The thunder: I was working second shift at the Magnavox plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., in June 1977. The building had no windows, but as I looked down a long aisle at the employee exit, I noticed the sky had turned a color we called Indiana Tornado green. It was raining so hard we had to put buckets under the spots where the roof was leaking. The thunder was awful. I decided to ask the next person I saw come walking down the aisle if they had any news about the weather.
The picnic: Ruth's family came to Buffalo each summer in the 1950s and '60s to visit her grandparents and attend our family's annual backyard church picnic. Our folks talked about us getting married from Day One. Ruth and I shared mutual crushes during those younger days, and in high school and college we were pen pals. I liked her quick wit, sense of humor and gregarious nature. She thought I was smart and fun to be with.
The rubber band: I always thought Shane was a nice guy. He and my best friend dated for a few months, then broke up. One day Shane shot a rubber band at me in math class and hit me in the arm. I fired it back, hitting him in the eyeball. I was mortified. He played it like he was in agony, the whole time plotting his scheme. In order to make it up to him, I had to agree to go on a date.
The neighbor: John and I met in my senior year at Belmont High School in 1956. I walked in from school one afternoon and my older brother was visiting on his way home from a fishing trip. With him was a cute, muscular guy named John who was his next-door neighbor in Charlotte. John and I chatted briefly, but I never expected to hear from him again. I wasn't looking for romance, because I was going away to college in the fall.
We’re looking for young married couples to tell us how they fell in love. How did you meet? What were your first impressions? How was your first date? What attracted you to each other?