The number 13 is my lucky number. My father was born on December 13th, my mother was born on May 13th, and they got married on August 13th. Yep...that means today would be their anniversary if they were still married.
My dad died in 1994, but they had been divorced since 1956. Despite that, he loved my mom until the day he died. They married very young during World War II when he was only 19 and she was just 16. He always said they were just way too young when they got married.
My dad was in the Navy and home on leave during the war when he saw my mother headed into the roller skating rink with a group of friends. He was smitten with her and followed them in.
Someone yelled, "Betty, I have first skate with you!" and my dad yelled, "Betty, I have second skate with you!" Then he followed them into the roller rink and put on skates just so he could skate with her and find out who she was.
Dad said it was love at first sight for him. I do believe it was. They dated for the 2 weeks he was home, and he asked her to marry him before the second week. When she said yes, he had a big heart tattoo put on his left arm, above the wrist, with an arrow through the heart and the words Don & Betty boldly filling the center of the heart!
Despite the early divorce, they remained friends all their lives. My two step-mothers both asked repeatedly that dad have his tattoo covered over...he refused. It was still there the day he died.
Thanks for dropping by!
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