Today is the anniversary of the best day of my life. It’s the day Ted and I met.
During the summer of 1968, Ted was living with some Other Guys who knew the Guys, who knew some of my Housemates, who knew Me. Two of the Guys invited my Housemates and Me to go for a swim in Lake Monona. We did, and afterward, the Guys invited my Housemates and Me to join them to “share fire.” The Guys and the Other Guys were going to grill something for dinner, and said we were welcome to join them if we brought our own food to grill. That wasn’t cheap on their part; it was college, and none of us had much money.
My Housemates and I said “yes,” changed out of our swimsuits, gathered up our own burgers and some other food, and headed for the Guys’ house, a block away. When we entered, the Guys and the Other Guys were watching a Packer game on TV (as most Wisconsinites do on football season Sunday afternoons), and the first person who caught my eye was Ted, one of the Other Guys. My first thought was that he was the kind of person I’d like to date, but his type never seemed interested in my type, so I dropped the thought.
The following night, Ted and two of the Guys came over to visit with my Housemates and Me. I was busy knitting a sweater and didn’t pay much attention, but afterward, one of my Housemates said, “Ted is going to ask you out.” “What makes you think that?” I asked. “Well,” she said, “he spent the entire time staring at you.” Sure enough, he called later and asked me for a date. (I apparently passed the earlier inspection!) At first I said “no” but, unlike most guys, he didn’t hang up–he kept talking. While we talked, I changed my mind and said “yes.” We had two dates before he left on a three-week road trip with the Other Guys, his roommates.
After Ted and the Other Guys returned from their road trip, Ted and I dated exclusively. About a month later, while we were studying together one evening, I noticed that he was filling out a student loan application. He was attending college on the GI Bill, so I asked why he needed a student loan. His answer: “Well, I figured out that if I get a student loan, I can afford to buy you an engagement ring.” (The first proposal?)
On one of our first dates, we discovered that our parents lived less than 25 miles apart. In fact, when we introduced our parents to each other, it was a surprise to find out that our dads already knew each other! But, going back to the dating phase, . . . We were planning to go “home” together for a weekend, so he accompanied me to the basement of the Orchard Street house where I lived with the Orchard Street Gang, presumably so that he could carry my suitcase upstairs for me to pack it. When we got to the basement, however, he asked me if I’d like to go shopping for a diamond ring the next day. (The second proposal?) I said yes, I would like to do that, so we brought my suitcase upstairs, then shopped and selected my engagement ring and our wedding rings the following day. We agreed that everyone would expect us to get engaged at Christmas, so we decided he’d give me the engagement ring on New Year’s Eve to fool them.
The last day of classes before the Christmas break was Ted’s birthday. To celebrate, he invited me to dinner at his apartment. I knew it was also the last day he could pick up our rings from the jeweler, because we were going home for the holidays. As we were driving to his apartment for dinner, I checked his glove box. It was locked. Who locks their glovebox???!!! I was pretty sure the rings were in there, but Ted wouldn’t admit it. However, his barely suppressed grin gave him away.
I was impressed at his apartment. He had cleaned (four men lived there, so that was a new look) and had grilled steaks and baked potatoes for dinner. When we finished eating, he got up from the table, positioned himself on one knee in front of me, held out my engagement ring, and asked, “Will you marry me?” (Definitely a proposal!) There was only one possible answer I could give. I said “yes”–the heck with waiting until New Year’s Eve! Now, 58 years after the day we met, “yes” is still the only answer for me.
One of my housemates took this photo of Ted and me when he took me to Homecoming, a few days after we’d selected our engagement and wedding rings. Even though no one knew for two more months that we were engaged, we’ve always called this our engagement photo.
