a love story

This was the first picture of us and only picture taken before we got married

A love story

This is a true story, it’s is my love story. It all started one afternoon the twenty third of July 1967. My roommate and good friend and I were walking home from the parts house with the car parts we needed to fix his car. As we cross an intersection two girls came running after us. One that was in the lead was an old friend of my roommates. My roommate introduced the girl and she introduced the other girl. Now have you ever been in this situation, I mean this was the most uncomfortable position to be in, I like what I saw and she was his girl. I could not see the other girl.  Well the four of us walk on down the street talking and then stopping at a small café we went in and had malt. We talk for a bit and made plans to meet and go a movie on the upcoming Saturday after we got the car fix.  The whole time I could not take my mind of off her or eyes.  We finish our malts and parted to meet later on in the week. Please note back then we did not have cell phone and as far as phone goes well it was out of our budget at the time. But we did give the girls my parent s phone number and we got the girl address.

The rest of the day kind of went like this we fix the car then got ready for the rodeo. My roommate was selling beer at the rodeo and I had my last ride and performance in the rodeo. Now I was to ride demonstration saddle bonk that night and do a skit with the clowns and my horse ebb.  The horse I drew was named barn burner and he gave me quite a ride scored 87 points and it was the best ride of the rodeo. The rodeo ran for five night and ended on the twenty fourth with the finals, I had not made it into the last go round a kid by the name of Chris LeDoux had the handle on that, my earlier  rides did not go so well. But the demonstration ride guaranteed my entry fee back and my skit with the clowns paid me twenty bucks.

It was a simple thing I would play the drunken cowboy and get out there in the arena with this five gallon plastic whiskey bottle, ( it had tea in it),  and six-gun shooting up the sky. Then I would fall down sitting in middle with my arms around the bottle.  The clowns trying to get me out of the arena would send my horse Ebb in and he would grab me by the collar, I was warring a harness with a tab for Ebb to bite, and drag me out of the arena. Well my fifteen seconds of fame and glory was over and it was back to the here and now.  The rodeo was over for me and we meet a couple of gals at the rodeo so we went bar hopping. Now the whole time I was thinking of the gal I met early in the day, and cliff that was my roommate and friend , had mention how he like meeting up with her after not seeing her in a year or two and was not going to let her out of his life. He had a thing for her. Well I guess I was getting one.

The next week was all work and no play. I went out the place where I kept Ebb and was put him thru his paces. We had quite a work out. I had put up his saddle and had take him down to the stream to wash the sweat off and decided to ride him back to the barn. I swung up on his back and slid off the other side like it was ice, me being wet and his back just as wet. Well I dislocated my shoulder and broke my arm. So I did not go on the date with the cliff and the gals that Saturday.

By the time I got the cast off we had lost track off the girls they had moved. It took a week or so to find where they had move to.  We hook back up and planed an outing cliff would be with Shana and I would be with Elle. That was not my choice Elli was a nice enough and good lookin, but I wanted to be with Shana.  Well it seems that Elli had someone else on her mind and always had some excuse not to go on the date. We would go on with the date and I was the fifth wheel and driver, as we had not got cliffs car running yet.

Well our days were setup like this I worked from 7 to 3 and cliff worked 1 to 9 we were both working for the railroad. When I got off work I would go up to the girl’s apartment and visit till cliff would get off, and then we would go out and do something the three of us Elli had to work from 6 to midnight. We would go and pick her up from work. This went on for two maybe three weeks.  Then the movie Grand prix with James Garner was come to town and I want to see it. So we set up a date to go the movies and Shana set me up with a date with one of her girl friends.

We had got cliff's car running and my dad’s truck was not the thing you would take the gals to the driven movie in. it was a farm truck if you know what that means.  Well we pick up Shana and were going out to pick up my date when the car broke down again.  So we started to walk back in to town. Cliff was not in a good mood as the car was broke down, and he walked a head of us. When we got in to the down town area we decided to just go to the walk-in and see the movie.  As we walked by a bar we saw a friend playing pinball, and he owed cliff some money and if he was playing pinball he could pay cliff. Shana could not go in the bar she was under 21 so her and I waited outside. Well Cliff and beer and pinball, he could be in there all night and he was still in a bad mood over the car. Shana and I went next door to a western supply store and I bought me a new hat, all the guy were calling mine a sheepherder hat, and I had to buy Shana one I just had too.

 Cliff was still playing pinball so I went in and told him that we were going down to the show and he could ketch up or meet us at the movie house.  So Shana and I went to the show. After the show there was a light rain coming down and I was walking her home.  We had stop on a corner and I said “you know if it was not for cliff I would ask you to marry me. To hell with it will you marry me” we kiss a long time and the she said yes.  We took off and twenty four later we were married in Elko Nevada. This day forty four year ago. October first 1967 . 

 thank you and god bless