Pick up a dime & a pick-up line

It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Santa Rosa, oh, soooo many years ago (23 years, to be exact), when two sisters decided to wash a car in Woodlake's parking lot. I'll always remember the date: September 7, 1986.

"He" was on his way to his car. As he walked by the soapy car, he said, "You're going to make it rain."

What kind of a pick-up line is that, anyway? Oddly enough, it eventually worked. It must have been my optic yellow, "so-flexible-you-can-pick-up-a-dime" Playtex Living Gloves that caught "his" eye. Or maybe it was the car, a 1979 Rally Sport. (I'll never know for sure...)


The sisters agreed that our neighbor was a nice & friendly guy. And he was kinda cute, too. We chatted a while, then "he" was on his way. We rinsed the soap off of the hood, dried the car and didn't think much more about meeting the "boy next door." (Well, okay, I thought about it a little more. I'd be lying if I said otherwise.) And, no, it did not rain.

We met "him" again, became friends, he & I started dating, then seven months from our initial meeting, we were engaged!

(This photo was taken in late October 1986.)

We knew it was a great friendship from the start, so I'm glad we didn't waste a lot of time on a long drawn out courtship & engagement. We were married eight months after his proposal was accepted. We are now approaching our 22nd year of marriage in December.

And to think, it all started with a dirty car. And rubber gloves.