December 7, 1941, is a day that will live in infamy, but December 7, 1973, is the day I discovered my destiny. Fifty-two years ago today, Chuck and I went on our first date. It was a blind date of sorts. You see, I was fifteen and at that time spent a great deal of time reading on my front steps, which earned me the nickname Readabook, a play on my first name. Chuck was seventeen and spent a great deal of time walking past my house on his way to his friend, Ken’s, house down the street to play football. I guess he noticed me on the steps, and I may have snuck a look at him over the top of my book. Coincidentally, Ken had a sister, Karen, who was my friend. Karen and Ken were our matchmakers, carrying messages between Chuck and me. “Chuck would like to ask you on a date. Can I give him your number?” “Sure.” The rest, as they say, is history.

That first date was to the movies to see The Way We Were starring Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand. We saw it at the Orleans Movie Theater in Northeast Philadelphia. We walked to the movies because my dad was very strict, and I was not allowed to ride in a car. It was just under a mile walk to the theater.

After the movies, we walked to the Italian Take Out restaurant, ITO as the locals called it. It was another one-mile walk through the Rhawnhurst neighborhood. Once in a booth, we ordered a pizza and some sodas. I was so nervous; I only ate one slice of pizza. Chuck ate two. We didn’t even take home the leftovers! I was home by 11:00 PM.

December 7th remained a special night for us even after we were married. We celebrated the anniversary of our first date every year in some way. Over the years, when we reminisced about that night, Chuck would say that it was just like Pearl Harbor – I dropped a bomb on him. He told his friends it wouldn’t last because I couldn’t ride in a car and could only see him every other weekend. (The joke was on him because I apparently had staying power.) He would also bring up the fact that I only ate ONE slice of pizza, and he felt he couldn’t eat more than two without looking like a pig. It killed him!!

I was smitten with him after that first date, and Chuck would say, “Of course you were!” He had considerable South Philly confidence. There was something about Chuck that even at the tender age of fifteen, I could sense. He was a true gentleman in every sense of the word and wise beyond his years.

Chuck was my first date, first kiss, and first love. We would spend the next seven years dating before getting married three months after I graduated from college. We spent the next 45 years together keeping the excitement of that first date alive in our marriage. Chuck’s motto was, “Don’t ever let the honeymoon end,” and he made sure it didn’t.  

Ours is a special love story. Not many people get to have the kind of relationship we had, and I will be eternally grateful to have had Chuck love me the way that he did for all of those years. He was truly selfless, putting my needs before his, being my biggest cheerleader and supporter, and modeling unconditional love for our children. Chuck was my first, only, and forever love.