1978

Disney World

In the fall things my prospects for women seem to be improving, I wrote in my journal..

September 9, 1978

I am emotionally charged with the though of becoming involved with a woman. Who? No one in particular but with several possibilities in mind. Having recently visited two old girlfriends and this past week having talked to several new girls at Harris where I have been working, and then finally last night…. Yes last night I took Barbara, a beautiful, Playboy material, six foot, blond, yes… I to her out to Disney World. We had a fantastic time.
 
But I’m in somewhat of a predicament, I have trained and developed my mind in such a way that it has become almost impossible to find a woman that I could be satisfied with. It almost seems that good looks and intelligence are opposing traits that are seldom, seemly never, found together.

My extremely rational and logical mind is a handicap in my finding a mate. Emotional and irrationality seem to lend to find a mate much better than being rational and logical.

Wow, what an ego I had about myself, it was no wonder that I didn’t have a woman in my life.  Barbara was the receptionist at the front desk of the Harris building where I worked.  As a contractor, I had to sign in and out every time I came and went so with the log book being on her desk, I would speak to her.  A month or so after she started working, Harris arranged for an employee day at Disney World so I asked Barbara if she wanted to go and she said yes.  

The day came and I picked her up in my Chevy van and I drove the hour’s drive over to Disney World in Orlando.   Harris, along with two other companies, had arranged for exclusive use of Disney World for their employees from 5 PM until 1 AM.  Not only were all the rides free, there was a picnic dinner, and several bands playing that evening.   Harris had several thousand employees at their different divisions in the Melbourne area and the other companies added a few thousand more.  Now Disney World, if you ever had been, is designed to handle 20 or even 30 thousand people so with only the few thousand from Harris and other companies there that night the place seemed empty. Even better, the rides were free and there were no lines.  

Barbara and I arrived, had dinner at the picnic they had set up, and spent the evening going from ride to ride with stops to listen by the bands that were playing.   When we came to the Haunted Mansion ride, I made some comment about one of the gargoyles on the mansion and Barbara says, “The what?” I reply, “the gargoyle”, she didn’t know that’s what the figures were called.

I had a lot of fun that night, the last time I had been to Disney World was as a kid when Mom and Dad took the family and they had A, B, C, D and the valued E tickets for the special rides.  So I had not been back since the Space Mountain ride opened and looking forward to riding it.  One thing I remember as a kid was how long the lines were for the rides, but the Harris night there were no lines so I rode Space Mountain several times, it was fun, exciting and fast.   A couple of years later after a few incidents, they slowed the ride down.

As we talked on the hour drive back to Melbourne, I confirmed my assessment that she, although beautiful, was just, I hate to say it, but it was so true, she was just a dumb blond.   We get back to Melbourne and we go to her apartment to drop her off.  It was a typically apartment building, several rows of two story apartment buildings with a parking lot surround the buildings.  I pull into the parking lot for her building and there were no open spaces, so I stop in the middle of the lane blocking anyone from going in either direction. but it was like 2 AM in the morning so I didn’t see any problem with it.  I then turn to her and say something like, “I had a good time tonight.”, and expected her to get out but then she asks if I would walk her to her door.  Ok, I didn’t expect that. I turn the ignition, off, we both get out and I walk her to her door leaving my Chevy van parked there in the middle of the lane.  We walk to her apartment, she unlocks the door and then turns to me and asks if I want to come in.  Like WOW, I wasn’t expecting that, it was our first date,  I was about to say yes, when I remember, my Chevy van is sitting there, blocking the parking lot lane.  I tell her I can’t come in, I have to get back to my van before it gets towed.  I could have hit myself up on the side of the head, how dumb was that.  Here the most beautiful woman I ever had a date with was asking me into her apartment and I couldn’t because I left my Chevy van in the middle of the lane.   One of those should’ve, could’ve, would’ve moments. 

The next day one of the guys at worked asked about my date, a I tell him about the gargoyle moment and how she wasn’t all the smart.  We did not go on a second date.  Fortunately, she was only the receptionist for a couple weeks longer before she left.