August 15, 1948

 

July, 1948 my father sat in his office and watched a beautiful auburn haired woman cross the street. He was already engaged, but his heart leapt and he exclaimed, "Who is that gorgeous redhead?"

The man sitting in front of him replied, "THAT is my sister!" 

My dad broke off his engagement and, in spite of his objections, my uncle-to-be introduced my dad to my mother and soon they were dancing in the moonlight, on a covered bridge while the car radio played in the background. He called her his little bean blossom because soybean flowers are so delicate and bloom for such a short time. He felt she was a rare beauty.

August 14, 1948, they decided to elope and drove down to Paducah, Kentucky, but that fell through, which is just as well since there was a huge formal wedding planned and both families would have been very put off. 

August 15, 1948 Harold and Corrine were married in front of over five hundred guests and soon set off for their honeymoon in Canada. That was an experience they would never forget. Among other things a wolf ran along side their car for miles and when they stopped to eat, the French Canadian restauranteurs  stood and watched in horror as my mother ate a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. It was a chore ordering it, not just because she didn't speak French, but the people in the restaurant had never heard of such a thing. My mother finally ordered a bacon sandwich along with some tomatoes and lettuce.

Back home, my father reserved the furniture store after hours and took my mother up to pick out all her furniture and have it delivered to their home.

They were eager to get settled and start a family.  He had a Masters in English and owned a car dealership in a small town. She was anxious to become a mother. They tried everything. My dad even tried to learn to fly the family floatplane so they could escape to their vacation home in Minnesota more often, but it was not to be. They were 20 and 21.

I wasn't born until November 25, 1949. My mother finished Thanksgiving dinner then my father surprised her by telling her she was going straight to the hospital because I would be born by caesarian section the next morning. Three more caesarians followed in the next five years before their family was complete.

Just before the third baby was born my father sold the dealership and went back to school. Financially, it was pretty much downhill from then on, but in spite of that they had the love affair of the century. I used to squeeze in between their hugs to be part of them and I don't remember hearing them ever argue. My mother died suddenly in 1986 and my father fully expected to die shortly after, but he lingered on until 2000. 

When I asked him what he wanted for Christmas that last year, all he said, was, "To be with your mother." He died December 26, 2000 and it was hard to be sorry, because it was something he had wanted desperately for a very long time.