Karla once told me that she’d heard that if a couple still enjoyed telling people how they met, their relationship was good. This tickled us because we delighted in talking about how we first connected. But if you’re not from a ‘fart funny family’, you may want to skip this post.
Karla and I originally met at Columbia Christian College, Portland OR, in 1983, and we came to know each other gradually. We ended up hanging out with the same group of weirdos, so we were first acquaintances, then friends, but it took something else to draw us together as a couple.
On one occasion we were in a class we both took, sitting at desks across the aisle from each other, listening to the professor’s lesson. At one point he mentioned the name of an author. The author’s name was F. R. Tennant. Of course the professor wasn’t telling a joke, but to us, it sounded funny. Karla and I both stifled a guffaw at the same time, then each of us, noticing our synchronicity, looked at each other and smiled. We knew we were on the same wavelength. We started dating soon after that.
Then, at the end of the school year, I dropped out, skipped town, and rarely wrote. Yeah, I’m not great at long-distance relationships. ( Or maybe just relationships in general.) It didn’t take long to lose touch after that.
This story eventually had a very happy ending, of course, but I wish I hadn’t left her behind. We knew back then that we were right for each other. The thought that we lost so many years together, fills me with regret. But I was young and stupid(er) back then and I had to be jostled around by life to knock some sense into me.
I’ve mentioned in previous posts how we reconnected. Our affinity and shared sense of humor made getting back together easy, natural. And it remained an important component of our relationship throughout our marriage.
Now you may understand why my Dad said, “Oh, they’re going to be fine together. They have the same evil brain!”
Karla’s picture from the Columbia Christian College 1983-1984 yearbook.
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