Happy Birthday

To my love

On Nov 1, I’m not going to say what year…a little girl came into the world in a hospital in Bolton Hill Baltimore. She was the third in a family of 5 children born to Bill and “Smitty”.

I was born in the same hospital 2 years prior. How many married couples can claim that one ? Same entry point in the Universe.

This little girl, let’s call her L grew up in Rodgers Forge in the house on the corner with the big yard where all the kids played. From the stories I’ve heard, it’s amazing all 5 have survived.

Our paths first crossed when we both transferred to Towson U in the fall of 1974. There were a lot of twists and turns in the Universe that made this meeting possible…and that story is way too long.

I had started working for Special Services on campus as a student technician. We did the special events. I had been there a week or two and was sitting at a desk looking at the typed and xeroxed schedule for the next week. I look up and there’s this really pretty blonde girl wearing glasses looking down at me.

I heard a voice in my head say “She may be the one”….and I’m looking around going “What ????” I’m sure we talked…I have no memory of that at all.

So for the next 2 years we both worked there as students. L was in the office and I was mostly all over campus doing lighting and sound for different events. Over time my favorite part of the day was coming into the office to have a morning chat with L.

Looking back Special Services was one of the best job experiences either of us have ever had…and there’s about 20 pages of stories there. The group included G, Anne, Ed, our boss Charlie and a bunch of other student helpers like Larry and Holly. G, Anne and L became known around campus as “Charlie’s Angels”. It became a popular place for the other staff VPs and managers to come hang out.

So L and I were “just friends” and platonic for over 2 years. Then I graduated and became the staff Tech Director. We were opening a 5,000 seat arena…the Towson Center and we were going to start doing rock concerts and other events.

At around this time I started teaching L how to do some tech things, like run the movie projectors and gaff tape cables to the floor. Glamorous stuff.

Our first rock concert was Bruce Springsteen. What a day setting up…what a show and then what a night striking the gig. We did a bunch more shows….we had, by far the best gig on campus. One night we did Seals and Crofts on the football field and one of them sent a roadie out to ask L backstage. She declined.

I would have crew parties at my apartment for the student staff as a thank you. At some point during all of this rock and roll energy…our relationship shifted gears…and I’ll leave it at that.

As will happen there came a time when we both went our separate ways. We ran into each other a couple of times after that and the Dan Fogelberg song “Auld Lang Sine” comes to mind.

To make a really long story short, we crossed paths again after 20 years…at a get together of the core Special Services group.

At the Mt. Washington Tavern which is about 500 yards from where I’m writing this. We were both in marriages that we knew were ending. I had dreams about it 2 months before and she had an experience with a fortune teller….before this gathering was a thought to anyone about getting together.

When I saw her enter the room my heart jumped.

We’ve now been together for 25 years. And yes “she was the one”.

Happy Birthday L…love you.