my newly discovered insights into the universe. I also sang at their coffee shop. No. 1 heard me sing and said hello. I was 17; he was 24, a Viet Nam vet. He used to pick me up from school (my catholic high school) on his motorcycle. I was in uniform. Get the picture.
High point
His parents offered him a trip to Europe if he would leave me; he refused.
Low point
He smoked a lot of dope and since he was a true blue WASP, smoking dope made him even more boring.
Breaking point
I was in graduate school; he was teaching. Leaving for class one morning I missed the top stair and fell six feet down into a glass and oak door hitting my head, breaking my nose and bursting a blood vessel in my forehead. He dropped me off at the door to the Emergency Room so he wouldn’t be late for school.
Fondest memory
When I graduated from college he gave me a huge marble with a note saying “Now you can play with the big boys.” I keep that marble on my desk - it always makes me smile.
I love this! The idea of you on the motorcycle, the marble, the romantic stuff. The ER thing, not so cool. But refusing the trip to Europe very cool. The yin and the yang, as always!
[...] ends June 17, 2008 - which would have been my 38th Wedding Anniversary had I stayed married to Husband No. 1. Best wishes to No. 1 wherever you are - in retrospect - you weren’t half [...]