Tuesday, September 1, 2009

How did you Meet your Guy?

Finally, after trying for six months, and responding to everyone that asked for me to "be their friend", and watching my sister Susan maneuver through her Facebook, I successfully became a Facebook member.
That has started an Odyssey. In very short order I have located so many old friends, looked at all their photos, replied to all and in general had a very unexpected good time.
One of the faces, among many, that I tracked to their home page was a lifelong friend of my sister's. I, too have known Paula since we were children.
Paula, as I recall, was an only child. I knew both her parents and went with Susan to her home.
She and Susan have always stayed in touch, and over the years I have heard Susan speak of her and what was going on in her life.
Paula, like so many of us, have moved away from Memphis, usually because of transfers by companies our husbands work for. Paula has been in St. Louis for some time now but returns to Memphis often to visit her parents who are still living.
Susan's graduating class is very active in having 'get together's' and Susan tries to attend most, especially in recent years.
Susan, like myself, gets together with her girlhood friends and posted several photos. It is amazing to me that everyone looks just the same and I would know each of them if we passed on the street. I saw the photo of Paula and was astonished at how much she looked just the same.
I wrote to her.
It seems that Paula married a guy that I graduated with and I just happened to ask how she met him. Her answer started me to thinking.
I grew up in Whitehaven, a suburb of Memphis, and the 'drive-in's' (the old places that Sonic tries to mimic now) were around but not places that I, as a child, could go to. With the exception of Leonard's. My parents, our church, my boyfriend - Mike Douglas - all took us to Leonard's. You could drive up, car hops would come out, take your order (the best bar-b-Que ever - in my opinion and still is) and bring you a wonderful sandwich, a real cold coke in a glass bottle, and an order of fries. Wow!, the memories that brings back.
I said all that to say this, there were not a lot of places, like now, that kid hung around. Shoney's on Summer - and that is how we referred to it - all the way across town from Whitehaven, was a cool place to show up.
My Father had a 1938 Green Packard and the only time I remember getting to drive it, I went straight to Shoney's on Summer. Boy, was I a hit. That car was Mint and quite a conversation starter.
Anyway, Paula told me that she and her friend Diane were at the very first McDonalds in Whitehaven, put there after I think I graduated in 1965. Paula met Freddie there. He came over to talk, I think he knew Diane, and 42 years later, Paula and Freddie are still married.
Well, Susan, my sister met her husband Larry at Shoney's on Summer and they have been married for 45 years.
I met EC at - not a drive-in - but a Restaurant, Chenault's. My parents had taken our family there all my growing up years (until the Piccadilly came to the Whitehaven Shopping Center) for lunch after Church on Sunday's.
My Dad died when I was 23, and a friend, Ramona told me her Dad needed a cashier at his place on Friday and Saturday nights from 11p.m. to 7a.m. Well, I wasn't doing anything during those hours, (I already had two other jobs - one 40 hr. a week and as a salesperson at Goldsmiths at nights and Sat/Sun). So, I found myself at Chenault's sitting on a stool behind the cash register from eleven to seven on Friday and Saturday nights.
EC was already working for the railroad, then the Missouri Pacific, and at 2 a.m. his job would drive up in a big orange Mo.P carry-all and come in to have coffee.
My heart would skip a beat. I lived for the 2 a.m. coffee breaks. Mercy! And of course, it is 40 years later and we are still married.
Where did you meet your Guy?
Susan, Paula and I are still in love. How about you?
We'll talk again soon,
Carol Ann, Quilter/Old Married Chic

2 comments:

Ramonasct said...

I love reading your blog! And what memories this latest one brings back. I just celebrated my 6th anniversary 8/23 and met my honey ON LINE!!! There's no doubt God brought us together, but I still have a hard time thinking about God working through dating services, of all things!

STILL waiting on Bessie, my "new" Gammill....was supposed to be here Monday, then today...oh, well, she'll be here tomorrow surely!

Have LOTS to learn....

Ramona

Poppy Cottage said...

What a sweet story Carol Ann! I met my Mr Wonderful at the doggie doctors, went on a semi blind date to a Dallas Cowboys game and have enjoyed every second of his presence since. We just celebrated our 10th anniversary.

Sharon