Becky - The Rest of the Story

Besides the incident at the pool I saw Becky on at least two other occasions before I met her. There may have been others but these two are as fresh in my mind as the day they happened.

Terry was dating Jane Porter during one of the times I saw Becky. Jane’s dad, George, was the regional supervisor for Walnut Grove Feed sales. Becky’s dad was a very successful salesman and was well liked by George. Once when Terry brought me along to Jane’s house Russell and his family showed up. Again, I don’t think Becky really noticed me.

The chronology may be slightly off here but I think I saw Becky again in the fall of 1965. It was at Jerry’s Pizza when it was located in downtown Mt. Pleasant. Becky was sitting in a booth in the back with a big guy in a Winfield letter jacket. I was with a bunch of guys and we were all showing off a little bit. The guy Becky was with had his back to me and she was facing me. Our eyes met and I winked at her. To my delight and amazement she winked back. That moment and her face are frozen in my memory as if it happened last night.

I don’t know why I thought Becky was a year older than I was but I did. That was one reason why I didn’t think I had a chance. The other was that she was clearly out of my league. She was the kind of girl I knew I could only dream about.

With the above and the pool incident as a backdrop I was amazed at what happened next. I was dating a girl but we really weren’t very interested in each other. It was more so we both had someone to go out with. One Monday, early in February, Susie Potter, an old friend told me she had someone who wanted to meet me. She gave me a name that I didn’t recognize and said she would introduce us on Friday night. I had a date to the game and dance following so I wasn’t sure how this would work.

All week long I wondered who this girl was. Though I considered it I wouldn’t allow myself to think that this could be my “dream girl.” Susie promised that when they came to town she would come into the game and introduce us. She promised to be quick and no one would be the wiser. She told me this girl had a date with a senior I knew. The guy was kind of a dud so I began to think this couldn’t possibly be the one I had hoped.

When Friday night finally came I was double dating with a friend of mine. We picked up our dates and went to the game. Near the end of the first quarter Susie stuck her head in the door of the gym and motioned me to come over there. I told the others I would be right back and went out into the lobby where I met Susie and Becky. I was numb! It was a dream come true! Susie insisted we go for a ride. She promised it wouldn’t take long. I don’t remember exactly what happened in that car but during the ride we talked and planned to meet again. We exchanged numbers and I went back to the game.

After the game I went to the dance with my date and the other couple. Feeling I had met the girl I wanted to marry I broke up with the girl I was dating that night. After I dropped her off I at her house I decided to scoop the loop around the square one more time. That is when I saw Becky again. She was running out into the street to get my attention. Her date had dumped her because he saw her get in the car with me. I took her home that night and thus began the relationship that has lasted over forty years.