LOVE STORY

“How I Met Your Mother” was one of the past year's TV shows, which I saw only once,. Like many of the prime time network shows it was cloned from a popular British show called , believe it or not, "How I Met Your Father”. There was also a hit movie years ago, a real tear jerker, called “Love Story” which made Ali McGraw a star. All this is just space occupying introductory verbiage.

Today's blog is personal but not a tear jerker. It is intended to be a tribute to a remarkable woman who 67 years ago today, one month, less a day, before Pearl Harbor, defied that era's conventions and made a commitment which through good and bad she has abided by to this day.

As I sit here bemused at my computer that after one war* , four children, three grandchilden, four and two thirds great grand children , numerous dogs and cats plus a rescued catbird who could not fly called 'Puffy" that lived for ten years, some non fsmily member might have a vicarious interest in my apologue. If so, read on.

This “How I Met My Wife“ started one spring day in 1939. A senior student, and a great party boy, was planning to abandon the free life of a University student to study for the Episcopalian ministry. For all his friends and fellow East Rangers/ Randall Hallers he had an open house farewell party in his room on the East Range.

The party was already in progress when,with the nurse that I had been dating for more than 6 months, we walked into that smoke filled room. My first sight was of a strawberry blond sitting on the desk at the opposite end of the room. In my eyes she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. BAM!!!



To this day she claims that the moment when she saw us come in the doorway she asked somebody who I was. Mutual attraction at first sight, Lightening strikes, Cupid was busy shooting his arrows or any other acceptable cliche. Anyhow it certainly is a base for a good tale.

I made it my ASAP business to talk to her. Although she was my host's girlfriend, I, the cad, made a date with her for the next afternoon which we spent walking around the Lawn, ( the center of the University grounds designed by Jefferson), just talking and learning about each other.

Towards the end of our "date", I jokingly spontaneously dropped to my knees to make a “proposition” which to this day she claims was a “proposal”. To make a long story short this was the first date with my future wife. Our courtship of course was never always smooth, but there never was a real break in the relationship. I was hooked, although summer vacation was just around the corner.

When I returned in the fall for my first year in Medical School it was also Helen’s senior year in nursing. In the spring of 1940 she received her RN. Although she had two years of college at Mary Baldwin in those years nurses were only awarded a diploma, not a degree, the RN was a state license which apparently was treated everywhere as a degree.

During 1940 the hospital's operating suite was still directly across from the medical school's second floor anatomy laboratory. The operating rooms were in a semi-circular area complete with skylights. There was a covered walkway between the first floors of both buildings, and the roof acted as a bridge between the hall just beyond the anatomy lab and the OR. There were “emergency” doors on both sides leading to the bridge.

Senior student nurses were given a great deal of responsibility, often being in charge of a ward on the 11pm-7am shift. Helen frequently had that type assignment, plus her daytime class schedule. It so happened that during my first semester when I had anatomy, she was assigned to the OR, for evening or night shift and often the only person on duty. When we did not have a date, we were able to do a great deal of courting on that bridge.

It was probably Easter weekend that year that Helen insisted that I go with her to Staunton, her home ,so her parents could meet me. We all went to her sister’s mother in law’s house for dinner. Talk about first impressions. I was already ill at ease knowing that I was being closely scrutinized, perhaps unfavorably, by six people I had never previous met. When they passed me the butter dish, the stick of butter slipped off it into the gravy bowl.

Helen’s first encounter with my parents turned out to be for her equally uncomfortable. They and my sister had come to Charlottesville for my college graduation. I had 4 tickets for the ceremony which was to be held at the foot of the Lawn in the Amphitheater in front of Cabell Hall The drill was for all the graduates and faculty to assemble at the Rotunda and march by "school" down the Lawn to the Amphitheater.Unfortunately it was raining and everything was transferred to the hot humid Memorial Gymnasium. We were restricted to just 2 tickets, so Helen was recruited by me to entertain my sister. I was very concerned since my sister had suffered from infancy when she had had German measles and Chicken Pox simultaneously with poorly controlled epilepsy. Fortunately that afternoon passed uneventfully.

FDR’s son was graduating from law school, so it had not been a problem to secure the President as the Commencement Speaker. The night before Italy invaded the defeated France. Instead of the usual commencement address FDR gave a significant foreign policy speech, “The Stab in the Back” which was another major step in our commitment to aid England and Russia in the war.

It was to the credit of both of our parents that our relationships were always great despite the fact that we had without informing anybody decided to “elope”. We had purchased a small engagement ring that had a chip diamond.,and small wedding band, which was all we could afford. Our plan was take the bus to Richmond on Sat. Nov 8 early in the morning, and have the JP marry us. Helen overslept and almost left me waiting at the bus station. As the fates would have it, we got to the courthouse just before it closed. We splurged and for $5.00 spent our honeymoon night in Richmond’s best hotel, the John Marshall.

The next weekend Helen went home. As she walked in the door her father asked her where was the ring (She had it on a chain under her blouse.)? Apparently, after she had been home the week before the 8th, they had noticed that she had taken her white nightgown with her. She showed them the ring and if they were upset, they never said anything about it.

From the first, the relationship between my folks and Helen was closer than just mother and daughter. When I went into the army she was pregnant but rather than staying with her own parents , she elected to live with my parents, becoming a life long Plainfielder. Every one of our children were born in Muhlenberg Hospital.

*That is one war we were involved in actually if my count is right there have been 5 "wars",and 5 military actions that this country has been involved in an average of one every 6.5+ years. We are a peace seeking nation!.