1981

Proposal

In April I asked Julie to marry me, well sort of.  We had pretty much been together with either me staying at her place or her, and often Anne, staying at my place for the previous few months.  Julie and I got along well together, the more time I spent with her the more I wanted to be with her.  I got along well with her daughter Anne who I enjoyed helping with her homework.  Here I was 28 years old, most all my friends were married, both my sisters married with Brenda already had two sons.  Anne was like the daughter I wanted but never had.  Most every day at work Julie and I would take a break in the middle of the afternoon and go to the company cafeteria. The food line was shut down after lunch but they did had vending machines with snacks and drinks.  The cafeteria was quiet, lights were turned off with soft light of the afternoon sun coming through the windows around the edge of the room.  There were tables in the middle and a few booths around the sides so Julie and I got something to drink and then sat in one of the booths and were talking when I just blurted out, “Do you think we should get married?"  After a moment’s pause for her to think about what I just said she asked, “Do you want to get married?” and I replied, “Yes, I think we should get married.” and with that we were engaged.  For the next twenty years Julie would tell people who asked how I proposed and she would tell them, “He never really proposed.”  Oh, well it was good enough for me and I told Mom the next time I talked to her on the phone.  I don’t think she was surprised but more disappointed.  One of the first people she told was my sister Brenda.  On April 28th I received a postcard from Brenda congratulating me on my engagement then saying, “David needs to find someone, perhaps one of the girls at Le Conte.” Sometimes what you wish for comes true but is not always such a good thing.

Diving