"Some Enchanted Evening" Submissions
Set 3

"Some Enchanted Evening" Home

Frustrated, I resigned my professorship at the University of Minnesota in the summer of 1978 and returned to industry by accepting a technical position with a food processing company in Iowa. During my orientation, I was introduced to Pam by her boss. Attraction was instantaneous. Age, marriage status, and being overly educated in science like myself were other qualifications. Social encounters, some arranged by scheming friends, provided platforms for casual contact and enhancement of the attraction.

I finally got up the nerve to ask Pam out on a date. Following some negotiations, she accepted my invitation to come over to my house for dinner on a cool October evening. She showed up in a bright red knit dress which I will never forget. We visited in the kitchen while we sipped cocktails and I prepared for our candle light steak dinner. I had just placed some French bread on the grill outside for toasting. When I returned to the kitchen, Pam said "It is kind of chilly in here". I responded "I will turn up the heat". As I moved toward the thermostat in the next room, Pam said "Why don't you just come over here and put your arms around me and keep me warm". Well after burning two sets of French toast and several clinches in between, I whispered in her ear "Can we eat first?"

Twenty five years later I am still asking Pam that same question...

Eugene H. Sander, Rochester, MN

I met my husband through my best friend when we were in our early twenties ,he is my best friend's brother. We dated for a brief time in our twenties. He moved out of town, after a couple of months wrote me a letter telling me : "Do yourself a favor....forget me. Meet up with someone who is truly worthy of you." The date of this letter is May 6, 1969. I still have the letter!! We went our separate ways, marrying others, having kids, and divorcing.

I was divorced twenty years, he had been divorced 7-8 years when he called me on the phone 30 years later (with no contact between the letter and the phone call.) To make a long story short we had our first face-to-face contact in 30 years in March 1998, became engaged in April, 1998, married on August 29, 1998 and exchanged a kidney from me to him on September 10, 1998. Quite a whirlwind, but living happily ever after!

Barbara Louise, Plymouth, MN

"Mindless in Minneapolis!" June of 1986, I was doing stand-up comedy at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, a seminary where I'd graduated. Honest. Attending this summer program was a young woman from Minnesota: she'd just won a Twin Cities Billy Crystal Sound-Alike comedy contest, and then entered St. Paul Seminary at the University of St. Thomas. Honest. So we had this five-minute, fascinating comedy-and-religion conversation...

Eight years later — May 18, 1994 — she called me back. Honest. From Minneapolis to Berkeley. It was an amazing conversation. And I don't know what I was thinking, I probably wasn't, in fact (thinking). I had no expectation. I could not remember what she looked like, and anyway it had been eight years, okay? See, I remember asking myself what I was doing; it came to me that, at the very worst, this woman was going to be a good friend, and this would turn into some kind of a good story. And, if that was the worst, that was pretty good. So, eight days after eight years, I caught a Northwest Airline Memorial Day weekend special, to take a walk with her along Minnehaha Creek. Honest.

We laughed so much my stomach hurt for a week (lots of mini ha-ha's and some big ones). My life turned on its axis. After 20 years in California dreamland, I moved to Minnesota heartland to marry this woman of my dreams, who called me after eight years in May. Her name is May. There are details, but it only gets better. Now each day I'm clear I owe life a call back, or pay back, or something big for May. Honest.

Rick Bernardo, Minneapolis, MN

I was treating my two sister's and their husbands to a night out to celebrate their anniversaries. We stopped by a billiard hall to shoot a few rounds. On the table next to us was a group of guys who must have learned how to shoot pool that very night. Not only did they shoot their balls but ours as well! Actually, one of the guys hit the cue so hard on the break that several of their balls flew off their table and landed on ours nearly clearing all of our balls into the pockets. Too embarrassed, the guys sat and argued amongst themselves who was going to rescue their balls from our table. To end their discomfort, we, my sisters and I, corralled their billiard balls and returned them. The only one who had any grace to say, "Thank you" was a guy named Mike.

On our first date, I learned that Mike was extremely shy, had never dated before. When it came to say goodnight, I kissed him. The only thing to come out of his mouth was, "Now look what you did, you made me swallow my gum!" 14 months later he became my husband. This Feb 12th, we celebrate our 22nd anniversary. And he still doesn't know how he mustered up enough courage to say, "Thank you" that fateful night, but for 22 years he's been glad he did (or so he says). I give him a pack of gum each year on our anniversary.

Jodie Peschl, St. Cloud, MN

I was working for Andersen Consulting in downtown Minneapolis and was on the committee to organize the firm's annual party, which was traditionally held in March. Each December, the firm would host a big office meeting/cocktail hour and as part of that meeting, the date and theme of the upcoming annual party would be announced to much fanfare.

