October 10, 1999 was a Sunday night, the night before Columbus day. My previous job did not take Labor Day off, much less Columbus Day, but this job did. Because the woman I wanted to have a date with was going to the National Storytelling Festival, we could not get together on Friday or Saturday. So, Sunday night it was.
We went to the Cafe on the Square, which doesn’t exist anymore. Having lived in Altamont for 8 years, I saw a few people I knew. My date, who had recently transplanted from the island of many hills, thought I knew everyone in town. That, plus the fact that I had cleaned out my car seemed to impress. We tried to go to Olde Europe, which doesn’t exist anymore, for dessert, but it was closed. We went to my condo instead. The walls, recently painted to reflect the light of the restaurant in Van Gough’s “The Cafe Terrace,” also made an impression.
10 years ago, my Sweet Lady and I went on our first date, and despite the cheese-doodle walls, there was a second. Mutual friends were planning to invite us each to dinner to get introduced, but I decided I needed to take initiative for myself. I was glad that I didn’t wait for someone else to set us up, and my Sweet Lady doesn’t go for “wishy-washy” mens. As time went by, we would establish a “lovaversay” (Dec. 31 / Jan.1), an “engagaversary” (Apr. 1), and the anniversary of our wedding (Oct. 14). For a guy who had not gotten past the 9 month mark before, looking at celebrating a year of 10thaversarys sounds pretty good.
Needless to say, many things have changed. Aside from the disappearance of the places we went on our first date, the change of wall color, several moves, Tallulah’s birth, and 4 job changes between us, I believe we are in a number of ways different people from the ones who went on that first date. One thing is still true, however. If I want my relationship with my Sweet Lady to be fun, exciting, strong, or whatever, I shouldn’t wait for someone else to make that happen. She still doesn’t like wishy-washy mens.