50 Years of Laughter, Love and Fun


50 years ago today, a demure blue-eyed blonde (truly the last of the Norwegian blond bombshells) and a dashing dark-haired Irishman (he of a fiesty, firebrand Irish stock) decided to take the plunge and celebrate their love through holy matrimony.

My parents were bobbysoxers when they met in the 50's. Mom, a glamorous vision in her stylish cardigans and pencil skirts, was pampered by her doting family in her small Minnesota town. Enter dad, dark and dangerous, with a slicked-back D.A., leather jacket and torn white t-shirt- and a penchant for hopping cross-country trains. Well, anyone could have predicted that it was bound to happen. They met on the opposite ends of a double date, and quickly ditched their dates to be together.

Today is my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. Through untold trials and tribulations, including bearing eight children, moving umpteen times, several different businesses and illness, they've successfully made their mark on the world- with grace, reason, and wit. Their love is enduring, filled with secret jokes, holding hands and loving glances that speak volumes. Folks, true love still exists, and their love has lasted and lasted, in a world where most couples can't make it 5 years- let alone 50.


My father once told me this story about my mother:


"We had our fishing poles so we stopped along the Columbia for a while. I turned and looked at your mother at the perfect moment. There were a thousand sparkles all around her. It was beautiful. It was mica on the gravel along the shoreline. She was just... beautiful."


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