The annual party was going to be formal, so those of us on the committee who were going to make the big announcement at the December office meeting decided to wear formal attire for our presentation. I searched for a dress, but it was close to Christmas and all the party dresses were picked over - so I rented a tuxedo with tails and wore a gold bowtie, a gold lame cummerbund and gold spike-heeled shoes.

After the announcement, a big blonde guy skipped the entire buffet line (a real no-no at such a hierarchical company) to talk to me. I thought he was flirting (he was) and that he was incredibly arrogant (as it turns out, he wasn't).

Two months later, with the big party approaching, my boyfriend and I had broken up and I had no date to the party that I had worked so hard on planning. I called my girlfriend, who was the Arrogant Flirt's secretary, and asked her if he had a date to the big 'do. He didn't, we got together (even though he was 45 minutes late for our first date - and to make it worse, he was late because he was talking to his mother!), and the rest is history.

Long story short (too late!), we got married six months later and after nearly nine years of marriage, are still wild about each other.

Victoria Dennis, Eagan, MN

I was working as a biologist at the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. A co-worker, Pat, had contacted her friend, Patty, to apply for an opening at the refuge. Patty responded and ended up getting the position. In her communications with Patty, Pat told Patty that she would meet the person she would marry, referring to me.

I met Patty at the small airport on Adak Island with other refuge personnel the day she arrived. Although it wasn't love at first sight the following weeks involved Patty and me doing bird surveys and other work together on the refuge. It took about 3 weeks before things turned romantic and the rest is history. We both feel that it was more than luck to bring two Midwesterners together on a remote Island in the Aleutians to begin a life together. We will be celebrating 20 years of marriage this year.

John Mueller, Hudson, WI

We met in geology lab at the University of Minnesota. I was a freshman, the first week of the lab I sat with a girl. We had to carry big heavy trays of rocks, after looking around the room we decided that the next week we would sit with guys so that we wouldn't have to carry the rocks. (We were liberated, but didn't mind taking advantage of all the hunks in the room.)

The next week I arrived a little late, I looked for a dark handsome guy but the only empty seat was next to a tall skinny blond. I took the seat and his first thought was, "God damn now I have to carry the rocks both ways!" He did not say it out loud, he just smiled, and we talked, and talked, and talked, and he carried the rocks.

Nowadays (35 years and two kids later) we help each other carry the rocks.

Patsy Buell Stierna, Wayzata, MN

There is an old tradition at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN that all freshmen wear a gold beanie until the first touchdown of the first home football game. In August of 1976 I was a freshman at Concordia. On the back of my beanie was a nametag saying that I was Maureen E. from Ada, MN. One evening during the first week of classes I was standing in the supper line at the cafeteria when a young man standing behind me addressed me. He said, "Maureen E. from Ada. I bet you know my grandparents."

When I turned and looked at this young man I realized that I had never seen him before. My heart fell because he was quite good looking and I had this horrible feeling that I probably wouldn't know his grandparents. Such a negative response would put a real damper on the conversation. I responded by saying, "So tell me, who are your grandparents?"

He said, "Elmer and Luella Larson." Amazingly, I did know them, as his grandpa had been the pastor at my church.

That conversation was the beginning of 26 years of conversations. We married after college and are still happily wed. All because of a beanie. Oh and by the way, we still have both of our beanies tucked away in a drawer.

Maureen Eckhoff Hagen, Rochester, MN

It was 1966 and I was a senior attending an all girls Catholic high school. My husband was a junior at a primarily all boys college. Neither one was dating, so our mothers decided to "fix us up." Our moms were friends, and since I needed a date to my senior prom and my husband needed a date to a bowling dinner (he had bowled a 277 and was getting a trophy) they introduced us. We began dating in April of 1966, and have been together ever since.

I love telling this story, though our children cringe when they hear it. I think "pathetic" is the actual term they use to describe it. Since we'll be celebrating our 35 anniversary this year, I think the story has a lovely ring and just goes to show mothers do know best!

Joanne Weygand, Carver, MN

My wife and I met on a blind date for a performance of the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota set up by a mutual friend. Our friend gave one ticket to her and one ticket to me with the instructions of "figure it out".

When the day arrived (January 18, 1998) I showed up at her house in my old '72 Chevy truck with the thought of, "If she doesn't like the truck, better to end this thing quickly."

She drove because she thought she knew where it was (I thought it was happening at another location and my heater didn't work too well). Well, we got lost walking all over Macalester College trying to find the auditorium. We held hands most of that afternoon and had a great time and enjoyed a wonderful performance where one of the violinists broke a string.

Well, I think we both knew after this date that there should be a second. She liked the truck, the violinist definitely had a worse day than us getting lost and we've been holding hands most of the time since then.

Brian Hill, St. Paul, MN

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