February 2001                                                      The Megaphone                                                               Page 5

   After we bought our cabin, my husband and I decided that since we both were more energetic in the early morning, we would take our air mattress to the cabin and stay the weekend.

   So, we headed out with confidence in our plan. When we arrived in the evening the temperature began dropping until it reached a  healthy 37 degrees.  There was no heat in the cabin!

   He tried with no luck to light the ancient stove! Together, we blew up the air mattress and made our bed on the floor with our trusty electric blanket. We dressed for bed in our jogging suits! Laying there, we could see every breath we took, and we could see outside through the clapboards. The wind was howling. It was dark and spooky. We both shivered.

   He said, "Now, I know how that man in 'Jeremiah Johnson' felt!" We both got the giggles! In that passage in time, I felt such love for him. Finally, we fell asleep. Our waking up is another story.

   Yes, we later realized we could have gone into town to a motel, but I wouldn't have traded our first cabin night for any place else in all the world!  Love is not the easy times! As I reflect, love is more likely to bloom in the rough times!

A List Member

   The following is a true story.  Both the girl and the boy . . . today, are list members . . . married . . . but not to each other.

My first dance.

The young and very attractive, sweet young thing that invited me to a Job's Daughter's dance not only surprised me with the invitation but probably did not realize she had invited a guy who did not know how to dance. He was too ashamed to admit not knowing how to dance so he excitedly accepted and was truly anxious to go, even though he had never been before.

Thank heaven for Mothers. He told his mom all about the girl's invitation and she was pleased because she had been hearing much about that girl from her son, and had known her family for years. She, the Mother, knew just what to do. Take the young man to Lesson's for a new white shirt and tie. Next, go to his Uncle George and borrow a used but nice sport coat that could be altered to the boy's size.

Next and most important of all, the mother taught the son to dance.  Yep, it was the box step, and he could just barely get it down without hurting his poor mother's feet.  She was patient and happy to spend the time, (and it took a lot of her time) but she stayed with it and he finally felt a little confident.

The night of the dance came. Both participants were too young to drive. His mother did not know how to drive and his father worked nights so there was no auto available for him to provide transportation.

The sweet young thing provided her mother and their family car. The night was saved. However, that meant the sweet young thing and her mother would have to come to his home and pick him up.  Well, what the heck, there really was no better option and besides neither had enough experience to know or be troubled with protocol.

The car parked out front. The boy was waiting inside the door.  He saw them. He kissed his dancing instructor good-bye and was out the door with a corsage he had bought with his own money earned from mowing lawns and picked up on his bike.  He approached the car.

Entering the passenger side he sat next to his dream girl and on the other side of her, behind the wheel was her mother, who always treated him very well and seemed to like him. All appeared to go well.  Her mother was friendly and pleased her daughter was so happy and tried her best to make him feel comfortable.

The sweet young thing who seemed so at ease and comfortable also said pleasant things and helped make him feel comfortable for the ride downtown to the Masonic Hall.

Well I think he pulled off looking, acting and sounding comfortable and "with it," but let me tell you what was really going on inside the boy.

He was SCARED to death. His knees actually quivered. Up to now he thought that was just a story, that knees knocked, but it wasn't, it really happened.  He still remembers it. He controlled his voice and natural cheerfulness but those knees literally quivered inside his trousers.

What would happen when he exited the auto? Would his legs support him. Would he fall on his face. Will he have to explain his plight? Will this last all evening?  Can the sweet  young thing next to him feel the vibration? He was a nervous wreck.

The sweet young thing must have suspected something because she actually put her hand on his hand and suddenly the fear just disappeared. He could not explain it at all, but it did.  It just went away before it was time to exit the car. She had completely put him at ease.

Upon leaving the car, her mother said how nice they both looked and they went inside and upstairs to the dance. The sweet young thing, the boy and his sport coat that was way too long for him.

The dance went well for she knew how to dance. He was no longer afraid, and his mother's lessons paid off.  Oh, I am not going to say it was like watching Fred and Ginger, but it was nice, you know, kind of sweet. Between the decorations, pretty party dresses, music and excitement, it was fun and so many of their friends were there.  It was the best first dance a guy could ever have attended.  After all, she was a vision and so happy with what was probably her first corsage.

At first all the dancing was slow dancing and the box step worked well for him.  His mother would have been proud. Soon the tempo of the music became more  upbeat but the sweet young thing knew all about that too.  Patiently and lovingly, she kind of guided him and he liked it a lot. Before long they were keeping up with all the others and were just as relaxed.

Well, it was a great experience for him and I think for her.  They both were very happy. She gave him a little kiss at the end of the dance  before her mother picked them up.  He knew right then and there that all the effort, time and fear had paid off.

Later she turned out to be not only popular but a really nice girl and he too had many friends and became a really good dancer, who to this day credits his mother's lessons and that sweet young thing's attention and kindness for giving him his love for dancing and much of his confidence.

I do not know all that eventually happened to them, but I do know that later, in the Panther Den, one Sadie Hawkin's Day they were married. I know too that today they remain friends.

A List Member