Yesterday was the birthday of Linda’s father; it was also the anniversary of a very special day in our lives.
20 years ago yesterday, I asked Linda to marry me. I’d been back from the war in Iraq (Desert Storm) for about 6 weeks and we’d spent many days traveling back and forth between Manhattan and Topeka during those 6 weeks. Several conversations included future plans, including marriage, but we were young and in college and still had a lot to figure out.
However, I woke the morning of July 2, 1991 and decided that I couldn’t wait any longer to have Linda as my fiancé. The ring I had purchased was not quite 3 months worth of paychecks, but it was close. The downtown jeweler in Manhattan sold it to me for $300 – $25 per month for a year, which was a lot of money for me. It was decided that July 2 was the day I needed to give it to her.
I called Linda to see if she would be around because, being home for the summer from college, she was working both at the public library and at a softball diamond concession stand. It turned out she was home and, to my luck, was stuck to the house because she was waiting for the washing machine repair guy to arrive. I drove to Topeka as quickly as I could.
I’m sure I surprised Linda when, on one knee, I asked her to marry me in the middle of her parents living room. She quickly said yes…and then pointed out that I’d need to leave before her parents got home. There was a birthday celebration dinner planned and I wasn’t part of the plans. It’s my understanding that Linda even hid the ring the whole night.
One of my regrets is that I didn’t talk with Linda’s father before asking for her hand in marriage. I’m sure it was quite a shock to her parents when they found out we were engaged. They didn’t know much about me and it would’ve been good for them to be able to ask questions about my future plans. In my defense, my future plans at the time weren’t all that great – I wanted to write music for a living. Everything, thankfully, has turned out for the good.
We were finally married two years later and have spent 18 happy years on our very circuitous road to where we are now. Twenty years ago seems like a long time; just look at how young we were!
