Happy 60th Anniversary!

Although it happened exactly one month before Valentine’s Day, it doesn’t make it any less romantic. 60 years ago today, my parents got married. To each other. We tried to buy them a special card, but to our shock and amazement, the store only carried anniversary cards up to the Golden 50th. Apparently, with divorce rates and other considerations, the greeting card companies no longer feel the Diamond wedding anniversary a viable risk.

So we had to shop around. When we finally found a store that carried them, there were precisely two to choose from. But enough about that.

On January 14, 1951, my parents were 19-year old college kids. My dad asked my mom what she was doing for the weekend and when she shrugged, indicating nothing in particular, he asked her what she thought about sitting across the breakfast table from him every morning for the rest of their lives.

Their engagement lasted 29 ½ hours, the length of time it took them to pack my dad’s dark green 1939 Ford coupe and drive from the Bay area to Reno, NV, almost killing themselves and their witness on the wintry, icy roads. Did I mention they were 19-year old kids? Only knowing them as fairly serious adults, it’s difficult to imagine them ever as spontaneous or impetuous.

In fact, I just now learned how they got together in the first place. During an initial conversation, they both expressed interest in visiting New York City. Dad wanted to see the famous landmarks and mom wanted to walk barefoot down Broadway in the rain. They agreed to go together, and that was the beginning of their lifelong romance.

It took them 13 years to make it across country and by then they had three kids, including me, the youngest. I went on my first trip to New York City when I was four months old. And my next one to the Big Apple is planned for, ooops, I’ll write about that later.

For now, I want to wish my parents a very Happy 60th Anniversary and to tell them I love them. And how I appreciate the fact they are still good friends and enjoy each other’s company after all these years.