Thank you very much, Amy.
That picture was taken probably in the spring of 1970 on one of our trips up to Chowchilla to see Sheila’s mother.
We met and started dating in November 1969 when she was 19 and I was 24. She had graduated from Roosevelt High School a year earlier and was working as a teacher’s aide at Calwa Elementary at the time. I had recently completed my four year enlistment in the navy and was working as an aircraft sheet metal mechanic.
I used to hang out with friends after work at a tavern not far from the airport, shooting pool and drinking draft beer at 25 cents a glass. One night Sheila and her friend Barbara showed up and Barbara sent Sheila in to see if Barbara’s boyfriend Phil was there.
Here I was standing at the end of bar, que stick in one hand, glass of beer in the other when this cute young thing comes walking in with a sweet smile on her face.
What was I supposed to do? Instinctively, as any old grizzled navy vet would do, I blurted out, “Hey baby, how about a beer?”
She looked right at me, her sparkling eyes met mine and her smile widened and turned into a quick laugh, but she walked on by. She walked over and talked to the bartender for a minute, then left, and that was it.
But wait. Turns out Phil was a friend of mine and apparently, the three of them talked about that chance encounter and Sheila described the rude guy at the end of bar with long blond hair and scraggly beard and Phil figured out it was me. So he and Barbara arranged a double date with me and Sheila and our lifelong journey began.
It was love at first sight with me, but it took several months of wooing to convince her.
Sounds like You had a perfect plan even thou it may not have seemed that way at the moment. I’ve had similar first words but the result didn’t last as long.
Hang in the Sir, I know it’s hard at first but slowly things will get better. I have been through the loss of My Spouse. They are still with Us but in a better place than We are and They are no longer hurting.
Jim, You know We are here if You need Us, day or night.
Dear Jim, I love the story of the young love you and Sheila shared, and how you met. I apologize, I was too busy over Thanksgiving, and somehow missed this thread until today. I could give a good excuse, which I think you would appreciate, but this is about you and Sheila, not me.
I am so sorry to hear of your loss of your beloved. I cannot say that I understand how you feel...yet. The love of my life is still with me, and after a hard day of work, is napping on the couch beside me.
Thank you so much for all you and Sheila have done for America, for our most wonderful country. By providing Free Republic as a forum and news source, so many of us have a place to turn. I cannot thank you enough. I wake with you and FR in the morning, and say my goodnight prayers with FR almost every night. Nary a day has gone by (for the last 20+ years) that I haven’t checked FR many, many times throughout my day.
My heart is with you. I know the days ahead will be very hard.
Thank you, Jim and Sheila!
Just now saw this thread and read your response to Just Amy’s post.
My keyboard is too blurry to function very well, but I just had to let you know how grateful I am for you and the many blessings you have given through FR.
I will never forget the Comfort so many Freepers gave me through their flood of posts when my beloved 1John—who found this website in 1998 and helped with several fundraisers for it—died in 2002.
It has been a blessing to me for over 20 years now, and I so thank you for it!
May God bless you and your family, and hold you—as He is now holding Sheila—safe and secure from ALL alarms, leaning on His EVERLASTING arms.