By Irene Gibson, August 18, 2014
When I was 16 years old, I and about 6 girlfriends went to the roller skating rink every Saturday. It was during one of these excursions that I was approached by a handsome young sailor who asked me to skate with him. We got along wonderfully and continued to date before he was shipped out. Before he left, he brought my Mother an orchid corsage and me a diamond ring and asked me to marry him! I said sure. He went off to sea and we sort of just lost touch with each other. Oh well, there were plenty of sailors around in those days and I never heard from my “fiancée” again…until 28 years later! I was a Private Investigator living in L.A. and had discovered that he lived only about an hour away from where my office was. I called his work and alas, he was on vacation! I left a name, (not my real name), and number to call me back. Well, he DID call back, asking, “Who is this”? “Are you sitting down”? I answered, and then told him who I was. It got real quiet on the line and then he said, “Honey, where are you, I STILL love you”! He asked me out, (I said no for that night, I had to get my hair done first!), but the next evening was the beginning of 35 years with the man who became my husband.