Wandering in my mind

In 1985 the eighth of November fell on a Friday. Woo Hoo! Begin birthday celebrations on Friday and have a long weekend to follow. How sweet is that? My best friend made plans to come for the weekend with her two kids and I arranged for a niece to stay over to babysit. We didn’t have major plans, just visiting some other friends in Calgary, with a couple stops along the way.

Our first stop was in a little bar two towns toward Calgary. The evening was young and we just stopped in for a few minutes. As we walked in, a hat whizzed by Carolyn’s nose, followed by the hat catcher. He laughed as he apologized for nearly taking her out and explained he and his buddies were celebrating the end of the road construction season – a wrap party if you will- for having finished a local interchange just outside of town. Following us to a table, he sat down and asked Carolyn if he knew her, as she seemed familiar. Now, Carolyn worked as a bartender one town back and was always running into people she did not remember, but who remembered her. So she figured this was just more of the same. We never did find out if it was a line, or if he had been in her bar. After a while of being yelled at from his friends a couple tables over, he asked us to join them. Since we were only there for a little while, we figured why not.

They had a few tables pulled together and were an assorted group – flag girls, surveyors, road workers and some local friends. We met them all and had the drink we had stopped for and got ready to head out. However, when we went out, the evening had changed from cool and clear to snowing. Not knowing how long this would last, or if it would get worse, we decided to stay a while longer and see what turns the weather took. Back in we went and were as warmly welcomed back as if we had been gone for days. Nothing like a warm welcome, and some of those boys were almighty cute.

Along about this time the band showed up and began playing. Now this group was out for a good time and had, apparently, been there since two in the afternoon. A long time to wait for the band to arrive. While a few found there way to the dance floor, one got up and came around the table to me. He was wearing a pair of white highway department coveralls pulled half off and tied around his waist and a pair of heavy Kodiak snow boots. Not exactly dancing shoes, but he asked me to dance and after asking if he thought he could with those huge boots on, to the dance floor we went. He was a sweetie, and we had a few dances, a few drinks a few games of pool, and the evening speed by.

Now it was after last call and the bar was closing. A pair of the local friends, Pat and Hal, suggested everyone come over to their place in the trailer park a couple blocks away. Well, why not? It quickly became apparent why not. They had a smallish trailer there and everyone packed in. Word went around quickly to not use the washroom as the pipe had frozen with the snow and it couldn’t be flushed. Of course that did not stop some one from using it and leaving lumps of unflushables (poop reference just for Nutz). They apparently only had one tape and Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell played over and over and over. I never have to hear Paradise by the Dashboard Light again. There was a dedicated group of non tobacco smokers lighting up and I soon found myself in need of some air. There is something about pot smoke in the air that tends to quickly make me nauseous, so I told Carolyn were I would be for a few minutes and headed outside.

Feeling slightly better, I turned and found my dancing partner coming out the door behind me. He walked with me and we just talked for a little while. He asked me if he could call me sometime, so I tore my name and phone number from the side of a cheque and gave it to him. This is where our first meeting story always takes a fork in the road. He says he leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss, and he could tell I was thinking he was hot I wanted to get to know him more. I say he leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss and I was thinking please god, don’t let me vomit on his boots. I mean, I had gone out to get into clear air. Anyway, Carolyn came out then and we walked back to the car and headed for home, arriving in time to watch the sunrise.

Now, there were a lot of people at that table. And names are not always my strong point. So the next afternoon when I got up, I knew I had met some one named Blake or Blaine or Blair or Brad the night before. I just couldn’t remember it. So when he called on Sunday and said “This is Blair, I met you Friday night” I agreed to go to out with him only because of his manners. See how important nice manners are? After all, how could I have gone and tried to avoid calling him by name all evening since I couldn’t remember his name? I met him in town Monday and we drove to Calgary for a movie. Most of the choices at the theatre were action shoot em ups, so we saw Back to the Future. That was the first and last movie we ever went to. He turned out to be an avid movie renter and over the years we have watched more good and even more bad movies than most folks see in a lifetime, but if I suggest going to the theatre he will always reply “I took you to one….once”. When we got back to town after the evening, he proved to be a more than sufficient kisser with definite possibilities.

He called twice during the week, came out to my house on the next weekend (and left really, really horny, according to him, since my niece was still there) and the next weekend he again called and showed up. With no niece underfoot we found out how suitably we fit together.

Somehow, despite my belief that I was completely self sufficient and in need of no one, he worked things so I began to believe having someone around who was smart and fun, a good kisser, could talk about anything and could make me laugh was not such a bad idea. We were married in October of 1987 and, while I did once tell him I would divorce him, but I was too afraid of getting custody of the kids, I don’t think he believed me. We will celebrate our 19th anniversary this year. For somebody I met in a bar, I haven’t had to kick him to the curb yet.