we went to the courthouse and got our marriage license. i had been going to a baptist church, so leroy called that preacher and made arrangements for us to get married at 8 o'clock saturday evening on january 3rd. we didn't tell anyone. i think both of us were so naive and scared, we didn't think anyone would want to come to our wedding. i don't remember the preacher's name, but it is on the marriage license. i do remember he had red hair. his wife was the witness.
for our honeymoon, we drove to safford, arizona. leroy had cousins there and pat was visiting them so we picked her up and took her back to las cruces with us. she and ellis married a month later without telling anyone.
when i was in high school, i didn't want to take home economics, which might have helped me to be a better cook. i had cooked some after mama died but it was just the basics like beans and potatoes or chicken. i had not cooked at all after leaving home. we invited some friends for tacos one night. leroy was going to teach me how to make them. we went to the grocery store for the ingredients and leroy said we needed to get five pounds of cheese. we gave the leftover cheese to his roommate.
on january 30th, 1948, i called in sick. i wasn't really sick, but just wanted a day off to go someplace with leroy. this wouldn't have meant anything, except it was the day that mahatma gandhi was killed. my boss was working my shift by himself. just before closing time, a well known correspondent from some radio station or newspaper was coming thru town and filed a very long story about gandhi's life, to be sent by teletype. mr. blair was not the fast typist like we girls were. he was very cool with me for a few days. i can't recall the name of the reporter, but i remember he was very well known. i was quite sorry i missed him. we did not have t.v.'s in 1948.
i have written a story previously about our life after we left las cruces. my regret is that leroy didn't finish college, but i can't be sorry for the way our life turned out. i cannot imagine life without our children and grandchildren.
i think about him every day and wish he could have lived to enjoy our family and all the things that we do. we were together for 52 years, until death parted us. his kisses still thrilled me as much, after all those years, as they did the first time he kissed me.
that is true romance.
leroy's 70th birthday
january 4, 1998 - 50th anniversary cruise
I really liked this story and have been reading it since the beginning :) Thanks for posting it!
Posted by: Stephanie | 07/24/2010 at 11:14 PM