Category Archives: Remembering

Newlywed Love (#88)

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August 12, 1970

 

Behind the wheel of our brand new Fiat, I set out for Champaign by 8:00 PM and couldn’t wait for Nate’s expression when he saw me driving something other than the Mustang. So I called him before I left, to be sure he would wait up for me. “I should be home around 11:00,” I said, not saying a word about our phenomenal gift.

With the convertible top down on this warm summer evening, I set the radio to my favorite music station and looked forward to 3 hours of get-acquainted time with the car.

Car radio.

Heading toward route 57, I remembered something Dad had said years earlier. “A new car shouldn’t do any high speed driving till after the first 100 miles.” I wondered if that was still true with the modern cars of 1970. Just in case, though, I decided to follow that advice.

Driving at about 40 miles per hour, I watched one car after another go around me and hoped I wouldn’t be rear-ended by someone not paying attention.

Police light.The miles clocked by without incident, though, until I saw a flashing light in the rear view mirror. Hoping it would roar past in pursuit of someone else, I was disappointed when the light stayed on and slowed to 40 mph – staying right behind me.

Pulling off to the shoulder, I couldn’t imagine what I’d done wrong. Surely he couldn’t pinch me for going too slow. Route 57 wasn’t even a super-highway, so people didn’t have to go fast.

Normally I would have gotten out of the car to greet the policeman when he came toward me, but I’d been driving without shoes and had a vague memory that barefoot was illegal.

The officer’s first words were, “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

I assumed he was joking but didn’t want to chance it, so gave him a serious answer. “I’m driving home… to Champaign.”

“At a snail’s pace?”

“Well… this car is brand new, and I don’t want to hurt it. I think I’m supposed to drive slow for the first 100 miles.”

“Is that so?” he said, taking a flashlight from his belt. He leaned toward my dashboard to check the odometer – 73 miles.

Bare feet“I’m almost to 100,” I said, hoping he’d commend me for being so careful. But as he pulled his flashlight back, its beam crossed over my toes.

“What’s this?” he said. “No shoes?”

“I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?” (Psalm 56:4)

Newlywed Love (#87)

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August 12, 1970

 

Lynn and kitty.Before I waved goodbye to Lynn (left), I called Mom and Dad. They were fresh back from their Canadian vacation and enthusiastically invited me over – anxious to share pictures and stories.

When I arrived, my thoughts were on our Baron, and I couldn’t wait to cuddle him again. So when I walked in, it was upsetting that he didn’t appear. “Where’s our puppy-dog?” I said, feeling nervous.

“When we left for Canada,” Mom said, “the plan was to drop him at Mary and Bervin’s to spend the week playing with Russell. But Tom said his good friend David who adores Baron, as you know, had asked if he couldn’t please keep him instead. With Russell still trying to get used to his new home, we thought that arrangement would be best.”

So Baron was in Chicago, and though I knew David well and trusted him completely, it was a disappointment. Mom and Dad were planning to retrieve him as soon as they next went into the city. Maybe it was good they didn’t have to care for him for a few days.

The giversMeanwhile, Mom was bubbling over with the joys of their Keswick trip and wanted to share every detail. Dad, too, had positive comments about their time away. Over an afternoon snack of cheese, toast, and grapes, I caught up with all their news and was glad I’d come.

 

 

Then, just when the conversation gave me an opening to bring up our problematic Mustang, Dad took the floor again. “Your Ma and I bought a birthday present for you. It’s for Nate, too.” I found it unusual that Dad mentioned a birthday gift, since that was Mom’s department.

Then without pausing he said, “We bought you a Fiat.”

“What?” I said, completely stunned.

Before I could think straight enough to respond, he continued. “The dealer says he’ll take the Mustang off your hands, too. I told him all about the fumes, but he still gave us credit for it — eager to seal the deal, I guess.”

I was astounded. What a gift! Nate would be shocked, too!

More than likely Dad reasoned it would have been many years before we could have paid him back for the car, and we still owed for the Mustang (a debt he let stand). Whatever his thought process had been, I was grateful for it! He assured me he’d given matching funds to Mary and Tom to “keep things even,” and they, too, had been surprised and overjoyed.

Our mid-afternoon table-talk ended with, “You can drive it home tonight if we can get there before closing.”

Dad and I hurried out to the Mustang, and with wind whistling through open windows, made it in time. When they brought the Fiat around front for us, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a twin to the one Nate and I had ogled-over in Champaign — black convertible top with hunter green body.

The new car

I decided not to warn Nate ahead of time so he could receive the same wonderful, whopping surprise I had. And I could hardly wait!

“The Lord brought me out into a spacious place.” (Psalm 18:19)

Newlywed Love (#86)

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Aug. 11-12, 1970

 

My close friend Lynn and I had had some very long phone conversations in the last few weeks. Her wedding was less than a month away, and there was much to be done. For one thing, she wanted each of her bridesmaids to sew their own gowns. I understood, having done the same with my bridesmaids. But I was woefully deficient in the skills needed to create a perfect finished product.

“Then come to my house,” she said, “and we’ll make it together, start-to-finish. It’ll be fun!”

At Fort BenningBy mid-August she had traveled from Fort Benning, Georgia, where her fiancé Don was in the Army, to her home in Park Ridge, Illinois, for the remaining 3 weeks before their wedding.

It would be a military wedding, a special celebration during this time in our nation when most military news was bad. Don had already been to Vietnam for a year and, as an officer, would undoubtedly be called back. But during these weeks, Lynn’s happy focus was preparing for their wedding.

Army swordKnowing Nate was also in the Army, she asked if he could get his hands on 4 official Army swords. They hoped to use them to make an archway for the bride and groom as they exited the church. He promised to do his best.

 

Brass buttonOur gowns would made from Lynn’s clever design, incorporating the dress-blue color of the Army’s formal uniforms (which the men would be wearing) and the white of their shirts. Lynn even found official brass buttons at the Fort Benning PX, which she planned to line up down the front of our dresses.

 

Although my sewing skills had been improving, I would never be the seamstress Lynn was. So I was truly grateful she volunteered to guide me through the process… even though it meant taking time away from sewing her own bridal gown to do so — a true friend.

Leaving Nate to his paper route and Estate Planning course, I drove our toxic Mustang north to Lynn’s house, leaving the windows open the whole 3 hours. Nate and I reasoned that there might be time, while I was “in the neighborhood,” to connect with Dad again about our car situation. The Fiat we’d fallen in love with in Champaign had sold, and there were no others available.

Night time sewingLynn and I, along with bridesmaid Gerry, kept Lynn’s sewing machine humming for two days straight and much of the night in between – all the while having meaningful chats about marriage, sex, and the delights of living with a boyfriend-turned-husband.

 

 

We cooked and ate together, laughed a lot, and kept hemming and attaching buttons as our sewing teacher finalized her wedding flowers, pictures, and food on the telephone.

Cooking chickenAlthough our time together was joyful, I was a married woman now and dearly missed my husband, literally getting teary-eyed for him. It went against me to spend a night away from him. But I knew if I left Lynn’s house prematurely, I’d have to finish my gown without her sewing expertise at my elbow – and I couldn’t risk that.

Lynn suggested I take time out to call Nate, and talking to him did help. He encouraged me to stay overnight and said he was doing fine. “Maybe you can meet with your dad tomorrow before you come home.” he said. “If you do, ask his advice about the Mustang.”

So I stayed over, and it’s a good thing I did. We finished my gown, and connecting with Dad turned out to be remarkably profitable.

“A joyful heart is good medicine.” (Proverbs 17:22)