First Date - - End of an Era!

It's no secret that Ted and I met on the internet. We jibbered and jabbered via Match.Com a few times and then he sent me his phone number. We won't go into details about what made me give him a call, other than I was in need of a boost. I gave him a call and he was "busy" for a bit working on his carbuerator (yes, I was shunned aside for a carbuerator) and he asked if he could call me back later. Well, he did call me later that night and we made arrangements to meet at Denny's on 3500 South and 2200 West the next afternoon. No, it wasn't a four-star restaurant, but it was a way for either of us to run or make excuses if things were not going well. We sat there for a few hours; I drank Diet Coke and Ted drank Iced Tea. We talked, mostly Ted talked, about stuff I had absolutely no clue about; I tease him a lot about everything he says pretty much floats above my head, because I have no idea what he is talking about. That was October 10, 2004.

After a while I left and Ted asked if he could see me again. I told Elaine that I didn't think I liked him (I think it was mostly the part about not knowing anything he was talking about). She talked me into going out with him again. Wasn't crazy about him on the second date, either. But, he was persistent and we started chatting a little more on the computer, etc. He really started to grow on me. He would say a lot of sweet things and I started to see him a little differently. We went out again and we connected much more. We became inseperable and eventually we got engaged and then married. He still talks way above my head about stuff I have no clue about; but, I've just kind of learned to smile and nod and let him keep talking.

Every October 10, Ted and I would go back to that same Denny's and have a meal. Either lunch or dinner. Ted would always ask for the same booth and with only one exception, we were always able to sit there. Ted would glory in the tale to the waitresses about how that was where we met for the first time for our first date. One year, KayeLynn and Rodger were with us, and we made them sit at a different booth so we could have our time together.

Saturday night, we were on our way home. We happened to drive by our Denny's and the sign had been stripped away and the place was empty. We're not sure why they closed, but we were kind of sad. I told Ted that we may need to get divorced now, because I'm sure it's some kind of bad omen. I was just kidding, of course. But, it was a little disheartening to see the place where we started become a shell and a ghost of what it was originally. Not sure what we're going to do now on October 10, whether we'll go to a different Denny's or what we'll do - but, I guess we'll find something to do. It's just kind of our way.