First Date

Although I am not the type to remember exact dates and half anniversaries, I do remember that Dennis and I had our first date sometime in February. I was living at home with Momma and Daddy having graduated from Livingston the December before. Mrs. Potts had resigned as Librarian/English teacher at P.A., and I was hired in her place. (To sidetrack a little, I remember two things about that first job. First, I was twenty-one years old, and the students in my study hall were seventeen or eighteen. Second, my English class was made up of some of the cutest kids--seventh graders--, and the two I remember the most are Lane Wright with his gigantic grin and Harley Martin who sat on the back of the desk with his cowboy boots in the seat.) Back to the first date. At the time, I was dating a guy at Livingston and going back every weekend to stay with friends and to see him. On this particular weekend, I found out that he and one of my friends had been having a good ole time during the week. Needless to say, that was the end of that for me, and I headed home. I hadn't been home long when the phone rang, and it was Dennis asking me out. Although I knew who Dennis was, he was much older than me. LOL He was a senior when I was a freshman, and during the sixties, these two age groups didn't mix like they do today. (I found out later that he and a bunch of his friends were planning a night out in Columbus. They mentioned seeing me in town and dared him to ask me out. They told him that I probably would not go with him, but I did.) And, even though cars are not important to me, I remember that he drove up in a bright green Grand Prix, I think, with white leather seats. Most people that know me and Dennis know that he is not talkative and that I am shy (yes, I am) until I get to know someone. So, between the two of us probably 10 words were spoken all the way to Columbus. While I had a good time, I remember thinking on the way home that he would probably not ask me out again, and if he did, I may not go. We just did not have anything in common! Later, I found out that he did not plan on asking me out again. Remember I said that I'm not good with dates? Well, the reason I remember February as the month of our first date is because Dennis gave me a box of Valentine candy that night. I was impressed about that, but later found out that he gave out several boxes of candy in the next few days because his friend, Cecil Durrett, who owned Eutaw Drug next door to his store in Eutaw, had bought too many boxes of Valentine candy and Dennis felt sorry for him. Our date ended, and I never expected to hear from him again. The next day, however, I was sitting outside in a swing when he drove by. He stopped and asked me to go the the movies in downtown Alicville. Imitation of Life was the movie, and I cried during most of it. (If you don't remember this movie, it is about a Black woman who passed as white.) So began what has lasted almost 37 years. By the end of March we were engaged, and on June 2 of the same year, we were married.

I'm adding this picture because I have very few of us when we first started dating. We didn't take pictures of everything then like we do today. My daddy had always forbidden me to ride on motorcycles, and Dennis had a Harley. Because I was out of school and working (even though I was still living in his house), he "let" me ride with Dennis on the motorcycle. Maybe it was because he trusted Dennis, or maybe he knew I would ride it anyway. :-)