Randy and Barbara

October, 15, 1979

My first date was with the woman who became my wife; it occurred in 1979 when i was a radio announcer at a very small station in upstate New York. As fate would have it, i had moved into her family's house as a "boarder," and soon after that it became very apparent that we had a special connection; we just "clicked" right off the bat. As part of my job at the radio station, i was given the assignment of broadcasting a high school graduation ceremony. (this is the type of things that announcers do when they work for tiny stations in very small communities). I asked Veronica if she wan't to come with me to the ceremony and she agreed. The school was, and probably still is called Copenhagen High School. Veronica and i could hardly see anything; the school personnel situated us in a bizarre location where our vision was cut off from part of the stage. Afterward Veronica and I had lunch at a fast food place; i dropped her off at home and i went to the station to edit the ceremony for later broadcast (it was taped; no live high school ceremony broadcast thank goodness; too much room for error). it was an afternoon i'll never forget and i remember it very clearly nearly four decades later. I even remember that it was held indoors because there was a risk of rain. Hard to believe so much time has gone by.

City of Utica, New York, United States