The year I got married, 2014. Dang I looked young back then.
My wife and I got married the day before my birthday, so we wouldn’t forget our anniversary, but as it turns out, we don’t much care about that. We celebrate Gotcha Day. The day we met.
We don’t do anything too extravagant. We reminisce about our date, which started out as a Craigslist hookup and ended up changing both our lives.
We listened to Violator from Depeche Mode (my pick) and Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, by Neko Case (her pick), music we listened to at her old apartment.
Depeche Mode – Policy of Truth. Favorite song from my favorite Depeche Mode album. For a while, I thought Violator was a Greatest Hits album.
Our date started as a Craigslist hookup, back when they still had personals. My previous dates were so awkward and frustrating, I decided I just wanted to have sex with someone I liked.
She had good grammar and spelling. Her ad gave me an idea of her personality and she shared a lot of my interests. She was into sci fi. That was rare.
At the very least I thought she’d be fun to talk to. She was.
Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. I was already a big Neko Case fan, but my wife got me to give this a good listen on our first date. Gorgeous, like most of her music.
We met at a Greek restaurant, near my old neighborhood. I decided to get it out of the way early: “I’m an atheist. I hope you’re OK with that.” I didn’t want to get trapped in that world again.
She surprised me. “Me too.” She was from Austin, but this was still Texas.
The chemistry was pretty obvious even to me, who tended to have a bad read on those situations. We took it to the sports bar next door.
She blushed. I thought it was so cute, I got her to do it again. Finally, she got me to go with her and I followed her home in my car.
The rest is history. At age 47, she became my first girlfriend. I robbed the cradle. She was 36. And yes, she took my virginity. I think I did quite well, thank you very much.
We were both ready for each other. I was ready to stop being alone. She was ready to value herself and quit settling for men who neglected her and took advantage.
I wasn’t in the strictly “hookup” part of the personals – those ads grossed me out – but Craigslist had a reputation.
We’ve been through a lot since then. Our mothers dying, hers while sharing an apartment with us. Covid and the lockdown. Jan. 6. But going through those things together made them bearable.
As long as we have each other we can deal with whatever comes next.
Late Boomer's Den 
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