Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCCXXXVII

It was a day that changed my life forever, but when I woke up that morning I had no idea that it would be that kind of day. Can you look back and recall some of those days in your life? Let me tell you about mine. It was Halloween Day...Saturday, October 31, 1970. My best buddies were twins...Ricky & Rocky Melvin. (I'm happy to report that almost forty-two years later, that friendship still thrives.) That morning they had invited me to go duck hunting with them, and after a fruitless hunt, we had planned to try our luck again just before dark that evening. It was not to be, because someone else had made some plans, involving me, that I didn't know about. A Halloween party had been planned for the youth at our church that night, but I wasn't planning on going since I had another duck hunt in the works. About mid-day I was just hanging out at the house, wearing a pair of my dad's old coveralls that were about six sizes too big, and my grandpa's old hat. I had not shaved in over a week. Our pastor's daughter, Mary Gray, who is about my age (also still a friend), just "happened to drop by" looking for some old dresses she might could wear to the party that night, and she had a beautiful friend with her who had come to spend the weekend. That's when Mary introduced me to Angie Fontenot. Wow! Suddenly that evening's all important hunting trip began to lose its luster, and my priorities for the day began to change. We had some weights in one room of our house where Angie impressed me with how much she could lift. Soon afterward, I was showing off by displaying my talent on the keyboard. Actually, I think we were both smitten immediately. So I called the Melvin boys and told them I would not be available for the duck hunt that evening, because I had a party to attend. By nightfall, I was clean-shaven and was wearing some stylish clothes that were actually my size. After spending some time at the party, I asked Angie if she would like to sneak away with me and go to the Burger Barn for a Coke. She and I lived more than a hundred miles apart, but after that fateful Halloween night, it was a trip we both made often. The reason I'm telling you this story is because in just two days Angie and I will be celebrating our fortieth wedding anniversary, and we're more in love now than we've ever been. I also think she's even more beautiful now than she was the day we met. One little joke that I've told down through the years is "we met on Halloween and I'm still trying to decide if I got a trick or a treat." I guess we can say our life together has been a bed of roses, if we consider the fact that a bed of roses has a few thorns. Our union has produced a beautiful daughter and a handsome son that have turned out to be the type of adults that would make any parent proud. I've done some foolish things in my life, and I've also done a few things right, but the best move I ever made was when I asked Angie Fontenot to be my wife. I'm so glad she said yes. That was a pretty smart move on her part too. Preston