[This was first published on November 22, 2021]
It seems so long ago, 58 years (62 years now!), yet I’m reminded of our first date every year by the headlines from back then…
I was eagerly anticipating our first date. We were supposed to go to a fall dance at the high school. We hardly knew each other…had just met in English class our senior year, even though we had been in the same schools since 7th grade. Our paths had not crossed in any class before.
We were in our afternoon classes when the PA announcements came on that President Kennedy had been shot. We all listened in stunned silence. Over the next few hours, we were bombarded with all the speculations from the news media, our teachers and our classmates. The details would unfold over the days and weeks (and years!) to follow.
Many of the pictures in the news are still familiar to me today:
This picture always hits me hard:
By the time I got home from school the world had changed. I think we were all in shock. All I could think about was what a relief it would be to go to a dance to feel somewhat normal again…if only for a few hours.
Of course, we had not gotten the memo that the dance was cancelled! (No quick texting back then!). So…I got all dressed up, Bert came over to pick me up and we went to the school. Oh no! The sign on the door gave us a reality check! We headed back home to just go for a walk around my neighborhood and talk. We hardly knew each other so it was an awkward time.
It was also a memorable beginning to our relationship that I will be reminded of every year. I guess it stuck, because 58 years later (now 62 years!) we’re still together!
UPDATE:
We married in 1967 so this year we’ve been 58 years!).
Here we were in 1968 (we eloped in 1967…had a reception in 1968…that’s a whole other story!)
Here we were in 2021…
and in 2025!
For such a pivotal moment in our lives, this event was hardly mentioned in the news today…however, we will never forget that day!