A Love Story

A LOVE STORY.
Today is Dody’s 91st birthday! Happy Birthday, Dody!
Dody and I attended Berea High School - she in the Class of 1937, and I was in the Class of 1936. While we were born only five months apart, we were on different sides of December 1.
Dody was my first girl friend! When we met, I was a Junior and she was a Sophomore - she was 15 and I was 16. We went “steady” for three years - her last three years of high school, and my last two years of high school, and first year at Baldwin Wallace College, (Dody subsequently graduated from BW). While we never verbalized it, we both presumed that we would eventually marry each other. It was not to be. My family moved from Berea to Ypsilanti in 1937. My Dad worked for the New York Central Railroad in Cleveland. The NYC consolidated it’s offices during the Great Depression, and my Dad was transferred to Detroit. We courted - long distance - both of us visiting each other - for a year.
Then, the old truism kicked in - “Absence makes the heart grow fonder ---- of somebody else”. Dody was in college in Berea. (She was born in Berea, and still lives there!), and I was working in Ann Arbor - about 150 miles away. Then, WWII came along, and that was “all she wrote”. My Mother was very fond of Dody, and I presume that my Dad was too. During a phone conversation a few years back, Dody told me that my Mother had given her a party on her 16th birthday - “ the only birthday party that I ever had!” I can’t believe that I don’t remember it. But, Dody’s memory has always been better than mine.
Fast Forward to 1976. Dody and I hadn’t been in touch with each other for nearly 40 years. When I received Tony’s annual Class of ‘36 Reunion invitation, it was emotional for me. Only then did I realize that time was zipping by, and I missed seeing Dody and my classmates. So, I accepted. I asked Marie if she would go with me. Her response, “Why do you want to go and see all those old people?” I took that as a “No!” Marie’s comment made me a little apprehensive. Would I recognize anyone if there were no name tags? How would I react to my friends that I hadn’t seen for so long? But, my experience was weird. I didn’t see late 50 year-old faces and bodies, I saw my classmates as I remembered how they looked when we graduated. (I received the prize for coming the greatest distance!) . I was very surprised how many of my classmates were still living in the Berea area.
Dody was there without her husband, (I never got to meet him). I was there without Marie, ( although she attended a few with me, later on - even though she didn’t enjoy them). I thought it might be awkward, but we both were glad to see each other. She asked me if I would take her home at the end of the evening. At first, I thought it was a request that I couldn’t refuse. Then, I thought that her husband might be waiting with a shotgun. I agreed, and all went well. My problem was, do I offer to kiss her goodnight - for old times sake? I decided that “discretion was the better part of valor”, especially since she didn’t give me any encouragement. I have made many Reunions since 1976, the most recent one was our 71st in 2007.Marie finally agreed to accompany me on a few, even though she said that she didn’t enjoy them. I enjoyed having her along. I hope to go back to our 75th (and probably our last) next year, if any of us is still alive. There were 81 in our graduating class, and now we are down to 12 survivors!
Dody and I have exchanged birthday, and Christmas cards, through the years. Her husband Hank, died a few years ago.(They had three sons, and Marie and I have five daughters.) We have kept in contact by phone. It is strange when two nonagenarians tell each other, spontaneously, “I love you”. She sent me a newspaper clipping after Hank died, telling of high school sweethearts, whose spouses had died, and they married each other. Dody casually mentioned that “this could be us!” I think she was delusional, as it is not to be. Can you picture two ninety year olds trying to take care of each other? Besides, a native Ohioan, would not consider moving to California.
I sent Dody a birthday card. She has been living in a
Care Center near Berea. I tried calling her today to wish her a Happy Birthday. The phone in her room rang numerous times, but she didn’t answer. So, I called Dody’s son Jim, to see what was going on. Jim, wife Judy, and their young -twin boys (Jim re-married a much younger woman!) live across from Dody’s house on Seminary Street. One of the boys answered and I asked him if I could talk to his mom or dad. He asked me my name and I told him. He tried repeating it, and finally said “call back”, and hung up!
As I was typing this, I was listening to the music on our closed -circuit TV channel. Playing was “As Time Goes By” - how fitting! RCL - 4/13/10.