Bunny and Rich - Our Fist Date
It was Winter of my Freshmen year at Concordia Teacher’s College, River Forest, IL – of that I am certain. What month, now that is open to interpretation.
My Freshmen year classes were typical ones for the time, English, Math, Science, Bible, and Music. It was the rule in those days that all graduates who planned a career in Lutheran education be proficient in music, but I digress.
All the Freshmen had to take these required courses, there was little room for electives. I often found myself sitting next to a young woman by the name of Arlene Conrad since we sat in alphabetical order.
Somewhere during that Winter something popped in my brain and I really started to notice her, for she was drop-dead gorgeous and smart! (She consistently scored higher on exams and quizzes than I did.) I started wanting to get to know her – but I was shy – and polite.
Let me explain – the shyness came from my high school years. I was not very confident then and in spite of my vow to change my personality I was deep in the throes of “shyness.” It was hard for me to expect such a beautiful, smart woman to speak, let alone date, someone like me.
Therefore, I hedged my bets.
Bunny (I learned that was her “real” name) and I were in a Music class together and had to attend a required music concert / recital as a class assignment.
After class I made sure that I stopped in front of her and managed to stammer something along the lines of “Well, since we have to go anyway … I was wondering if … well, you see it is like this … what I am trying to say is would you like to go the concert with me?” (I was suave.)
Bunny turned to her roommate and best friend (since Kindergarten) announcing, “Rich just asked if I would go to the concert with him.”
Sherry (her best friend and roommate) remarked on how she had planned to go with Bunny.
Seeing a chance to be with Bunny I blurted out, “Well, we can all go together.” (I thought it would be polite to invite her, too.)
OK, not the best option, but it got me a “date” with Bunny.
The day of the date arrived and I picked up the girls at their dorm room (I am polite). We walked to the venue where they listened to the music and I tried to see if my arm could extend around Bunny’s shoulder – not even the tried and true yawn arm stretch worked. Thus, I am at a loss to share the name of neither the music nor even the genre.
Afterwards I suggested we take a walk to Petersen’s Ice Cream Parlor in Oak Park. Now Petersen’s was known for generations as the place for hot fudge sundaes and romantic booths. It was also something I had to save up for since their sundaes were listed with double $$ in most books. (OK, that is a stretch, they didn’t even have the $ rating yet, but the ice cream was pricey.) I wanted to impress Bunny and sit close.
Now it was Winter, it was cold, it had snowed and there were large piles of dirty snow on each street corner we had to cross.
Now, being the polite guy I am, I offered my arm to Bunny to help her over the snow. Sherry grabbed my outstretched arm while Bunny stood still.
“Now you wait there and I will be right back for you,” I spoke over my shoulder.
“I can walk across the street myself,” she replied as she walked past us and waited on the other side of the street.
The rest of the night is thankfully stored in the part of my brain that stores other better-forgotten nights and embarrassing situations.
However, the net result is that I had the confidence to ask Bunny out on a proper date and the rest, they say, is history.
A little over a year after the first “date” we were engaged and a little over a year after that we were married.
Which reminds me of the first ring I ever gave her – a pop tab from a Coca-Cola can, but that is another story …
It was Winter of my Freshmen year at Concordia Teacher’s College, River Forest, IL – of that I am certain. What month, now that is open to interpretation.
My Freshmen year classes were typical ones for the time, English, Math, Science, Bible, and Music. It was the rule in those days that all graduates who planned a career in Lutheran education be proficient in music, but I digress.
All the Freshmen had to take these required courses, there was little room for electives. I often found myself sitting next to a young woman by the name of Arlene Conrad since we sat in alphabetical order.
Somewhere during that Winter something popped in my brain and I really started to notice her, for she was drop-dead gorgeous and smart! (She consistently scored higher on exams and quizzes than I did.) I started wanting to get to know her – but I was shy – and polite.
Let me explain – the shyness came from my high school years. I was not very confident then and in spite of my vow to change my personality I was deep in the throes of “shyness.” It was hard for me to expect such a beautiful, smart woman to speak, let alone date, someone like me.
Therefore, I hedged my bets.
Bunny (I learned that was her “real” name) and I were in a Music class together and had to attend a required music concert / recital as a class assignment.
After class I made sure that I stopped in front of her and managed to stammer something along the lines of “Well, since we have to go anyway … I was wondering if … well, you see it is like this … what I am trying to say is would you like to go the concert with me?” (I was suave.)
Bunny turned to her roommate and best friend (since Kindergarten) announcing, “Rich just asked if I would go to the concert with him.”
Sherry (her best friend and roommate) remarked on how she had planned to go with Bunny.
Seeing a chance to be with Bunny I blurted out, “Well, we can all go together.” (I thought it would be polite to invite her, too.)
OK, not the best option, but it got me a “date” with Bunny.
The day of the date arrived and I picked up the girls at their dorm room (I am polite). We walked to the venue where they listened to the music and I tried to see if my arm could extend around Bunny’s shoulder – not even the tried and true yawn arm stretch worked. Thus, I am at a loss to share the name of neither the music nor even the genre.
Afterwards I suggested we take a walk to Petersen’s Ice Cream Parlor in Oak Park. Now Petersen’s was known for generations as the place for hot fudge sundaes and romantic booths. It was also something I had to save up for since their sundaes were listed with double $$ in most books. (OK, that is a stretch, they didn’t even have the $ rating yet, but the ice cream was pricey.) I wanted to impress Bunny and sit close.
Now it was Winter, it was cold, it had snowed and there were large piles of dirty snow on each street corner we had to cross.
Now, being the polite guy I am, I offered my arm to Bunny to help her over the snow. Sherry grabbed my outstretched arm while Bunny stood still.
“Now you wait there and I will be right back for you,” I spoke over my shoulder.
“I can walk across the street myself,” she replied as she walked past us and waited on the other side of the street.
The rest of the night is thankfully stored in the part of my brain that stores other better-forgotten nights and embarrassing situations.
However, the net result is that I had the confidence to ask Bunny out on a proper date and the rest, they say, is history.
A little over a year after the first “date” we were engaged and a little over a year after that we were married.
Which reminds me of the first ring I ever gave her – a pop tab from a Coca-Cola can, but that is another story …