43 Years

Forty-three years ago I was one nervous Newton. MJ and I had been engaged for two months and this was the day of our wedding. Looking back it appears that we did not believe in long engagements. After the minister pronounced us man and wife and she put her little hand in my large one…I knew things had changed for me. She had a little house trailer and a Ford Maverick car. I had been sharing a house with some young men that I attended church with and I had a 1963 Ford Fairlane…that was on it’s last legs… MJ was a school teacher and I worked for a janitorial firm. I wondered if I would ever measure up?

I had 3 days vacation from work and when I returned to the job I noticed with some delight that MJ had packed two cheeseburgers in my lunch pail. When I told her how delicious that they were she responded that I should not get accustomed to the delicacy as our limited budget would not fund a cheeseburger lunch every night.

Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale offered me a job in their housekeeping department and I took it with gusto! I more than doubled my salary. I vividly recall the Christmas of 1978 as we were driving our new Ford LTD down to Eldorado to celebrate the holiday with my mom and step-father…that I felt like I was finally in the game of life. I had a good paying job and a new automobile, that seemed like a Lincoln Continental, to me. We had money for Christmas gifts and cheeseburgers!

March 24, 1978 seems like yesterday. Our journey has been rapid and wonderful. Aaron and Jonathon are our pride and joy! MJ told me this morning that she wanted us to hang several of our paintings, that have been waiting for wall space for some time. We just completed hanging 10 paintings and 1 mirror…MJ is beaming! Pagliai’s Signature Pepperoni Pizza is for lunch and Tom’s Place Pasta for dinner. Each of us gave the other a anniversary card with the theme of travel…great minds think alike.