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John and Ruth met as toddlers during her parents' summer visits to Buffalo, N.Y., where John's family lived. John tells the story:
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 corsage: I occasionally drove to her home in New Jersey for visits, and on her 20th birthday I took her to dinner at the Seagram's Tower in Niagara Falls. I sent a card and corsage for this special night. It was our first formal date. Shortly thereafter, fate took her to Sweden and me to Vietnam. We both married others and divorced. We didn't see each other again for 35 years.
The gasp: In the summer of 2000, my family was on the coast of Maine for my Dad's 80th birthday. As my sister and I roamed around the historic church campgrounds at Old Orchard Beach, someone touched my sister's arm. It was Ruth, who was vacationing there with friends. My sister gasped and turned around to tap me on the shoulder. “Turn around,” she whispered. “And control your knees.” When Ruth and I looked into each other's eyes, she says she felt as if her stomach had fallen to her feet. Time stood still for me.
The future: Phone calls, e-mails and cards followed, as did trips to visit her in Charlotte and me in Buffalo. We married in December 2003, and I moved to Charlotte. The old corsage note from our Niagara Falls date is still tucked between the yellowed pages of Ruth's scrapbook – along with a 1964 World's Fair button that reads: “I Have Seen The Future.”
Kathy Haight
