16 Years

Yesterday marked the 16 year anniversary of Ross' and my first date. It was only the second date of my young life and actually second date that weekend. Who knew it would be my last...

I can remember Ross picking me up in "The Bullet" a nickname for a blue 1979 Toyota Corolla that belonged to his mom and had seen better days. I was home alone and my parents had said one of them HAD to meet Ross before we headed out so I invited him inside to watch a Bulls game while we waited for my mom to get home from the hair salon. He seemed more than impressed that I liked basketball and his favorite team at that.

After briefly meeting my mom we picked up friends Ronnie Dials and Andrea Topp and went on our double-date to the Silver Dollar Fair in Chico. He played country music in the car and I can remember thinking "What a dork! Who likes country music?" It didn't take him long to get me hooked on it though and now that's pretty much all I listen too.

I can remember agonizing over what to wear the night before and I settled on a long sleeved pink shirt, jeans and China flats (those black Mary Jane style cloth shoes that attached with a tiny buckle). The shoes proved to be my downfall since it had rained all week and the fairgrounds were covered in 3 inches of mud. My shoes kept getting stuck and were even pulled off a couple of times during the day. I even had a "wardrobe malfunction" when the hook on my bra popped off on a ride. I ditched the bra in the women's bathroom and nobody seemed to notice THANK GOD or I would have died of embarrassment!

Twice during the date people approached Ross and asked if he had been in juvenile hall (you know, KID JAIL!!!) but he swears to this day that they had the wrong man. Good thing, or there wouldn't have been a second date!

We rode a lot of rides, ate a lot of junk food and had a great time. I remember him being really funny and considerate and I hoped he'd ask me out again, which he did and the rest is history.